2012 CB Draft NW Division Press Conferences

[GreenFaith1819]

OJ Mayo is a bit of a connundrum for me. He's talented, he can create off the dribble alright, he can pass alright, he's got a rep (and the stats) as a sound defensive player, and he seems to be an alright shooter.

But something is amiss for me there. Why'd he lose his starting spot to Tony Allen? Allen is a wicked defender, but he's not a shooter, he's not good off the dribble unless he's really picking his spots, and he can't even hit the corner 3 like Battier always could. I can see wanting his scoring off the bench, but I mean...

So what's the deal there?

Here is my reasoning for O.J.

The rub with O.J. is that "he wasn't good enough to start in MEM." I received this argument from some GMs attempting to pry him from me. While this is only partly true, the fact of the matter is that Tony Allen plays stellar defense. The THEN Memphis team focus was on keeping Rudy-Marc-ZBo happy with touches. This subsequently left Mike Conley with the ball much of the time, and the leftover touches with OJ (as the starter).

For better Team balance, it was better to bring Mayo off the bench as an offensive sparkplug after Tony Allen arrived in MEM.

T.A. added to the defensive and offensive rythym of the Real MEM teams - in that he didn't need or require touches to be effective, and this left him as the 5th option on offense, which suits him well.

As good as T.A. is defensively, he has only improved marginally as an offensive threat since he left BOS.

In THIS fantasy format O.J. will be one of the primary scorers.

Is any team in the real NBA geared around "Four Proven scorers" - all starting?

On most successful teams, you have "Three"...Pierce, KG, Ray...Bosh, Wade, LeBron....Duncan, TP and Manu...Kobe, Pau, Bynum...Rose, Boozer and Noah...Horford, Smith, JJ....Larry, Chief, McHale...Kareem, Worthy, Magic...

In some extreme cases, you have OKC, with Durant and Westbrook as "Two"..but even then they bring Harden off the bench.

I can easily see why there was simply not enough basketball to go around in MEM - Lionel Hollins seemed to favor Rudy-ZBo-Marc as The Three, with Conley as the 4th option. It was simply better to bring OJ off the bench as instant offense.

[indeedproceed]

One thing that bears mentioning: MEM was a deep team even with the injury to Z-Bo. But in all the time Mayo was on the floor with them, a lot of it with the starters, he only managed a net + 31 points.

That means if you took all the points his team scored while he was on the floor, subtracted all the points scored against his team while he was on the floor, they're only +31 points on the year. That should mean something. It's not a bad team, it's a good team, so you can't point to his supporting cast as the main factor.

[jgod213]

I do have another concern about DH, though - how comfortable do you feel with him being at the line? He shot less than 500 from there last yr.

I certainly wouldn't employ my team in "Hack-A-Dwight" schemes, but do you consider this to be a major concern against perhaps other teams?

That's a good point, GF. Not something i've put much thought into yet, honestly.  I guess my take is that, if a team is employing the hack-a-dwight strategy then they're just about out of better options defensively.  Late in games your going to see Joe Johnson doing a lot of the heavy lifting anyways. 

I think Utah might have enough to overtake Portland for regular season wins. Brandon Knight is just...he's not the guy you want starting a lot of games. I know jgod swung for the fences here, but I wish he had a more stable option.

But at the same time, Joe Johnson enabled Jeff Teague to snag a starting role, because he took some of the burden off of him.

I think Knight might be catching a little more individual flak than he's due.  After all the kid did come in as a rookie and was forced to take the reigns of a really bad basketball team - on which he still put up 14/4/3 while shooting 3's at a 38% clip.  I guess maybe we were all a bit spoiled by the Rubio/Irving phenomenon. 

It is obvious that he's not clear of growing pains, though.  That's why Beno Udrih would have first dibs at any spot-starts or minutes bump as a result of Rubio's transition back to full speed.

Personally i'm not even convinced that Rubio is going to miss much if any time anyways.  He'll have a solid 4-8 weeks to get up to speed between training camp and real games.  Obviously he will need to be eased along, but i don't believe that there will be a stream of "Rubio-DNP's" showing up on the box scores for any significant stretch of time.  At least not until i hear reports to the contrary.

