2013 CB Draft: How's my CB Draft Team look?

[riah32]

Would probably start Caldwell-pope and then rub Joe Johnson out to run with the bench

Aren't you worried that might affect his energy level?

No not real worried at all.  Probably would put him in with the stars the second half.

[nickagneta]

I am thinking my top four teams in the West are - LA Lakers, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder.

I think those four are the title contenders in the West.

Gotta respectfully disagree with Golden State being in that top 4 and Minnesota not being in there. GSW's backcourt is average to not good and Hibbert seemed to regress last year until somewhat lit a fire under his fanny in the playoffs.

Minnesota's defense with Bradley, Chalmers, Battier, Lebron and Ibaka as a main unit is maybe the best in the league. With Ellis, Chalmers or Bradley, Lebron, Big Baby and Jordan as a second main unit the TWolves can go big as well and give opponents a different look and two dangerous scorers to defend against while still maintaining very good defense.

I just don't see Minny being lower than a second place finisher out West.

[Rondo2287]

Marvin Williams is injured too? Ugh, achilles injury. Yikes. Nasty injury. 

Eh, Jeff Taylor can double up as backup SF and Stuckey/Ray can get a bit more PT at SG if M.Williams doesn't recover well enough.

Looks like Williams is supposed to be back by training camp. 

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/08/22/jazz-could-get-marvin-williams-back-from-achilles-early-in-season/

[KGs Knee]

At 6'8" 220 lbs, George is equal in size to most backup PF's.  He is also far quicker than any of them as well.  Now, if other teams want to put their SF on him, that's fine, he'll still get his on them too.

Meanwhile, by having their PF "loosely" guard Ariza, this will just leave him wide open behind the 3 point line, where he shot 36% last year on 3.7 attempts per game.

He hasn't played any PF IRL, because he hasn't had to.  Doesn't mean he can't.  He is only 10lbs "lighter" than Melo (supposedly).

Will I play him there against all PF's, no.  But I'm not concerned about his ability to play there at least some of the time.

[nickagneta]

How is this team not getting any respect:

Roster looks like this:

Pg:Jennings Collison
Sg:Joe Johnson/Caldwell-Pope
Sf:Deng/Bennett/Thompson
PF:Melo/Tristian Thompson/Bennett
C:Bynum/ZAZA/Mullens

I don't think it would be easy but I would try to move, in a package or separately, Bynum, Jennings and the rookies. I buy Thompson as a back up to Melo and when JJ or Deng or Melo needs a rest he is the PF and the other 2 play the wings. I can see that and TT doesn't need to be a scorer. Just get those rebounds on both ends, which he can do.

Jennings is just a fit I do not like. Chalmers, Hill, Jack, Collison, or even Foye platooning with someone like Eric Bledsoe or CJ Watson, for me is a better working team and makes the offense flow better with an efficient three point shooter out at the PG spot that doesn't need the ball in his hands.

Bynum, well, convince the CB world he will be healthy and he's excellent. If they believe otherwise, and I think they do, you are in trouble.

And people, like me, just won't put you in high regard with rookies in a bad draft class playing a major role in your rotation.

Bynum and Pope to a team and Jennings and Bennett to another and see what you can get and you might be surprised just how much better this team is received. Of course, that is easier said than done.

[BleedGreen1989]

I am thinking my top four teams in the West are - LA Lakers, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder.

I think those four are the title contenders in the West.

Glad to see LA is getting the respect it deserves.

Possibly because we don't have the flash or pizazz, but its crazy to me that some people don't think Dirk and Marc Gasol can lead this team to a championship with the role players we've provided them with. The versatility this roster has makes it able to match up against any team in a playoff series.

[Who]

I am thinking my top four teams in the West are - LA Lakers, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder.

I think those four are the title contenders in the West.

Gotta respectfully disagree with Golden State being in that top 4 and Minnesota not being in there. GSW's backcourt is average to not good and Hibbert seemed to regress last year until somewhat lit a fire under his fanny in the playoffs.

Minnesota's defense with Bradley, Chalmers, Battier, Lebron and Ibaka as a main unit is maybe the best in the league. With Ellis, Chalmers or Bradley, Lebron, Big Baby and Jordan as a second main unit the TWolves can go big as well and give opponents a different look and two dangerous scorers to defend against while still maintaining very good defense.

I just don't see Minny being lower than a second place finisher out West.

I love Minnesota's defense. I am just not sure where I am with their offense. Especially when LeBron at SF alongside two big men. And with a slasher like Monta and a limited offensive guard like Bradley.

I really the potential of their small-ball lineups. Those lineups are really the only reason I would consider them on a par with the four other teams I listed above. Not wild about Ibaka or BBD at center though.

-----------------------------------

I think Golden State's big man rotation is incredible. Roy Hibbert, LaMarcus Aldridge and Zach Randolph. That is going to be a nightmare for opponents to matchup against.

I am also very fond of their backup guards. Lou Williams has been a sixth man of the year candidate for a couple of seasons now. I believe Reggie Jackson is going to be one next year. Plus they have Ben Gordon. Tremendous depth in the backcourt.

I also like Rudy Gay more than most. And I like the defensive talent of Gay and B.Rush with their size, length and athleticism on the wing. Especially with two seven footers behind them in Roy Hibbert and LaMarcus Aldridge. I think that is going to be a very difficult combination to score against.

