CB Draft 2011 Central Division Press Conferences

[Edgar]

Also adding to this

Edgar, have you thought about starting Kwame Brown and bringing Elton off the bench? Seems like your starters are going to be overwhelmed in the paint pretty often, akin to the way Minnesota was with the Jefferson/Love lineup.

I don't think Edgar has a mobile enough C on his roster to prevent that.

Oh sure I have
I really think this team have more than one combination of starters
I do think this is a non figure team that get the job done

Underappreciating Okur just because coming back of an injury is a felony.
The man was basically one of the best centers of the league for 3 years before last.
He will be fine.
And Okur, Kwame, Collison >>>> deffensively than AJ

Not only Kwame shows hes a very reliable Center Deffensively this year also bringing hustle and ledership to the defense
With the Quality of rebounding this team Had Collison and Love can take care of the Job.

Again is incredible that the thing that is pointed is that this team will be overwelmed in the paint when one of the main streghts of the Pandas is REBOUNDING!!!

All of this guys are quality rebounders and Kwame and Collison are tough nose defenders

adding to that

That was evident to the 50 or so campers at Valley Center High, who watched Collison school them in everything from low-post maneuvers to being loud on defense.

"You guys know that school starts in three weeks, and you guys won't be able to talk anymore," Collison quipped, "so you better get it out of your system this week.

"Say anything. Talk. You guys are too quiet. And defense is all about communication."


"It's a lot of fun. It wasn't that long ago that I was in these kind of camps in my hometown," Collison said. "I learned a lot at those camps, and they were fun to be able to get with a lot of different kids and play in the summer. Now that I'm in the situation where I can do that for other kids, I think it's definitely a good thing.

"I never thought I would be a coach, but now after working in camps it's fun to be able to tell a kid something, to show them something and watch them pick it up by the end of the day. Maybe I'll end up coaching some day. It's something I definitely enjoy doing."

Come on I know how to pick my guys

High schollers like AJ just didnt get this nor learn it
If theyre not athletic freaks with some brain they end up done in 3 years after into the league

see Green Gerald

[StartOrien]

I think your team is going to struggle to replicate the Grizzlies formula. They were effective on defense primarily because they forced so many turnovers, I don't see your modified Grizzlies as beign able to replicate that.

At the risk of sounding like a child:

Why not?

Lee, Gay, George and Ariza aren't as good at creating turnovers as TA, Battier, S. Young and Mayo?

[Fafnir]

I think your team is going to struggle to replicate the Grizzlies formula. They were effective on defense primarily because they forced so many turnovers, I don't see your modified Grizzlies as beign able to replicate that.

Why not?

Because your players aren't as good as the real life grizzlies at creating turnovers. Especially given the line ups you outline playing.

Additionally I'm not sure its a sustainable defensive formula.

[StartOrien]

I think your team is going to struggle to replicate the Grizzlies formula. They were effective on defense primarily because they forced so many turnovers, I don't see your modified Grizzlies as beign able to replicate that.

Why not?

Because your players aren't as good as the real life grizzlies at creating turnovers. Especially given the line ups you outline playing.

Additionally I'm not sure its a sustainable defensive formula.

But statistically they are.

[Fafnir]

I think your team is going to struggle to replicate the Grizzlies formula. They were effective on defense primarily because they forced so many turnovers, I don't see your modified Grizzlies as beign able to replicate that.

Why not?

Because your players aren't as good as the real life grizzlies at creating turnovers. Especially given the line ups you outline playing.

Additionally I'm not sure its a sustainable defensive formula.

But statistically they are.

I don't understand what you're saying.

[action781]

Does Gay help your team?

Last year with Gay, Memphis won at a 54% clip.

With out Gay, they won at a 60% clip and won the franchises first ever playoff game and series.  

Does Gay really fit well with those two big men or are they better with the stronger role players they had in the playoffs?

This is an excellent question and, to be honest, the one I anticipated and initially feared answering the most.  I also questioned this a ton in the two weeks that we put the Pacers together.  All the thought on this issue is what ultimately led us to not consider trading Gay (unless for an elite player) and be confident that he was a very good fit for this team.


Beginning the season, Memphis did win at a 54% clip, but let's break this down more:

From October to December, Memphis started: Conley-Mayo-Gay-Randolph-Gasol 15 times and the team had a 4-11 record during that time.

From October to the time of Gay's injury, Memphis started: Conley-TA/Young-Gay-Randolph-Gasol and the team had a 27-15 (64%) record.

Yay for small sample sizes!

I think your team is going to struggle to replicate the Grizzlies formula. They were effective on defense primarily because they forced so many turnovers, I don't see your modified Grizzlies as beign able to replicate that.

Well, to be fair, 27-15 is 42 games.  Yet people seem very comfortable judging the post-Gay Grizzlies on 25 regular season and 13 postseason games (total of 38).  I don't see those 42 games (over half a season) with Gay and without Mayo as being too small of a sample size to consider since people feel just fine judging the 38 game Grizzlies w/o Gay.

What I'd like to point out is that we are not trying to "replicate the Grizzlies formula".  We are trying to do this:

• Pound the ball down low and rebound well
• Spread the floor for our bigs down low with outside shooting(Memphis did poorly)
• Attack the lane from the point at times with Tony Parker and Teague
• Defend wings well on the perimeter at all times
• Have good scoring options when our bench bigs sit (Gay provides to us)

A few of those goals are very similar to the playoff Grizzlies, but I think we are a little different than the playoff Grizzlies.  If we cannot force as many turnovers as the playoff Grizzlies, then we have other aspects of our game we do much better, like spreading the floor, attacking the lane from the point, and having a fantastic option to score points in Gay against other benches when Randolph and Gasol sit.

