CB Draft Western Finals: (1) Mavericks vs. (2) Blazers

[Kane3387]

i really dont know what team to vote for as i feel like this is the only team that could beat Dallas, if IP would have had this team he would have won.

 

Wow. This is the kind of thing you hate to see in a competition such as this. I think for the most part Portland has put together some good arguments.

[Kane3387]

That being said. I am going with Dallas.

Congrats to both Portland and Dallas for a great job making the WCF.

[ronaldo943]

i really dont know what team to vote for as i feel like this is the only team that could beat Dallas, if IP would have had this team he would have won.

 

Wow. This is the kind of thing you hate to see in a competition such as this. I think for the most part Portland has put together some good arguments.

No what im saying is jgod has put up a great argument but IP has the "IP Factor" he just knows how to convince people.

[Kane3387]

My votes are in. I will be back tomorrow for the Finals. Best of luck to whoever makes it there.

[jgod213]

Haha, I love the little pot shots and whatnot.  Whaddaya know, finally feels like the CB Draft!

Seriously though I don't need people to defend me or try to make arguements for me.  I'm a big boy I can handle myself. 

I mean if you want to let Roy convince you that Kyrie Irving is currently Dwayne Wade then so be it.

No but honestly I'm a big Kyrie Irving fan.  I love the swagger (hate the word) on the kid.

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Offensively, Portland boasts a huge matchup advantage at the center position and at the 2-guard spot.  Huge as in expect both men to outscore their counterparts by something near 25 combined points.

This gap isn't going to be eclipsed by LeBron himself.  Not by Jeff Green over Wilson Chandler. 

That means that Kyrie Irving needs to essentially BE Dwayne Wade.  He NEEDS to outscore Rubio by 10+ points while all while keeping Rubio from increasing that point bridge via getting others excellent looks and spacing.

I know most of the opinions are hardened by now, but I'm not of the mind that Irving is ready to step into those shoes.  Not defensively.  Love the swagger, but he's not Wade yet.  And he needs to be if the Mavs are winning this series.

[Roy H.]

Offensively, Portland boasts a huge matchup advantage at the center position and at the 2-guard spot.  Huge as in expect both men to outscore their counterparts by something near 25 combined points.

So, is Elton Brand scoring negative 10 points, or will it be Varejao? 

In terms of real life performance, both Brand and Varejao have limited Howard.  He's a non-scoring star with a bad back.  To think that he's going to be getting 35 points a night seems a bit ambitious.

That means that Kyrie Irving needs to essentially BE Dwayne Wade.  He NEEDS to outscore Rubio by at 10+ points while all while keeping Rubio from increasing that point bridge via getting others excellent looks and spacing.

Since Rubio shoots somewhere between 30% and 35% from the field, and declined consistently as the season went on, I'm pretty sure that Irving can consistently outscore him.  Kyrie Irving was a savant his rookie season.  Rubio was a good passer who couldn't throw a rock into the ocean.

I know most of the opinions are hardened by now, but I'm not of the mind that Irving is ready to step into those shoes.  Not defensively.  Love the swagger, but he's not Wade yet.  And he needs to be if the Mavs are winning this series.

No offense meant, but that's kind of silly.  Irving just needs to be Irving.  18 to 25 points, extremely efficient, clutch baskets.

[KCattheStripe]

Honest question for Dallas, there's been a lot of talk about Kyrie Irving's clutchness. Given the dominance of LeBron this past post season, why should anyone care about how clutch Irving is? Most of those clutch plays come from him initiating the play, why would he be doing that when you have Lebron? Miami went away from dwayne Wade in the clutch, why would you go towards Kyrie when he's never been in the playoffs before?

[Roy H.]

Honest question for Dallas, there's been a lot of talk about Kyrie Irving's clutchness. Given the dominance of LeBron this past post season, why should anyone care about how clutch Irving is? Most of those clutch plays come from him initiating the play, why would he be doing that when you have Lebron? Miami went away from dwayne Wade in the clutch, why would you go towards Kyrie when he's never been in the playoffs before?

Clutchness is never a bad thing.  There are going to be times when Lebron can't take the final shot.  Rather than chucking up jumpers while triple teamed, Kobe-style, Lebron needs to be able to trust his teammates.

Michael Jordan is one of the most clutch athletes of all-time.  I think we'd all agree on that.  However, two of the most famous plays of the Jordan-era are MJ deferring to Steve Kerr for a game-winner, and another game winner by John Paxson.

The fact that Kyrie Irving and Ben Gordon have both shown the willingness and ability to take and make big shots is a huge plus in my mind.  Sure, Lebron is going to have the ball in his hands at the end of every game, but he'll have the freedom to make the best decision.  If passing makes sense, he's got guys who can bury the shot.

[jgod213]

So, is Elton Brand scoring negative 10 points, or will it be Varejao? 

A 30/20 split (for 48) at the center position is more than fair considering Brand's last 3 games v Howard.  And I think 25/15 is just as fair considering Thabo will only be giving you ~5 a night. It's not 25, but it could be depending on the play of Rubio and the defense by Irving.

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Since Rubio shoots somewhere between 30% and 35% from the field, and declined consistently as the season went on, I'm pretty sure that Irving can consistently outscore him.  Kyrie Irving was a savant his rookie season.  Rubio was a good passer who couldn't throw a rock into the ocean.

I'm just going to let ESPN help me out here.  Rubio was on par with what Irving was doing for a while, just not in the same way.  Obviously Rubio slowed and regressed a bit but let's not cut the kid from the roster yet.
 

Rubio was known as a closer because as the game went on, he got better. When his season came to an end, his 71 fourth-quarter assists were the most of any player in the NBA, rookie or not.

But Rubio's impact was about more than just passing. Rubio notched 12 games with at least 10 points and 10 assists, trailing only Steve Nash (18) and Deron Williams (14).
 
Had he finished the season with enough games to qualify, Rubio's season averages (10.6 PPG, 8.2 APG, 2.2 SPG) would have put him in exceedingly rare company. He would have joined Phil Ford, Mark Jackson and Tim Hardaway as just the fourth rookie in NBA history to reach those season thresholds.

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No offense meant, but that's kind of silly.  Irving just needs to be Irving.  18 to 25 points, extremely efficient, clutch baskets.

Nobody winks at me and calls me silly in one post and gets away with it Roy.  Not after that one time.

I don't think it's outside the realm of thought to question if a kid going into his second year, with a completely different role, will be able to bump his scoring by more that 5-7 more points while maintaining the same efficiency.  To ask that of Irving without considering progression for Rubio, despite what he accomplished, is a lot.

[Roy H.]

[Roy H.]

[nickagneta]

Geesh Kane, I was just asking for some clarification because I didnt see the similarities in the teams, which I stated. Besides being lazy, unobjective, and spouting hyperbole I must not be too bright either to not see the clear similarities between the four teams in question. Sorry I bothered to ask for clarification. It wont happen again.

[StartOrien]

Where do I send ma vote

[Roy H.]

Where do I send ma vote

Send a PM to CB Draft Voting.

[Roy H.]

Geesh Kane, I was just asking for some clarification because I didnt see the similarities in the teams, which I stated. Besides being lazy, unobjective, and spouting hyperbole I must not be too bright either to not see the clear similarities between the four teams in question. Sorry I bothered to ask for clarification. It wont happen again.

Unobjective and hyperbole-spouting:  this is what makes nick a great Co-GM.