CB Draft Eastern Semis: (1) Bulls vs. (4) Celtics

[Kane3387]

If you're making the series come down to DJ Augustin....

That's like arguing Glen Davis or Brandon Bass will decide a series, doesn't make much sense.

Basically I saying this.

Holiday Vs Augustin isn't a huge disadvantage.
Wade Vs Westbrook is neutral
Artest really impact Pierce and limits him
Bosh Vs Griffin or Gasol is neutral
Young Vs Griffin or Gasol is a big disadvantage for the Bulls and that's what the series comes down too.

My Big three is all playing 40 minutes or more. Due to how DJ plays against Holiday he will match up with Jrue minute wise. Russ will always play Wade. My starters will play heavy minutes. Artest will match up with Pierce foe the most part. Jackson will spell him for a few minutes but my depth will not be utilized much.

Due to the fact that 4 out of my 5 starters are 27 years old are younger I believe they can handle the load for one series.

[Kane3387]

So Westbrook is Holiday's primary assignment?

If he is then I am fine with it. Wade is a much better defender then Holiday. DJ will be spotting up. Not controlling the ball and trying to take Wade off the dribble.

[indeedproceed]

And my wife just yelled at me to get off the phone, so I'm likely done until this evening.

Just remember: Russell Westbrook had The highest usage rate among starting PGs, and one of the lowest assist rates. How is that guy gonna get Blake griffin, Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, good looks?

He's not. Westbrook is gonna get 20 a game. He's gonna take too many shots to do it, and Griffin, Jackson, and Artest are going to be left to create their own shots, which they're terrible at, and the Celtics Re going to lose.

BULLS IN 5!

[Kane3387]

Bosh will light up Gasol's life. Wade's gonna use his physicality and talent to make Westbrook break his back guarding him, Holiday is going to significantly limit Westbrook, making Westbrook work way too hard on both ends for middling results

Lol break his back? Westbrook at worse matched Wade stride for stride.

Bosh better he hitting his jumper. He isn't doing anything inside and you're incredibly weak on defense and in regards to rebounding in the paint.

The fact is that these Celtics don't have the accessories to make their main weapons work. No Harden to help move the ball, no gifted passers on the wing, no Z-Bo to counter Gasol, no Chris Paul to elevate Blake Griffin's game beyond a highlight machine and not much else.

DJ can pass the ball fine. He is a pg. His name isn't James Harden but he play the facilitator role at a similar level. He just can't create his own offense the same. Blake Griffin played great with Eric Bledsoe, Baron Davis, and Mo Williams. I think Russell can fit in with that tier and work with Blake.

Marc Gasol can play with Blake Griffin. If he couldn't then we wouldn't be in the second rounds of the playoffs. And you interior Defense is nothing like the Wizards.

[Kane3387]

And my wife just yelled at me to get off the phone, so I'm likely done until this evening.

To be fair. I will stay off of here until this evening also.

Just remember: Russell Westbrook had The highest usage rate among starting PGs, and one of the lowest assist rates. How is that guy gonna get Blake griffin, Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, good looks?


He's not. Westbrook is gonna get 20 a game. He's gonna take too many shots to do it, and Griffin, Jackson, and Artest are going to be left to create their own shots, which they're terrible at, and the Celtics Re going to lose.

Russ isn't completely running the offense.

I think Roy put me in my place about Usage. Didn't Rondo have a lower usage rate then Bass? That doesn't mean much. Fact is Russell averaged over 8 apg before Harden was given a bigger role in the offense. His apg went down because he wasn't handling the ball as much in a facilitator type role. He was asked to attack more like we are doing here.

Don't get me wrong Augustin will have the ball in his hands, but he won't be looking to score with it. He will give it to Russ for that. Think Chalmers with Wade.

[dark_lord]

going with the bulls here

[Who]

I don't understand why DJ Augustin would play ahead of Rip Hamilton.

You can still put Westbrook on Wade defensively. Just have Rip defend Jrue Holiday. He'll do a better job on Jrue than DJ Augustin will + make whoever is guarding him (Rip) on the other end work harder than Augustin will.

[indeedproceed]

http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=2233

Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia: Coming out of UCLA, the expectation was that Holiday would be better defensively than on offense. Instead, his defense was inconsistent early in his career, but he had a fine season for one of the league's top defensive teams. Holiday's numbers were solid across the board. His long arms and quickness make him tough for opponents to beat.

Dwyane Wade, Miami: More than most players on this list, Wade has a tendency to conserve his energy defensively. Still, no guard in the league is superior as a help defender. Wade's block percentage was not only tops among shooting guards but second among all perimeter players behind Toronto's James Johnson (who merits some attention for his defensive work as well).

That's what basketball prospectus said about Jrue Holiday and Dwyane Wade. I'm putting Holiday on Westbrook so wade can play more off the ball and conserve his energy on defense, so his superiority over Westbrook at full health can be that much more pronounced.

And now seriously im done. Cya tonight and if ya don't vote for me, don't bother expecting a Christmas card!

[KCattheStripe]

I'm leaning Celtics in this series because I'm worried about Pierce/Wade's injury history.

[Who]

Starters
PG: DJ Augustin vs Jrue Holiday = advantage Chicago
SG: Westbrook vs Wade = advantage Chicago
SF: Artest vs Pierce = advantage Chicago
PF: B.Griffin vs T.Young = advantage Boston
C:  M.Gasol vs C.Bosh = advantage Chicago

I like Chicago going smaller with Bosh at center and Thaddeus at power forward. I think it's their best lineup.