[GreenFaith1819]

One thing that bears mentioning: MEM was a deep team even with the injury to Z-Bo. But in all the time Mayo was on the floor with them, a lot of it with the starters, he only managed a net + 31 points.

That means if you took all the points his team scored while he was on the floor, subtracted all the points scored against his team while he was on the floor, they're only +31 points on the year. That should mean something. It's not a bad team, it's a good team, so you can't point to his supporting cast as the main factor.

I think this doesn't mean much in the scheme of things HERE, to be honest.

O.J. is not a bad player - he will prove that in DAL.

I realize that there will be some that I won't change their minds, and that is ok.

[GreenFaith1819]

So..any more questions, IP?

[indeedproceed]

I was more waxing philosophical about OJ than commenting on your squad, GF. Hope you know that. Here is a good question about your team:

Conley-Mayo-Ariza-Boozer-Garnett isn't all that different in the theory behind it than Conley-Mayo-Gay-Randolph-Gasol.

But the version with a healthy Z-Bo and Rudy Gay still managed to just barely outs ore opponents.

http://www.82games.com/1011/10MEM5.HTM#5man

Why is your team better than that one?

[GreenFaith1819]

I was more waxing philosophical about OJ than commenting on your squad, GF. Hope you know that. Here is a good question about your team:

Conley-Mayo-Ariza-Boozer-Garnett isn't all that different in the theory behind it than Conley-Mayo-Gay-Randolph-Gasol.

But the version with a healthy Z-Bo and Rudy Gay still managed to just barely outs ore opponents.

http://www.82games.com/1011/10MEM5.HTM#5man

Why is your team better than that one?

Why attempt to compare a real team to this fantasy format? - especially when a team is comprised of more than the starters?

[indeedproceed]

I was more waxing philosophical about OJ than commenting on your squad, GF. Hope you know that. Here is a good question about your team:

Conley-Mayo-Ariza-Boozer-Garnett isn't all that different in the theory behind it than Conley-Mayo-Gay-Randolph-Gasol.

But the version with a healthy Z-Bo and Rudy Gay still managed to just barely outs ore opponents.

http://www.82games.com/1011/10MEM5.HTM#5man

Why is your team better than that one?

Why attempt to compare a real team to this fantasy format? - especially when a team is comprised of more than the starters?

Well, to answer the first part, because it gives you a kind of real-life baseline to compare it back to.

To answer your second part, I'll refine my question:

Why would your starting 5 of Conley-Mayo-Ariza-Boozer-Garnet out perform Conley-Mayo-Gay-Randolph-Gasol?

They have the same backcourt, and both have bullish PFs who can score around the rim and hit a 10 ft jumper, both have very good defensive centers who pass well and operate best from 15 feet on offense, while not being so good on the boards.

[GreenFaith1819]

I was more waxing philosophical about OJ than commenting on your squad, GF. Hope you know that. Here is a good question about your team:

Conley-Mayo-Ariza-Boozer-Garnett isn't all that different in the theory behind it than Conley-Mayo-Gay-Randolph-Gasol.

But the version with a healthy Z-Bo and Rudy Gay still managed to just barely outs ore opponents.

http://www.82games.com/1011/10MEM5.HTM#5man

Why is your team better than that one?

Why attempt to compare a real team to this fantasy format? - especially when a team is comprised of more than the starters?

Well, to answer the first part, because it gives you a kind of real-life baseline to compare it back to.

To answer your second part, I'll refine my question:

Why would your starting 5 of Conley-Mayo-Ariza-Boozer-Garnet out perform Conley-Mayo-Gay-Randolph-Gasol?

They have the same backcourt, and both have bullish PFs who can score around the rim and hit a 10 ft jumper, both have very good defensive centers who pass well and operate best from 15 feet on offense, while not being so good on the boards.

The difference, then, is KG.

He imprints his teamwork and defensive philosphy on any team he's on.

KG's a better rebounder than Marc.

