CB Draft 2011 Central Division Press Conferences

[Roy H.]

Indiana:

Zach Randolph just got paid.  How soon until he drops the model citizen routine?  Any qualms about building around him?  (I'd love the non-diplomatic answer)

Who is the primary focus of your offense, Randolph, Gay, or Parker?

Do you see the "real" Memphis Grizzlies as a true contender in the NBA?  What, if anything, is holding them back from a championship?

[StartOrien]

Pacers:  Real life Memphis turned around when Tony Allen took over as the leader and infused the defense.

Who is your leader, and who is going to take over that vocal role?  It was said the Grizzlies hardly ever talked on the court before Tony won a spot in the lineup.

Follow-up:

How do you think Vasquez, Mayo, Battier, and Arthur compares to Teague, George, Ariza, and Hayes?  Do you think the advantage of Parker over Conley makes up for the real Grizzlies advantage at SG and on the bench?

For starters, I don't think the Grizzlies have the advantage at the shooting guard position. In my mind, the difference between the defensive advantage TA has over Courtney Lee doesn't make up for the offensive advantage Lee has on TA (even in the role that's asked for them). I think the addition of some 3 point shooting would really, really help out the real life Grizzlies.

I also think the difference between Parker and Conley is pretty significant. To me, Parker is the prototype for the perfect PG for Memphis. Someone who controls the ball, has a history of showing an ability to defer to the post, and operates well out of the pick and roll. I think his running floater - the one Conley has been getting better at - is yuge for us.

The other guys are obvious upgrades, perhaps with the exception of Battier, probably mostly because of the move from 24 to 30 teams. I think the biggest advantage our guys has is the ability to create offense, something Memphis' bench completely lacked.

[action781]

SO:

Teague/George/Ariza/Hayes/Frye ~ 8 min

Are you concerned that for these 8 minutes you may be giving up leads and/or letting teams pull away when this lineup is on the floor.

Although SO already tackled this, I should also add in that I mentioned in the presser that this lineup will only be on the floor against other teams' second lineups (i.e. beginning of 2nd and 4th quarters).  Against other teams second lineups, we will have 2 very good wing defenders and 1 very good post defender, plus 2 guys who we are comfortable creating or providing offense in Teague and George.  I would not ever depend on this lineup to make up deficits, but I also don't expect them to give away huge chunks of leads considering who they will be playing against.

Nice question, thank you kwhit

[wdleehi]

Pacers:  Real life Memphis turned around when Tony Allen took over as the leader and infused the defense.

Who is your leader, and who is going to take over that vocal role?  It was said the Grizzlies hardly ever talked on the court before Tony won a spot in the lineup.

Follow-up:

How do you think Vasquez, Mayo, Battier, and Arthur compares to Teague, George, Ariza, and Hayes?  Do you think the advantage of Parker over Conley makes up for the real Grizzlies advantage at SG and on the bench?

For starters, I don't think the Grizzlies have the advantage at the shooting guard position. In my mind, the difference between the defensive advantage TA has over Courtney Lee doesn't make up for the offensive advantage Lee has on TA (even in the role that's asked for them). I think the addition of some 3 point shooting would really, really help out the real life Grizzlies.

I also think the difference between Parker and Conley is pretty significant. To me, Parker is the prototype for the perfect PG for Memphis. Someone who controls the ball, has a history of showing an ability to defer to the post, and operates well out of the pick and roll. I think his running floater - the one Conley has been getting better at - is yuge for us.

The other guys are obvious upgrades, perhaps with the exception of Battier, probably mostly because of the move from 24 to 30 teams. I think the biggest advantage our guys has is the ability to create offense, something Memphis' bench completely lacked.

TA averaged 13 points on 54% shooting as a starter.


Lee's best year was 12.5 on 43% shooting.


I don't see a big offensive improvement.  I see equal (but different) offensively but a huge drop defensively.  

[indeedproceed]

Pacers:  Real life Memphis turned around when Tony Allen took over as the leader and infused the defense.

Who is your leader, and who is going to take over that vocal role?  It was said the Grizzlies hardly ever talked on the court before Tony won a spot in the lineup.

Follow-up:

How do you think Vasquez, Mayo, Battier, and Arthur compares to Teague, George, Ariza, and Hayes?  Do you think the advantage of Parker over Conley makes up for the real Grizzlies advantage at SG and on the bench?

For starters, I don't think the Grizzlies have the advantage at the shooting guard position. In my mind, the difference between the defensive advantage TA has over Courtney Lee doesn't make up for the offensive advantage Lee has on TA (even in the role that's asked for them). I think the addition of some 3 point shooting would really, really help out the real life Grizzlies.

I also think the difference between Parker and Conley is pretty significant. To me, Parker is the prototype for the perfect PG for Memphis. Someone who controls the ball, has a history of showing an ability to defer to the post, and operates well out of the pick and roll. I think his running floater - the one Conley has been getting better at - is yuge for us.

The other guys are obvious upgrades, perhaps with the exception of Battier, probably mostly because of the move from 24 to 30 teams. I think the biggest advantage our guys has is the ability to create offense, something Memphis' bench completely lacked.

Think you're under-valuing Tony Allen's 2nd Team All-NBA Defense there, and overestimating the impact of Courtney Lee's off-brand, vanilla-one-scoop, no-sprinkles offense.

[Who]

Tony Allen is also far superior to Courtney Lee at creating extra possessions for his team with his rebounding, steals and other forced turnovers.

That is the one thing that I really like about Paul George and Trevor Ariza at that SG position in that lineup. How well they can create those extra possessions. Plus, the superior defense. The drop-off offensively (from Lee to George/Ariza) is far less than the drop-off in terms of defense + possession creation.