I am lower than most on Russell Westbrook. I still think his decision making is too weak to put up there with the best of the best. I also seem to rate Wade higher than most and still consider him an MVP caliber talent and believe he'd see a big bump without LeBron.

I also agree that Ron Artest does a great job defending Pierce and would slow him down considerably. There is still an advantage there for Chicago though.

I think Marc Gasol will get quite a bit of joy attacking Chris Bosh's defense but I think Bosh will create even more on the other end of the floor attacking Marc Gasol. I just don't think Gasol has enough quickness / mobility to cover a player like Bosh while also providing (or not providing as the case may be) effective team defense off of Bosh against dribble drive threats like Wade, Jrue and Pierce.

Blake Griffin is too big and powerful for Thaddeus Young. He'll have and will capitalize on those opportunities. Also, he'll pound Thaddeus on the boards.

I think Boston should play Rip Hamilton or Stephen Jackson instead of DJ Augustin.

[jgod213]

I dunno I'm still not convined that Chicago walks away with this series.

I'm having a hard time visualizing how that defense is going to keep Westbrook, Gasol, and Griffin from netting bigtime points in the paint.

I know IP is going to be MIA until tonight so I'll hold onto my votes until later, but I'm having trouble going one way or the other with this matchup right now.

[Fafnir]

I dunno I'm still not convined that Chicago walks away with this series.

I'm having a hard time visualizing how that defense is going to keep Westbrook, Gasol, and Griffin from netting bigtime points in the paint.

I know IP is going to be MIA until tonight so I'll hold onto my votes until later, but I'm having trouble going one way or the other with this matchup right now.

I'm thinking this would be a very offensive series, especially with Chicago going small.

But Chicago has a more cohesive offensive lineup, less weaknesses in their other options. Boston has less shooting and would need Griffin to do more than I think he's capable of to counteract the areas where Chicago is stronger.

[jgod213]

I dunno I'm still not convined that Chicago walks away with this series.

I'm having a hard time visualizing how that defense is going to keep Westbrook, Gasol, and Griffin from netting bigtime points in the paint.

I know IP is going to be MIA until tonight so I'll hold onto my votes until later, but I'm having trouble going one way or the other with this matchup right now.

I'm thinking this would be a very offensive series, especially with Chicago going small.

But Chicago has a more cohesive offensive lineup, less weaknesses in their other options. Boston has less shooting and would need Griffin to do more than I think he's capable of to counteract the areas where Chicago is stronger.

Well if asking him to play 2nd or 3rd fiddle in a series while matched against Thad Young is too much, then we need to start asking some serious Blake Griffin questions.

I agree with your concerns about the peripheral parts of this team.  Augustin and Hamilton aren't doing it for me.  They'd both be asked to commit to roles they aren't used to (spot up shooters).

[indeedproceed]

I dunno I'm still not convined that Chicago walks away with this series.

I'm having a hard time visualizing how that defense is going to keep Westbrook, Gasol, and Griffin from netting bigtime points in the paint.

I know IP is going to be MIA until tonight so I'll hold onto my votes until later, but I'm having trouble going one way or the other with this matchup right now.

I got a few minutes while the wife takes a nap til dinner, but here goes:

1) during the regular season, Dwyane Wade was the third best player in the NBA. in the playoffs, he wasn't. He was still good, but not as good as he had been. People keep on short selling him, But he played hurt during a lot of the regular season, and into the playoffs he needed knee surgery, but would rather play hurt than get the treatment done.

The treatment will be the same exact treatment Blake Griffin needed. You guys aren't writing off 'two knee surgeries in three years' Blake Griffin, but you're acting like Dwyane Wade is suddenly ordinary.

I'm playing him less minutes than he's ever played during the regular season, I've still surrounded him with the best 2nd and 3rd offensive option in the CB Draft, and I've got great depth around him to make sure (as opposed to the real heat) that the lead isnt only good when him and Pierce we're in the game. I did all this so that the guy I got during the playoffs was the same guy who averaged 22, 5, and 6 during the regular season on 50% shooting.

If you buy that, it's my series.

2) Blake Griffin can't create his own shot. He might be the best scoring 4 in transition, he is a highlight machine, but he's at his best when a saavy passer is consistently getting him the ball with excellent position. He doesn't have that guy here, and the best passer on his team is a center.

3) Marc Gasol should be able to score on Chris Bosh, but not nearly as well as Bosh scores on Gasol, and Gasol won't have the elite athletic defenders around him that he has on Memphis.

In short, they'll be able to score on me, there will be some highlight dunks from Blake Griffin, but we'll run them off the court, we're the more cohesive team, and we'll work better together. I've taken every precaution to make sure my boys will be healthy, and I've surrounded them with complimentary talents. Boston has a ton of talent at the top, but they're weak everywhere else, and their talents are not complimentary.

Russell Westbrook had the highest usage rate of any pg and the lowest assist rate of any starting pg (3rd lowest overall, behind just Jimmer Fredette and Jenerro Pargo)

What does that mean? It means of all the point guards in the league, Russell Westbrook used the lowest ratio of his league high possessions to make passes that ended in assists. More often than any other point guard, he opted to shoot the ball or turn it over.

Is that the guy who will get the most out of Blake Griffin and Marc Gasol? No. Both guys played with exceptional passing point guards, and didn't make the playoffs until they did.

Good talent, terrible fit, bad depth, middling team. This is who is playing the Bulls.



That's why we win.

[StartOrien]

Bosh will not 'light up Gasol' one bit.

Marc is an absolute tree in the post, heckuva passer and an above average defender. If you're going to match the two of those up the edge is going to the Lion's mane, Marc Gasol