CB Draft Finals: (1) Mavericks vs. (1) Bulls

[Roy H.]

DALLAS MAVERICKS VS. CHICAGO BULLS

CrotoNats ReUnited (Coach - L. Bird / F. Vogel):

A. Varejao / R. Lopez / J. Anthony
Lebron / E. Brand
J. Green / M. Dunleavy / L. Kleiza
T. Sefolosha / B. Gordon
K. Irving / A. Brooks / K. Dooling

Chicago Bulls

Guards: Dwyane Wade, Jrue Holiday, Jarret Jack, Jeremy Lamb, Alexey Shved
Forwards: Paul Pierce, Chris Bosh, Thad Young, Chandler Parsons, Jimmy Butler
Centers: Tiago Splitter, Brendan Haywood, Nikola Vucevic

[Roy H.]

Rather than do a huge opening statement, we'd prefer that GMs just submit questions.  We'll eventually address strategy, lineups, etc., but that won't be until late this afternoon.  In the interim, shoot us questions, doubts, etc., and we'll do our best to respond.

[Who]

Another team with tough matchups for Ben Gordon with Dwyane Wade and Paul Pierce on the wing. I think Ben Gordon will be largely limited to whatever court time Jarrett Jack gets. Probably around 16-20 minutes.

[Who]

Another team with tough matchups for Ben Gordon with Dwyane Wade and Paul Pierce on the wing. I think Ben Gordon will be largely limited to whatever court time Jarrett Jack gets. Probably around 16-20 minutes.

I wonder if Dallas could use Ben Gordon against Chandler Parsons.

A huge size disparity there obviously but I'm not sure Parsons has the skill level (shot-creation skills) to take advantage of Gordon.

I've never really seen Parsons create his own shot-attempts or play in the post. Against normal sized defenders or smaller defenders. I haven't seen anyone as small as Ben Gordon on him but I've seen SGs (6-5 to 6-7) defend Parsons before without Parsons exploiting his size advantage.

Ben Gordon adds a lot of offensive firepower to the table for Dallas. Not sure Parsons can add enough against Gordon to justify keeping him on the floor for Chicago. The Mavs may be to able to force Parsons off the court and go with more small backcourts / playing time for Jarrett Jack.

[Who]

Starters
C: Bosh vs Varejao = advantage Chicago
F: Pierce vs LeBron = advantage Dallas
F: T.Young vs J.Green = neutral
G: Wade vs Thabo = advantage Chicago
G: Jrue vs Kyrie = unsure

Main Bench
C: Splitter/Haywood vs Brand/R.Lopez = unsure, leaning towards neutral
F: Parsons vs Dunleavy = advantage Dallas
G: J.Jack vs B.Gordon = advantage Dallas

Head Coach: Pat Riley vs Larry Legend = advantage Dallas

Notes

I thought Jrue Holiday played better than Kyrie Irving last year but Kyrie may be able to surpass him by this time next season. Unsure.

Thabo and Varejao are excellent defensive matchups for Wade and Bosh respectively.

I presume Chicago will rotate Paul Pierce, Thaddeus Young and probably some Chandler Parsons against LeBron James. I think Pierce is their best defender there. Then Parsons. Then Thaddeus. I think all three of those guys can check Jeff Green well. So, I think those matchups are all interchangeable for both teams.

I think this also allows Dallas to put LeBron James on Paul Pierce and really take Pierce out of the series. Leave Jeff Green to check Thaddeus Young. As a result, I imagine Jrue Holiday will be more important as a third scorer than Pierce is.

[StartOrien]

Rather than do a huge opening statement, we'd prefer that GMs just submit questions.  We'll eventually address strategy, lineups, etc., but that won't be until late this afternoon.  In the interim, shoot us questions, doubts, etc., and we'll do our best to respond.

is this a series that wed see lebron play more three?

[StartOrien]

I don't like breaking down advantages position by position. I think people look at it too quickly and don't end up thinking about it too much - the difference between lebron and pierce is significantly greater than the difference between bosh and andy

[StartOrien]

To be clear, I'm not implying who wone be thoughtful in this matchup - cuz he will probably end up giving it as much thought as roy and ip - but I think some people read that post and go "ya, three to two advantage" and vote

[jgod213]

IP,

Seems like both point guards will be playing off the ball a lot here.  Are the roles of Holiday/Irving the same in this matchup?  How do you see Holiday faring against Irving?

Roy,

From a quick glance it appears that Elton Brand has struggled defensively against Chris Bosh while Andy V has had some measure of success. 

With that in mind, will we see a big shift in minutes for those 2 from the Portland matchup to the Bulls matchup? What's the Bosh plan?