[KGs Knee]

Anyways, wasn't trying to come across as confrontational (been a long week at work, and I've been rather cranky lately).

I'd still like to hear any thoughts on my roster.

TP to "action" for the input.

[rondoallaturca]

Milwaukee Bucks

PG: Mike Conley / Jerryd Bayless
SG: JJ Redick / Alonzo Gee
SF: Paul George / Trevor Ariza
PF: Ryan Anderson / Reggie Evans
 C: Emeka Okafor / Tyler Zeller / Greg Smith

Haven't yet decided how I plan on allotting minutes.  I do know George is going to see a decent amount of time at the 4, in order to force other teams to match up.  Not sure yet who will be the center when George plays at the 4.  Probably Okafor, but it really could be any one of my bigs.  Maybe I'll just put Anderson there and have all 5 guys stand behind the 3 point line.

Really surprised I was able to get Zeller in the 11th round.  He was a starter as a rookie last year and put up decent offensive numbers for a bad Cleveland team, and will likely end up starting again (since Cleveland signed that useless bum and terrible human being known as Andrew Bynum).

Open to any thoughts, suggestions, or whatever.

For me, you're getting excited about all the wrong reasons. You lineup is already very balanced and it's counterproductive to try and create further mismatches by playing George at the 4, which will only create more problems for you than the opponent IMO.

Tyler Zeller is an incredibly underwhelming player who only got minutes last season because of Varejao's injury and Cleveland tanking. Otherwise, his frame is not quite up to the rigors of the NBA, and I really wouldn't call his numbers "decent" by any stretch of the imagination. Greg Smith is the superior player and he should leap Zeller as the backup center.

Beyond that, I think your team is a very sound team. It doesn't excel at any one thing, but is competitive in many. Both units look quite cohesive, and I truly believe you've done an excellent job maximizing the value of each of your players. Especially considering the relative strength of the East, I would easily put you as one of the lead title contenders in your conference.

[nickagneta]

I am thinking my top four teams in the West are - LA Lakers, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder.

I think those four are the title contenders in the West.

Glad to see LA is getting the respect it deserves.

Possibly because we don't have the flash or pizazz, but its crazy to me that some people don't think Dirk and Marc Gasol can lead this team to a championship with the role players we've provided them with. The versatility this roster has makes it able to match up against any team in a playoff series.

Top 3 team out West in my book.

Just hate Calderon on the defensive end. Strange stat. For all his pretty offensive numbers, Calderon ran one of the slowest pace and worse offenses in the league last year and when he was off the court for Detroit the offense scorer more and the defense gave up less. Calderon has always given up as much if not more defensively than what he brings to the table offensively.

And Dirk, at this stage of his career is probably no different.

but you have them surrounded with top notch defensive talent so it works but we will see how well it works in the playoff matchups.

[KGs Knee]

I think Golden State's big man rotation is incredible. Roy Hibbert, LaMarcus Aldridge and Zach Randolph. That is going to be a nightmare for opponents to matchup against.

I'm sure I'm probably alone in this regard, but I'm not sold on it.  I find it unrealistic.

I'm assuming ZBo will be the backup, which he may or may not be in love with, but he surely won't be happy sitting on the bench for the majority of the 4th quarter.  Or, if he plays instead of Hibbert, how will he react to that?

IDK, I guess I just tend to take those type of things into consideration.  Someone is going to be on the short end in that rotation, and I'm not sure it will breed a happy team.

Maybe I'm wrong though.

[nickagneta]

I have Denver and Cleveland as two of my top teams in the East. Not THE top two teams, at least I haven't made that determination yet

[KGs Knee]

I have Denver and Cleveland as two of my top teams in the East. Not THE top two teams, at least I haven't made that determination yet

When did Denver move to the east?

[rondoallaturca]

In no order, my top East teams would be Cleveland, Milwaukee, Miami, and Washington.

[Who]

Milwaukee Bucks

PG: Mike Conley / Jerryd Bayless
SG: JJ Redick / Alonzo Gee
SF: Paul George / Trevor Ariza
PF: Ryan Anderson / Reggie Evans
 C: Emeka Okafor / Tyler Zeller / Greg Smith

I really like your six main players. The starting lineup and Ariza.

I love the ball-hawking of Conley, P.George and T.Ariza. The interior defense and rebounding of Emeka. Floor stretching of R.Anderson. Skilled offensive role player in JJ Redick. The floor leadership of Conley. The an up and coming strong two way play of Paul George. All those things about this team; I really like.

On the downside (the bench), I worry about your interior defense because I think Okafor is the only plus defender there (in the paint). The rest are defensive liabilities. No rim protection outside of Meka.

So, I think the interior defense is really going to struggle whenever Okafor steps off the floor ... which is quite a bit. Only played 26mpg last year, 29mpg the year before. Minutes have been kept fairly low since his injury problems earlier in his career.

Not fond of Jerryd Bayless as backup. I think he is close to a mid-level backup PG in real NBA but that places him around 45-50th and in a 25 team league that puts him down near the bottom of the pile amongst backup PGs.

I do like Alonzo Gee but as a SF rather than a SG. I don't think he was a good fit after you already had Trevor Ariza in place. I think you needed someone with more shooting range there like a Gary Neal. Puts extra pressure on JJ Redick / P.George as sole three point threats from wing.