Some people may certainly think that the... 5 or so extra turnovers that Memphis could possibly create outweighs all the other advantages the Pawnee Pacers have over the Grizzlies.  But we feel that our current advantages outweigh those few extra turnovers.

[StartOrien]

I think your team is going to struggle to replicate the Grizzlies formula. They were effective on defense primarily because they forced so many turnovers, I don't see your modified Grizzlies as beign able to replicate that.

Why not?

Because your players aren't as good as the real life grizzlies at creating turnovers. Especially given the line ups you outline playing.

Additionally I'm not sure its a sustainable defensive formula.

But statistically they are.

I don't understand what you're saying.

[Fafnir]

Does Gay help your team?

Last year with Gay, Memphis won at a 54% clip.

With out Gay, they won at a 60% clip and won the franchises first ever playoff game and series.  

Does Gay really fit well with those two big men or are they better with the stronger role players they had in the playoffs?

This is an excellent question and, to be honest, the one I anticipated and initially feared answering the most.  I also questioned this a ton in the two weeks that we put the Pacers together.  All the thought on this issue is what ultimately led us to not consider trading Gay (unless for an elite player) and be confident that he was a very good fit for this team.


Beginning the season, Memphis did win at a 54% clip, but let's break this down more:

From October to December, Memphis started: Conley-Mayo-Gay-Randolph-Gasol 15 times and the team had a 4-11 record during that time.

From October to the time of Gay's injury, Memphis started: Conley-TA/Young-Gay-Randolph-Gasol and the team had a 27-15 (64%) record.

Yay for small sample sizes!

I think your team is going to struggle to replicate the Grizzlies formula. They were effective on defense primarily because they forced so many turnovers, I don't see your modified Grizzlies as beign able to replicate that.

Well, to be fair, 27-15 is 42 games.  Yet people seem very comfortable judging the post-Gay Grizzlies on 25 regular season and 13 postseason games (total of 38).  I don't see those 42 games (over half a season) with Gay and without Mayo as being too small of a sample size to consider since people feel just fine judging the 38 game Grizzlies w/o Gay.

What I'd like to point out is that we are not trying to "replicate the Grizzlies formula".  We are trying to do this:

• Pound the ball down low and rebound well
• Spread the floor for our bigs down low with outside shooting(Memphis did poorly)
• Attack the lane from the point at times with Tony Parker and Teague
• Defend wings well on the perimeter at all times
• Have good scoring options when our bench bigs sit (Gay provides to us)

A few of those goals are very similar to the playoff Grizzlies, but I think we are a little different than the playoff Grizzlies.  If we cannot force as many turnovers as the playoff Grizzlies, then we have other aspects of our game we do much better, like spreading the floor, attacking the lane from the point, and having a fantastic option to score points in Gay against other benches when Randolph and Gasol sit.

Some people may certainly think that the... 5 or so extra turnovers that Memphis could possibly create outweighs all the other advantages the Pawnee Pacers have over the Grizzlies.  But we feel that our current advantages outweigh those few extra turnovers.

So you conceed that you'll fall back defensively, but improve offensively.

Given the number of easy points that those turnovers gave I'm not sure how much you will gain offensively. But any defensive decline will drop you from the top 10 to average. That's not a playoff winning formula.

[Fafnir]

I think your team is going to struggle to replicate the Grizzlies formula. They were effective on defense primarily because they forced so many turnovers, I don't see your modified Grizzlies as beign able to replicate that.

Why not?

Because your players aren't as good as the real life grizzlies at creating turnovers. Especially given the line ups you outline playing.

Additionally I'm not sure its a sustainable defensive formula.

But statistically they are.

I don't understand what you're saying.

Okay, what you say is not true. Parker/Lee/George/Ariza are not as proficient at creating turnovers.

Especially given the lineups you are putting out there in the regular season. Without the high number of turnovers the Pacers defensive efficiency is going to drop.

[mgent]

I think your team is going to struggle to replicate the Grizzlies formula. They were effective on defense primarily because they forced so many turnovers, I don't see your modified Grizzlies as beign able to replicate that.

Why not?

Because your players aren't as good as the real life grizzlies at creating turnovers. Especially given the line ups you outline playing.

Additionally I'm not sure its a sustainable defensive formula.

But statistically they are.

Tony and Conley were 5th and 6th in steals per game.

Tony led the league in steals per 48 at 4.1, a full steal ahead of 2nd place Chris Paul.

[StartOrien]

Tony led the league in steals per 48 at 4.1, a full steal ahead of 2nd place Chris Paul.

Per 48, when he was playing 11 minutes per game.

[StartOrien]

Okay, what you say is not true. Parker/Lee/George/Ariza are not as proficient at creating turnovers.

Especially given the lineups you are putting out there in the regular season. Without the high number of turnovers the Pacers defensive efficiency is going to drop.

I guess as always, we'll have to agree to disagree Faf.

[Fafnir]

Tony led the league in steals per 48 at 4.1, a full steal ahead of 2nd place Chris Paul.

Per 48, when he was playing 11 minutes per game.

He also lead the league in steal percentage by a full 1.0. (4.5 compared to 3.5 by CP3)

[indeedproceed]

Ohhhhhhh now look at how the Pawnee Pacers squirm under the spotlight!

[StartOrien]

Tony led the league in steals per 48 at 4.1, a full steal ahead of 2nd place Chris Paul.

Per 48, when he was playing 11 minutes per game.

He also lead the league in steal percentage by a full 1.0. (4.5 compared to 3.5 by CP3)

Yay for small sample sizes!