[ronaldo943]

Starters
C: Bosh vs Varejao = advantage Chicago
F: Pierce vs LeBron = advantage Dallas
F: T.Young vs J.Green = neutral
G: Wade vs Thabo = advantage Chicago
G: Jrue vs Kyrie = unsure

Main Bench
C: Splitter/Haywood vs Brand/R.Lopez = unsure, leaning towards neutral
F: Parsons vs Dunleavy = advantage Dallas
G: J.Jack vs B.Gordon = advantage Dallas

Some of these are wrong

Thad Young vs Jeff Green= advantage chicago
Kyrie vs Jrue= advantage dallas
Jack vs Gordon=adavantage chicao
parsons vs dunleavy= neutral

that being said i dont think it comes down to who has the more matchup wins.

[Who]

Starters
C: Bosh vs Varejao = advantage Chicago
F: Pierce vs LeBron = advantage Dallas
F: T.Young vs J.Green = neutral
G: Wade vs Thabo = advantage Chicago
G: Jrue vs Kyrie = unsure

Main Bench
C: Splitter/Haywood vs Brand/R.Lopez = unsure, leaning towards neutral
F: Parsons vs Dunleavy = advantage Dallas
G: J.Jack vs B.Gordon = advantage Dallas

Some of these are wrong

Thad Young vs Jeff Green= advantage chicago
Kyrie vs Jrue= advantage dallas
Jack vs Gordon=adavantage chicao
parsons vs dunleavy= neutral

that being said i dont think it comes down to who has the more matchup wins.

Why would you give a matchup advantage to

(1) Thaddeus Young over Jeff Green?
(2) Jarrett Jack over Ben Gordon?

And why would you consider

(3) Parsons and Dunleavy an even matchup?

[dark_lord]

u cant just break down player vs player/position vs position.  u have to take it a step further and analyze the entire team as a collective unit, as well as gameplans.

[ronaldo943]

Starters
C: Bosh vs Varejao = advantage Chicago
F: Pierce vs LeBron = advantage Dallas
F: T.Young vs J.Green = neutral
G: Wade vs Thabo = advantage Chicago
G: Jrue vs Kyrie = unsure

Main Bench
C: Splitter/Haywood vs Brand/R.Lopez = unsure, leaning towards neutral
F: Parsons vs Dunleavy = advantage Dallas
G: J.Jack vs B.Gordon = advantage Dallas

Some of these are wrong

Thad Young vs Jeff Green= advantage chicago
Kyrie vs Jrue= advantage dallas
Jack vs Gordon=adavantage chicao
parsons vs dunleavy= neutral

that being said i dont think it comes down to who has the more matchup wins.

Why would you give a matchup advantage to

(1) Thaddeus Young over Jeff Green?
(2) Jarrett Jack over Ben Gordon?

And why would you consider

(3) Parsons and Dunleavy an even matchup?

Cause Thaddeus Young came off a great season and Jeff Green had surgery.
Jarrett Jack had a better season than Gordon

As for the Dunleavy and Parsons id say it is an advantage for Dallas (reason why i thought it was neutral was cause i though dunlevay had gotten injured this year.)

[ronaldo943]

i think i might go with Chicago here, dont know yet.

[Who]

Starters
C: Bosh vs Varejao = advantage Chicago
F: Pierce vs LeBron = advantage Dallas
F: T.Young vs J.Green = neutral
G: Wade vs Thabo = advantage Chicago
G: Jrue vs Kyrie = unsure

Main Bench
C: Splitter/Haywood vs Brand/R.Lopez = unsure, leaning towards neutral
F: Parsons vs Dunleavy = advantage Dallas
G: J.Jack vs B.Gordon = advantage Dallas

Some of these are wrong

Thad Young vs Jeff Green= advantage chicago
Kyrie vs Jrue= advantage dallas
Jack vs Gordon=adavantage chicao
parsons vs dunleavy= neutral

that being said i dont think it comes down to who has the more matchup wins.

Why would you give a matchup advantage to

(1) Thaddeus Young over Jeff Green?
(2) Jarrett Jack over Ben Gordon?

And why would you consider

(3) Parsons and Dunleavy an even matchup?

Cause Thaddeus Young came off a great season and Jeff Green had surgery.
Jarrett Jack had a better season than Gordon

As for the Dunleavy and Parsons id say it is an advantage for Dallas (reason why i thought it was neutral was cause i though dunlevay had gotten injured this year.)

I would look at Jarrett Jack as a fairly average player across the board. Then Ben Gordon as a high level offensive threat and a dodgy defender/rebounder as an undersized SG.

I don't think Jarrett Jack's skill-set really bothers Ben Gordon defensively. Jack isn't a speedy PG who can blow by Ben Gordon or a big wing (SG) who can punish the smaller the Ben Gordon. Nor is Jack a highly skilled offensive player (like I said, fairly average across the board).  I think that is a fine defensive matchup for Ben Gordon and for Dallas.

On the other end, Ben Gordon is still a highly skilled offensive weapon. An explosive shooter/scorer who can create his own offense. I think he creates a lot of added value (offensive punch) there for Dallas.

That is why I'd give Ben Gordon the advantage over Jack.