2011 CB Draft Eastern Playoffs: 1st Round

[StartOrien]

Then how do you account for the fact that before Gay went down for the year Memphis played .540 ball and then after they played .600 ball?

Again, I think Action laid it out well above.

Also, your comparison is wrong. You have Gay, Lee, Ariza and George the real life Griz had Battier, TA, Mayo, Young AND Gay.

I'd take Lee, Ariza and George over Battier, TA, Mayo & Young.

The reason I include Gay is that when you're talking about "the success of the Grizzlies" you're really not referring to when Gay was on the team.

[indeedproceed]

Also, your comparison is wrong. You have Gay, Lee, Ariza and George the real life Griz had Battier, TA, Mayo, Young AND Gay.

I'd take Lee, Ariza and George over Battier, TA, Mayo & Young.

Tell me more about Paul George, and why Courtney Lee is an upgrade over Tony Allen.

[Fafnir]

What's your strategy for attacking the Celtics defense?

[wdleehi]

Who is Chicago's go to guy in the half court?



How do you trust JR Smith when his playoff numbers have been lower then his regular season number 3 straight years (with this year dropping below 10 points a playoff game)


Granger has had no problem putting up his numbers against Wallace.  Of course that was Granger without another offensive threat like Aldridge next to him.  Wallace has put up offensive numbers against Granger as well.  Not as high as the numbers as Granger put against Wallace and not with the better defenders around Granger the Bullets have.



Aldridge has the offensive advantage against Haslem.  Noah and Gortat are going to be close to a statistical equal matchup.  



The backcourt.  This is the type of matchup I drafted Dragic for.  He is to fast for Nash to keep in front of him.  Dragic is a strong attacker of the basket as a PG.  He is going to force the help defense to respond.  It will create open looks for my strong offensive players and my multiple outside shooters.  I would expect to see his minutes in this series to be pushed to the 20-25 minute range.  (at the expense of Felton)  


As for the boards, while both teams are strong in the starting front court rebounding, the Bullets starting SG averaged 6 boards a game as a rookie.  There will be a heavy team attack on the defensive boards.  Offensively rebounding, if it is there, get it.  Otherwise, get back on defense.  



As for the pace, the Bullets feel comfortable in their ability to slow the game down to a half court style where they have the advantage.  

[Lucky17]

LaMarcus Aldridge will terrorize Udonis Haslem and/or Joakim Noah so it's not all bad news for the Bullets. Haslem is too short and struggles too much against against length in the low post. Aldridge is bigger, longer and stronger than Noah. Noah doesn't have enough physical toughness to stop Aldridge. I think the Bulls are going to have major problems slowing Aldridge down.

Aldridge doesn't operate in the post all that much, though, does he? Nearly 2/3 of his offense last year came from jump shots. Will he be able to change to a back-to-the-basket player?

Aldridge spends a huge amount of time in the low post.

He used not to but he made major progress in this department last year. Far superior post scorer compared to years past.

Yes, he's now up to 10 FGA per game from within 9 feet.

http://www.hoopdata.com/player.aspx?name=LaMarcus%20Aldridge

However, he's shooting less than 43% from the floor when he's not at the rim, which is roughly 11 of his 17 FGA per game, or roughly 2/3 of his offense.

43% from the floor is pretty good when you're taking mid-range jump shots.

I can live with Aldridge falling in love with jump shots. He's shooting closer to 40% when he's 10 feet or further from the basket. We should have a rebounding advantage when that's the case.

[Fafnir]

I can live with Aldridge falling in love with jump shots. He's shooting closer to 40% when he's 10 feet or further from the basket. We should have a rebounding advantage when that's the case.

His eFG% on jump shots is 45%, KGs was 47% for comparison, and Pau Gasol's was also 45%.

I don't see the fact that Aldridge has a good outside game being an advantage for you.

[wdleehi]

Knicks

Are your guards up to chasing Rip around Perk picks?  (Well are your Gs besides Young who doesn't play defense)

[StartOrien]

Courtney Lee is an upgrade over Tony Allen.

To me, even with respect to their offensive roles, the difference between Courtney Lee's offense and TA's far outweighs the defensive difference.

Courtney Lee is a very good, and very active defender. He is not as good as Tony Allen. For my money, Tony Allen is the best defensive two guard in the league.

