Fire Ainge

[Lucky17]

Rondo Love and Asik is the core of a 50 win team?

I am not high right now, but reading that made me wonder if I was.

Love's team won 40 games last year in the West.

If you believe that Rondo > Rubio, Asik > Pekovic, and that Ainge can assemble a better complementary cast around those three than Minnesota has put around Love, why does a 50-win mark seem so outlandish?

Depends on the supporting cast.

Sure, of course.

But do you think Ainge can assemble that cast? Even the mere possibility begs consideration that a Love/Rondo/Asik team could conceivably win 50.

Who was the fourth best player on the Wolves last year? Corey Brewer? Are Avery Bradley or Jeff Green better?

[D.o.s.]

.

[Donoghus]

Rondo Love and Asik is the core of a 50 win team?

I am not high right now, but reading that made me wonder if I was.

Love's team won 40 games last year in the West.

If you believe that Rondo > Rubio, Asik > Pekovic, and that Ainge can assemble a better complementary cast around those three than Minnesota has put around Love, why does a 50-win mark seem so outlandish?

Depends on the supporting cast.

Sure, of course.

But do you think Ainge can assemble that cast? Even the mere possibility begs consideration that a Love/Rondo/Asik team could conceivably win 50.

Who was the fourth best player on the Wolves last year? Corey Brewer? Are Avery Bradley or Jeff Green better?

If he has Rondo/Love/Asik there, I bet he sure as heck is gonna try to build up that cast.  The question is what ammo will he have left to assemble it once the smoke clears on obtaining Love & Asik?

[DarkAzcura]

Rondo Love and Asik is the core of a 50 win team?

I am not high right now, but reading that made me wonder if I was.

Love's team won 40 games last year in the West.

If you believe that Rondo > Rubio, Asik > Pekovic, and that Ainge can assemble a better complementary cast around those three than Minnesota has put around Love, why does a 50-win mark seem so outlandish?

Depends on the supporting cast.

Sure, of course.

But do you think Ainge can assemble that cast? Even the mere possibility begs consideration that a Love/Rondo/Asik team could conceivably win 50.

Who was the fourth best player on the Wolves last year? Corey Brewer? Are Avery Bradley or Jeff Green better?

Green is better than Brewer, yes. Bradley is getting there. I'd argue Bradley is a more valuable piece next to Love than Brewer just because of his defense. If we get Love, it's really important to surround him with guys who can play defense and shoot a bit. Bradley and Green fit that mold. They'd actually look really good next to a guy like Love.

[D.o.s.]

Rondo Love and Asik is the core of a 50 win team?

I am not high right now, but reading that made me wonder if I was.

Love's team won 40 games last year in the West.

If you believe that Rondo > Rubio, Asik > Pekovic, and that Ainge can assemble a better complementary cast around those three than Minnesota has put around Love, why does a 50-win mark seem so outlandish?

Depends on the supporting cast.

Exactly.

Also, Love's not the best offensive PF in the game. He's probably third on the list. The big 3 also have no bearing on how I think you should properly construct an NBA roster -- I just don't think that's a 50 win team, even in the East.

There are plenty of stats that disagree with that. Who is 1 and 2 in your mind? Aldridge and Blake?

I get that you've got a hard on for getting Kevin Love in green, but he's got a long way to go before he reaches Dirks' level, if ever. Dirk was the offensive centerpiece of 50+ win Dallas teams from the age of 21... and Love has yet to lead a team to a .500 record. Love might be as good as Dirk today, but he's not even close to prime Nowitzki. Don't be stupid.

That said, we can argue numbers if you want to, for sure. I'm sure you'll use the +/- for the Wolves with Love on the floor and Love on the bench, and probably his eFG% and maybe his true shooting percentage, too.

[Lucky17]

Rondo Love and Asik is the core of a 50 win team?

I am not high right now, but reading that made me wonder if I was.

Love's team won 40 games last year in the West.

If you believe that Rondo > Rubio, Asik > Pekovic, and that Ainge can assemble a better complementary cast around those three than Minnesota has put around Love, why does a 50-win mark seem so outlandish?

Depends on the supporting cast.

Sure, of course.

But do you think Ainge can assemble that cast? Even the mere possibility begs consideration that a Love/Rondo/Asik team could conceivably win 50.

Who was the fourth best player on the Wolves last year? Corey Brewer? Are Avery Bradley or Jeff Green better?

If he has Rondo/Love/Asik there, I bet he sure as heck is gonna try to build up that cast.  The question is what ammo will he have left to assemble it once the smoke clears on obtaining Love & Asik?

Of course. But I'm operating under the assumption that it'll take Sullinger and short term contract filler and picks for Love, and a TPE and possibly a pick for Asik.

Leaving Green, Olynyk, the rights to Avery Bradley, Kris Humphries, and Jerryd Bayless, plus a slew of 1st rounders and the MLE to round out the bench with.

It seems eminently doable that Ainge can put together a very strong seven- or eight-man rotation with those players and resources.

[DarkAzcura]

Exactly.

Also, Love's not the best offensive PF in the game. He's probably third on the list. The big 3 also have no bearing on how I think you should properly construct an NBA roster -- I just don't think that's a 50 win team, even in the East.

I get that you've got a hard on for getting Kevin Love in green, but he's got a long way to go before he reaches Dirks' level, if ever. Dirk was the offensive centerpiece of 50+ win Dallas teams from the age of 21... and Love has yet to lead a team to a .500 record. Love might be as good as Dirk today, but he's not even close to prime Nowitzki. Don't be stupid.