[StartOrien]

Do you see the "real" Memphis Grizzlies as a true contender in the NBA?  What, if anything, is holding them back from a championship?

I thought this year's Memphis team was a true contender, so yes, this year, with Gay coming back, I see them as a contender again.

-----

I'll preface what they need to improve by saying this:

I walked into this game thinking that if I didn't have a superstar the way I was going attack the game was by having two strong post players. In order to win this, I thought we needed to go with a tactical advantage

It's why I was so aggressive to move back, and why I didn't need anything more than swapping first, second, and thirds on two separate occasions.

So essentially walking in, I decided that what I wanted to do was improve on the Memphis Grizzlies roster. The fact that I ended up with Gasol and Z-Bo (and later Gay) was a mix of coincidence and me liking the idea of keeping two guys who've shown an ability to work well together.

----

So what I think the real Grizzlies need to do is: Continue their incredible discipline with their commitment to the post, improve their perimeter shooting, and get a deeper bench. 

As great of a defensive player Tony Allen is, I think the fact that he couldn't hit an open 3 consistently hurt them.

And while Shane Battier also brings defense, and generally decent shooting, he was equally terrible behind the stripe in the playoffs: .276 on 29 attempts (in 13 games)

And as I stated above, Memphis' bench just wasn't enough. Outside of Mayo, not a single one of those players are what I'd consider unquestionably worthy of getting regular minutes on a contender. 

Zach Randolph just got paid.  How soon until he drops the model citizen routine?  Any qualms about building around him?  (I'd love the non-diplomatic answer)

Honestly, if I had that much concern with him I wouldn't have targeted him in the first round. I moved back twice, specifically with him on my mind. Me and Action debated at great length before the second trade between him and LMA, and I don't think once the issues about Z Bo's character came up.

I'm not saying there's absolutely no reason for concern, I'm well aware of his past, aware of the story about his HS coach saying he checked the newspaper each day to make sure he was alive, but I honestly think he's shown enough in the past two years where I feel very comfortable building around him.

Who is the primary focus of your offense, Randolph, Gay, or Parker?

Absolutely Z-Bo. The strength of this team is going to be strong post play, with excellent complimentary parts, and very strong perimeter defense.

[Edgar]

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

[StartOrien]

Think you're under-valuing Tony Allen's 2nd Team All-NBA Defense there, and overestimating the impact of Courtney Lee's off-brand, vanilla-one-scoop, no-sprinkles offense.

I think with Rudy Gay and Tony Parker, what's required of the 2 is a little more vanilla one scoop (which is delicious, OK, pal)

[Edgar]

Question for the entire Central division: What is keeping you guys from being the center of today's conversation?

The amount of data that is needed to load the 2000 pictures in Edgar and Action's pressers?

 A panda got a do...

[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.


I think this shows that the problem with the Grizzlies starting lineup in the beginning half of the year was not Gay, but in fact, Mayo.  So, the Grizzlies with Gay in the starting lineup without Mayo was actually more successful than the Grizzlies starting lineup without Gay (60% clip you say, I haven't verified).

There's another dynamic to this that I think will make this team even more successful than that 64% win team.  Before Gay went down, he was an absolute fantastic player.  Athletic, can score, can shoot, can do almost anything.  I think Memphis let Gay do too much before and it wasn't their fault - he was very good and they were winning at a good clip with Mayo benched.  I think it took Gay's injury for Memphis, and the NBA, to realize how much more effective their offense is capable of being when they pound it down low more often with Z-Bo and Gasol.  We are going to attempt to be as offensively dominant down low as Memphis was this postseason with Rudy being more of a complementary player with the starters (think Shane Battier times a million) and a focal point of the offense when he plays in those lineups with the bench.

[indeedproceed]

Think you're under-valuing Tony Allen's 2nd Team All-NBA Defense there, and overestimating the impact of Courtney Lee's off-brand, vanilla-one-scoop, no-sprinkles offense.

I think with Rudy Gay and Tony Parker, what's required of the 2 is a little more vanilla one scoop (which is delicious, OK, pal)

I just wanted to say 'off-brand'.

[StartOrien]

Think you're under-valuing Tony Allen's 2nd Team All-NBA Defense there, and overestimating the impact of Courtney Lee's off-brand, vanilla-one-scoop, no-sprinkles offense.

I think with Rudy Gay and Tony Parker, what's required of the 2 is a little more vanilla one scoop (which is delicious, OK, pal)

I just wanted to say 'off-brand'.

Sorry, sometimes I'm a little sensitive. I just think that plain vanilla ice cream gets a bad rap.

[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 being able to replicate that.

They were below average at opponent's eFG%, below average at defensive rebouding, and almost exactly league average at how many free throw attempts they gave up per field goal attempt.

But they were the best at the league at forcing turnovers.

[action781]

TA averaged 13 points on 54% shooting as a starter.


Lee's best year was 12.5 on 43% shooting.


I don't see a big offensive improvement.  I see equal (but different) offensively but a huge drop defensively.  

Tony Allen is a great player, one of my favorites in the NBA, and we would love to have on board here.  I, personally, wouldn't argue that Lee is a better player than TA.  What I think is that Lee brings a different dimension to our lineup.  Lee is a far better outside shooter than TA.  Regardless if we had Lee or TA, our offensive focus would be the same:  pound it down low.  Even if Lee didn't score as many points as TA, Lee's outside shooting will keep defenses more honest on him, which will result in less double teams on our big men, which we believe will allow them to work more effectively and efficiently.