But TA limits what you can do offensively. He's trick or treat on the fast break, in a limited role he still averages two turnovers a game, and despite a team that commits itself to the post, TA is such a poor shooter from distance that he only bothered to attempt 7 3's in 13 games (hitting 1).

And while their can be an argument to him slashing, I think anyone who watched the Grizz in the playoffs saw what I saw: TA consistently turn down open looks from 3 because his range doesn't exceed 15 feet.

Meanwhile, slashing is a big part of Courtney Lee's game AND he can shoot at a good rate from 3: Shooting over .400% 2 out of the 3 years he's been in the league.

With the improved perimeter offense in Parker & Gay, I think the ability to consistently hit down open looks is a great asset to us.

[wdleehi]

I am not worried about Aldridge's offense.




But this past postseason, his offense plus one other guy being a true offensive force won two playoff games against the Mavs.  The problem, it was Roy who could only provide two games in the playoffs like that.  (such a sad injury).


Now, he has a consistent offensive threat next to him in the playoffs, something he hasn't had the past two seasons.

[StartOrien]

What's your strategy for attacking the Celtics defense?

Start from the inside out: Hope to cause foul trouble to their bigs in foul trouble b/c I think they lack depth there.

[indeedproceed]

I really wish the Bulls weren't matching up against the Bullets. I really, really like both teams..like alot.

The Bulls have the prettiest offensive fit in the league, even though they're lacking severely in superstardom, but the Bullets have one of the most symmetrical and balanced teams in the league, even though they're lacking in superstardom.

I would've loved to vote either one of them over a better seeded team.

[riah32]

I would also play Charlie V at the center postion as well

I think some of my support for the Nets just eroded.

Yeah, I wouldn't do that.

No Charlie V and no Drew Gooden at the five spot. Four spot only and limited minutes.

Your team defense will really struggle with either of those players anchoring your defense. It'll gift the opposition with a lot of high percentage shot attempts.

I pry would play those 2 at the 4 spot and have Scola drop down the center position.

[indeedproceed]

Courtney Lee is an upgrade over Tony Allen.

To me, even with respect to their offensive roles, the difference between Courtney Lee's offense and TA's far outweighs the defensive difference.

Courtney Lee is a very good, and very active defender. He is not as good as Tony Allen. For my money, Tony Allen is the best defensive two guard in the league.

But TA limits what you can do offensively. He's trick or treat on the fast break, in a limited role he still averages two turnovers a game, and despite a team that commits itself to the post, TA is such a poor shooter from distance that he only bothered to attempt 7 3's in 13 games (hitting 1).

And while their can be an argument to him slashing, I think anyone who watched the Grizz in the playoffs saw what I saw: TA consistently turn down open looks from 3 because his range doesn't exceed 15 feet.

Meanwhile, slashing is a big part of Courtney Lee's game AND he can shoot at a good rate from 3: Shooting over .400% 2 out of the 3 years he's been in the league.

With the improved perimeter offense in Parker & Gay, I think the ability to consistently hit down open looks is a great asset to us.

So basically its coming down to: One guy has a decent 3pt shot, and his ability to keep guys honest as a spot shooter is worth more when paired with his decent defense than Tony Allen's limited offense, paired with his All-NBA Defense?

Well, at least insofar at that impacts your team.

[StartOrien]

Tell me more about Paul George

Paul George is a lanky, super athletic 2 guard. Coming out of college he was consistently compared to Tracy McGrady because of his offensive skill set and physical abilities. In the few Pacers games I caught this year, which was reaffired by some research I did, George's comfort level seemed to gradually increase throughout the season. He improved in his range, and showed some pretty solid court vision.

What impressed me about George was his defense though. A strong commitment, desire, and great execution that really surfaced during the Pacers playoff series against Chicago where he often was placed on Derek Rose.

As I've said, with a year under his belt, with Jimmy O getting bounced: I expect a huge step up from Paul George this season (I think I brought his name up to Action about a thousand times before we eventually took him), but even if he only gives us what we saw in the Chicago series I'd be happy.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2nv3DKnhSY&feature=related

[StartOrien]

So basically its coming down to: One guy has a decent 3pt shot, and his ability to keep guys honest as a spot shooter is worth more when paired with his decent defense than Tony Allen's limited offense, paired with his All-NBA Defense?

I think Lee's defensive abilities are UNDERRATED*, but essentially, yes. In regards to what we need from him, combined with the wings we have behind him, his offense is more needed than TA's defense.


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*Playoffs are here!