2008 vs 2011

[KP43]

The bench from '08 that brought us a title, versus the team who never got the chance at one (blame it on the trade, if you like) But imagine if we could get the 2008 bench, playing the one from last year? !PRETRADE!

Teams: (im not including the players who were on both teams, Glen Davis and the good ol' starting five)

James Posey, Eddie House, Tony Allen, P.J. Brown, Sam Cassel, Leon Powe, Scott Pollard, Brian Scalebrine, Gabe Pruitt.

vs.

Delonte West, Nate Robinson, Shaquille O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal, Semih Erden, Avery Bradley, Von Wafer, Luke Harangody, Marquis Daniels.

and the winner is....? 

[Roy H.]

I'll take the 2008 bench, because they came through when it mattered.  Posey, P.J., and Powe were all contributors in clutch playoff situations, and House had his moments, as well.

Last year's bench had BBD, who faded down the stretch, and a bunch of injured guys.  If Shaq, JO, Marquis, and Delonte were all healthy, that's a formidable bench.  However, none of them were when it counted.

[KP43]

I'll take the 2008 bench, because they came through when it mattered.  Posey, P.J., and Powe were all contributors in clutch playoff situations, and House had his moments, as well.

Last year's bench had BBD, who faded down the stretch, and a bunch of injured guys.  If Shaq, JO, Marquis, and Delonte were all healthy, that's a formidable bench.  However, none of them were when it counted.

Honestly, i dont think we would have won that trophy [almost] without Posey.. he played a BIG role for us.

[LB3533]

KG in 08 was probably 1.5 - 2 times the player that he is now, post knee injury.

[mgent]

If you're talking about players as they were then you can't really count Shaq cause he was starting, you can't count JO and Delonte because they were injured or suspended, and you have to count Baby because he is a completely different player on both teams.

To answer the question, yes, '08 was by far better than '11 pre-trade and was without question our best bench of the Big 3 era (in my opinion our bench has gotten worse each year)



Eddie House was way better than Nate Robinson

Tony Allen was way better than Von Wafer

James Posey was way better than Marquis Daniels

Leon Powe was about the same as '11 Glen Davis (pre-trade, Powe was way better than Baby was towards the end of the season)

P.J Brown was better than Semih Erden

'08 end of bench ('08 Baby, Cassell, Scals) was way better than '11 end of bench (Bradley and Harangody)

[manl_lui]

from the two benches, I also agree that Posey played a very important role in 08...his defense against Lebron and Kobe was great not to mention his occasional 3s...

BBD totally disappeared during the 2011 playoffs, Leon Power also had amazing games during the finals

This would be ideal

Rondo, Ray, Pierce, KG, Perk
Delonte, Tony Allen, Posey, JO/Leon, Shaq/PJ
Eddie House, Von, Green, BBD

[KP43]

If you're talking about players as they were then you can't really count Shaq cause he was starting, you can't count JO and Delonte because they were injured or suspended, and you have to count Baby because he is a completely different player on both teams.

To answer the question, yes, '08 was by far better than '11 pre-trade and was without question our best bench of the Big 3 era (in my opinion our bench has gotten worse each year)



Eddie House was way better than Nate Robinson

Tony Allen was way better than Von Wafer

James Posey was way better than Marquis Daniels

Leon Powe was about the same as '11 Glen Davis (pre-trade, Powe was way better than Baby was towards the end of the season)

P.J Brown was better than Semih Erden

'08 end of bench ('08 Baby, Cassell, Scals) was way better than '11 end of bench (Bradley and Harangody)

I didn't count Shaq starting, that was Perks role.. and forget about injurys.. imagine ALL healthy..

[manl_lui]

in an alternate universe where injury didnt hurt us

Shaq and JO off the bench is amazing, and Marquis played great...

I solely believe we would win 3 championships (08, 10, 11)

[KP43]

in an alternate universe where injury didnt hurt us

Shaq and JO off the bench is amazing, and Marquis played great...

I solely believe we would win 3 championships (08, 10, 11)

wow.. I thought I was the only one.  even tho i hate to play the "if game"..

[Kiorrik]

in an alternate universe where injury didnt hurt us

Shaq and JO off the bench is amazing, and Marquis played great...

I solely believe we would win 3 championships (08, 10, 11)

wow.. I thought I was the only one.  even tho i hate to play the "if game"..

Sadly, I'm with ya on that one.

[Roy H.]

in an alternate universe where injury didnt hurt us

Shaq and JO off the bench is amazing, and Marquis played great...

I solely believe we would win 3 championships (08, 10, 11)

Why not '09 as well?  A healthy KG and I think that team is as good as anybody.

[PosImpos]

I'll take the 2008 bench, because they came through when it mattered.  Posey, P.J., and Powe were all contributors in clutch playoff situations, and House had his moments, as well.

Last year's bench had BBD, who faded down the stretch, and a bunch of injured guys.  If Shaq, JO, Marquis, and Delonte were all healthy, that's a formidable bench.  However, none of them were when it counted.

Yeah, on paper our bench was FAR better last year.  Unfortunately, as we all saw, the team on the court was much different from the one on paper last season.

[TitleMaster]

For me, this is the part which is annoying.

For the current C's generation to win it all, we need not only the best starting 5 but also, the best bench in the league. I really wish that we could actually overachieve, once in a while.

Unfortunately, it just doesn't seem to be the case. Realize ... in '08, the 2nd best scorer on the Cavs was Delonte West. Yet, they overachieved and brought the series to a decisive game 7 by a lot of hustle play and of course, LeBron taking over in crunch time.

This for me, is the opposite of the Cowens/Havlicek era, where in fact, an injury to one (Havlicek's elbow in '73) or the other (Cowen's ankle in '75) stopped a 4-peat. And the Knicks, back then, did have the best starting five in the league (Bradley, Reed, DeBusschere, Frazier, Monroe), better than any team today. And the Warriors and the Bucks were also quite formidable with Unseld/Hayes & Kareem/Big O/Dandridge.