CB Draft Western Semis: (1) Mavericks vs. (4) Suns

[Roy H.]

I mean, if you're giving me a roster of average players, except team A has Lebron, and team B has Durant and CP3, I'm taking Bron Bron's team.  He was that dominant last year.

You don't honestly believe this, do you? We're definitely starting to overrate Lebron. This dude needed Wade and Bosh to win.

Let's use Game 3 of the Finals as an example.  Bosh shot 3-for-12.  Wade shot 8-for-22.  The Heat still won, because Lebron had 29 and 14. 

[Who]

I am thinking that Phoenix's lack of depth and defensively capable players 2 through 4 is doing them in here.

I think the Suns starters will do fairly well against Dallas' starters but once they start going away from that Plan A ... I think Dallas keeps coming back with more and more weapons (gaining in strength) while Phoenix kind of wilts away.

Leaning towards Dallas.

[Who]

4. Kevin Love/Antawn Jamison/Jason Maxiell
5. Joakim Noah/Tristan Thompson/Reggie Evans

I think Jason Maxiell should be the first big off the bench for Phoenix.

[Who]

I think there is too much pressure on Tayshaun Prince (only above average defender on perimeter) and Joakim Noah (only above average interior defender) defensively.

If either one gets into foul trouble, the Suns ability to defend both Dallas as a collective and specifically LeBron James in an effective way ... gets really troublesome really fast.

[StartOrien]

Nightmare matchup for Phoenix*, Dallas takes this in a comfortable six game series with Steve Nash playing his heart out.

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*"The Heel" Roy Hobbs' next comment will be 'Everyone's a nightmare matchup for Dallas'

[BigAlTheFuture]

Every argument stated here is how the Suns can't defend Lebron. Let's not forget this is only one player. My team is the better overall team, clearly. Lebron can get his like he always does, but my team reminds me of the 2011 championship Dallas team that beat the Heat a few years ago. Strong defensive centers that can rebound (Noah and Chandler), stretch 4 that can beat you from the perimeter (Love and Dirk), long, versatile, perimeter defenders (Prince and Marion), strong jump shooters (Richardson and Terry), and pass-first point guards (Nash and Kidd).

Except Lebron's 2011 Heat > Lebron's Mavs and CB Draft Suns > 2011 Mavericks.

Prince's defensive assignment will be 'Bron. Prince obviously can't stop Lebron, but I think he'll limit him.

My defensive assignments;

Love vs Green
Noah vs Brand
Prince vs Bron
Nash vs Thabo
J-Rich vs Kyrie

[Roy H.]

My defensive assignments;

Love vs Green
Noah vs Brand
Prince vs Bron
Nash vs Thabo
J-Rich vs Kyrie

We're psyched to see this.

J-Rich can't cover Kyrie.  It's not even close.  The kid is going to explode for 25+ per night.

Similarly, Kevin Love can't cover Jeff Green.  In 10 H2H matchups, Green has averaged 16 points per game, while holding Love to 16 of his own.  Green is shooting 49.6% in those matchups.  Plus, Green brings Love out to the perimeter, so he won't be a factor on the boards.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/h2h_finder.cgi?request=1&p1=greenje02&p2=loveke01

Lastly, Lebron kills Tayshaun Prince.  They've matched up 17 times in the playoffs. Lebron is scoring 27.5 points with 9.4 boards, 7.2 assists, and 1.9 steals.  Prince averages 11.4 points on 35.3% shooting.  Last time they played, Lebron outscored Prince 36 points to 2. 

That's without getting into the huge advantage Dallas has on the bench.  Phoenix's defensive strategy plays exactly into Dallas' hands. 

[StartOrien]

I'm not sold on this Jeff Green covering Kevin Love argument, Love took some big steps in a season that Green had to sit out with a heart ailment and Kevin Love had improved drastically every season while Green has remained the same.

But I do hace to agree with Roy, J Rich would get huuuuuumiliated by kyrie irving pretty consistently.

Like I said above, this is a nightmare matchup for a well put together suns team: you don't have an acceptable defensive matchup for irving or lebron. I could see a series where maybe you could get by not being able to cover one of the two, but certainly not both.

[StartOrien]

Roy, do you feel comfortable with your teams ability to attack a zone? That could be an option for Phoenix, and not a bad one w/ noah in the middle and tayshaun roaming.

[Who]

Yeah, I don't think J-Rich has a prayer of staying with Kyrie Irving either.

Steve Nash is the Suns best defensive option against Irving. Just have to live with it.

[jgod213]

12/18/12 7:30pm

Minnesota Timberwolves @
Miami Heat

It'll be a fun watch, especially for you two.

[Roy H.]

Roy, do you feel comfortable with your teams ability to attack a zone? That could be an option for Phoenix, and not a bad one w/ noah in the middle and tayshaun roaming.

How do you beat a zone?

1)  Attacking it.  Lebron and Kyrie are amazing penetrators.

2) Great passing.  Again, Lebron + Kyrie.

3) Great shooting.  Lebron, Kyrie, Dunleavy, Gordon, etc., etc. are all great shooters.

[StartOrien]

Mike Dunleavy seems like a classic example of someone you see as undervalued Roy and keep pimping him continously until he gets some recognition. The numbers are certainly impressive from last season, but outisde this competition I have a hard time believing you believe he will continue to both stay healthy while remaining productive

[StartOrien]

Also, just attacking a zone didn't do the heat much good against the Mavericks in last years finals and there's certainly some parallels in this matchup.

[Kane3387]

Too much Lebron for Phoenix. They really have no one who can match him. Prince can't guard him. I remember the 2007 ECF and back then James owned him. Now?... Own would be an understatement.

I don't like the Jeff Green argument. Not only would he get owned by Love, especially in rebounding, the guy missed a whole season and isn't signed. It's unnerving bc/ we all know how the Celtics handle stuff like this.

I got Dallas in this series. Lebron is awful to matchup with for Dallas and he is that special.

That being said, no way he Lebron > KD + Nash.