KG has shown the ability to be clutch...Marc has not, yet. Marc played very well in 10-11 playoffs, but not KG-like.

I just don't see Marc doing the same things EVEN NOW, that KG is doing at 35-36 years of age. Marc, while a very good center, won't approach KG's level.

To further comment - Paul Pierce is a better player than Trevor right now. Pierce is (IMO) a top 20-30 player (if not higher) and Trevor, while being a great find for me in the 5th round, is IMO a top 100-120 player. Even with that, I consider that Ariza did inexplicably drop some. He is a better player than what he's shown in NOH.

Boozer's shown the ability to guard Centers - ZBo has not, yet. The remainder of their games, Boozer and ZBo - are similar, though, like you stated.

But to summarize - I really believe that the answer to your question is in two letters - KG.

[GreenFaith1819]

Very Thoughtful Question, IP - that one makes you think.

KG, to me, means SO MUCH more to a team than what his stats show. He is, IMO, one of a handful of players throughout the history of the NBA that has the "It" factor..."It" can't always be explained...IMO, these players have had "It"

Magic, Larry, Russell, Jordan, Dr. J, Duncan, West, Kareem, KG, Kobe, Hakeem, Shaq, Wilt (later in his career), LeBron...I think even Charles Barkley has shown flashes of "It".

Too bad he had Jordan standing in his way.

These players I mentioned - perhaps a few more - elevates their teams just by being on the floor.

[indeedproceed]

I think that KG is a better defender than Marc Gasol. With Dwight Howard out, he was the best defensive center in the league.

But I also think that Boozer is a pretty decent step behind a healthy Z-Bo.

Ariza, on the other hand was really the main juxst of my question. He's typically regarded as havig one of the worst shot selections in basketball, and IIRC, didn't even get much of a 'Chris Paul Bump'.

What do you think your squad does that will keep Ariza efficient?

Also, TP for answering all the questions.

[GreenFaith1819]

I think that KG is a better defender than Marc Gasol. With Dwight Howard out, he was the best defensive center in the league.

But I also think that Boozer is a pretty decent step behind a healthy Z-Bo.

Ariza, on the other hand was really the main juxst of my question. He's typically regarded as havig one of the worst shot selections in basketball, and IIRC, didn't even get much of a 'Chris Paul Bump'.

What do you think your squad does that will keep Ariza efficient?

Also, TP for answering all the questions.

Thanks, same to you (TP).

Ariza will, on most nights, be the 5th option on offense for us. He will make his mark mainly on the defensive end, being that he averages 1.7 stls, nearly a block, and over 5 rebs - all from the SF spot.

I don't think there is a team ever comprised of good scorers at every spot - in real life or here.

And for this alleged "CP3 Bump" that I've seen mentioned, he couldn't help Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan get adequate post-up games or free throw percentages. As much as I like both players, they have flaws that I believe won't be fixed quickly.

[GreenFaith1819]

But I also think that Boozer is a pretty decent step behind a healthy Z-Bo.

How so? Just curious.

[Roy H.]

But I also think that Boozer is a pretty decent step behind a healthy Z-Bo.

How so? Just curious.

Yeah, I don't agree with this.  I think they're pretty much equals.  Boozer's numbers took a dip this past year -- largely due to a dip in playing time -- but he's still the same player he always was.  If you feed him in the post, he'll give you 18 to 20 points per night, and 10 to 12 rebounds, and he'll do it with high efficiency.

[indeedproceed]

But I also think that Boozer is a pretty decent step behind a healthy Z-Bo.

How so? Just curious.

Yeah, I don't agree with this.  I think they're pretty much equals.  Boozer's numbers took a dip this past year -- largely due to a dip in playing time -- but he's still the same player he always was.  If you feed him in the post, he'll give you 18 to 20 points per night, and 10 to 12 rebounds, and he'll do it with high efficiency.

You guys are both pretty right. Z-Bo is a bit of a better rebounder, but otherwise right. I'm wrong.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pcm_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&p1=boozeca01&y1=2012&p2=randoza01&y2=2011