When Kevin Love was on the floor, Minnesota was a +5.6 this year. That's good for a 52-55 win team. When Love was off the floor, Minnesota was a -5.4. That's good for one of the worst teams in the league. It's not as black and white as W/L. Kevin Love's O Rating is right there with Dirk. His win shares per 48 minutes are right there with Dirk. His efficiency is right there with Dirk. He doesn't have a long way to go to reach Dirk's level. He just needs an organization that is at least competent as Dallas' organization.

That said, we can argue numbers if you want to, for sure. I'm sure you'll use the +/- for the Wolves with Love on the floor and Love on the bench, and probably his eFG% and maybe his true shooting percentage, too.

So you know about this stuff, but you choose to ignore it? It's not Love's fault that his front office or coach can't figure out how to make sure their bench can maintain a lead.

[D.o.s.]

That said, we can argue numbers if you want to, for sure. I'm sure you'll use the +/- for the Wolves with Love on the floor and Love on the bench, and probably his eFG% and maybe his true shooting percentage, too.

 

[DarkAzcura]

That said, we can argue numbers if you want to, for sure. I'm sure you'll use the +/- for the Wolves with Love on the floor and Love on the bench, and probably his eFG% and maybe his true shooting percentage, too.

 

Like I said, that only helps my argument if you know about it. You just choose to ignore it apparently, which just makes you look silly.

Building a team in the NBA is all about filling in the gaps in your roster, imo. It's not much about star power, stars do make it easier to fill in a lot of gaps. SAS has pretty much perfected this. They can pretty much do anything a basketball team would want to do. Every single one of their players has a specific skill set, and Pop uses it all flawlessly. Our two biggest holes is a scorer and a rim protector. Asik and Love cover that. We'd definitely be up at 50 wins with that core. I'm not sure how we'd do in the end, but I know we'd put up a fight against a team like Indiana. Whether we'd win or not? I'm not sure. I'd say we'd have a decent chance, though. If we don't do so hot, I'd assume our perimeter shooting may be an issue if anything.

[D.o.s.]

That said, we can argue numbers if you want to, for sure. I'm sure you'll use the +/- for the Wolves with Love on the floor and Love on the bench, and probably his eFG% and maybe his true shooting percentage, too.

 

Like I said, that only helps my argument if you know about it. You just choose to ignore it apparently, which just makes you look silly.

No, I'm working right now, so I don't have time to go in and parse the details + post.

For anyone who has the time and inclination:

Love:
http://stats.nba.com/playerStats.html?PlayerID=201567&MeasureType=Advanced&PerMode=PerGame

Blake:
http://stats.nba.com/playerStats.html?PlayerID=201933&MeasureType=Advanced&PerMode=PerGame

LA:
http://stats.nba.com/playerStats.html?PlayerID=200746&MeasureType=Advanced&PerMode=PerGame



And their various starting lineups and how they compare:
http://stats.nba.com/leagueLineups.html?pageNo=1&rowsPerPage=25&columnOrder=&MeasureType=Advanced&SeasonType=Regular%20Season

[DarkAzcura]

That said, we can argue numbers if you want to, for sure. I'm sure you'll use the +/- for the Wolves with Love on the floor and Love on the bench, and probably his eFG% and maybe his true shooting percentage, too.

 

Like I said, that only helps my argument if you know about it. You just choose to ignore it apparently, which just makes you look silly.

No, I'm working right now, so I don't have time to go in and parse the details + post.

For anyone who has the time and inclination:

Love:
http://stats.nba.com/playerStats.html?PlayerID=201567&MeasureType=Advanced&PerMode=PerGame

Blake:
http://stats.nba.com/playerStats.html?PlayerID=201933&MeasureType=Advanced&PerMode=PerGame

LA:
http://stats.nba.com/playerStats.html?PlayerID=200746&MeasureType=Advanced&PerMode=PerGame



And their various starting lineups and how they compare:
http://stats.nba.com/leagueLineups.html?pageNo=1&rowsPerPage=25&columnOrder=&MeasureType=Advanced&SeasonType=Regular%20Season

I use basketball reference so I'll just use that.

Love
O-rating: 120
On-court: +5.6
On/Off: +11.0

Aldridge
O-rating: 108
On-court: +7.1
On/off: +8.8

Griffin
O-rating: 114
On-court: +9.4
On/off: +8.4

Dirk (career, not 13-14)
O-rating: 117
On-court: +7.6
Off-court: +11.1

Both teams do a considerably better job of holding a lead with their PF on the bench. Both teams have a considerably better starting lineup book ended by Paul, Lillard and Jordan, Lopez. By these numbers, there is no clear cut "who is the best", but I'd argue for Kevin Love seeing as he has all of the defensive attention in Minnesota and still keeps up if not surpasses both. If those teams can win 55+ games in the West, Rondo/Love/Asik can win 50 in the East. Hell if Indiana can be a contender with their rag tag group of talent, the Celtics will be fine with that core.

[Casperian]

That said, we can argue numbers if you want to, for sure. I'm sure you'll use the +/- for the Wolves with Love on the floor and Love on the bench, and probably his eFG% and maybe his true shooting percentage, too.

 

Gotta love NBA teams built around a big man who can't defend and a PG who can't shoot. Red Auerbach would approve. 

Love has a nice outlet pass, though. I can already see it before my inner eye: Love receives the ball in the high post, passes it out to Rondo, who beats his man off the dribble, drives to the basket, only to kick it out to Love again, who's sitting in the corner for the three....or something like that...

Too bad the magic will only last 3-4 years, until Rondo is 32 and will beat noone driving to the basket anymore. Let's hope we can build this "contender" quickly enough to beat the Heat or Thunder, then.

[Lucky17]

Too bad the magic will only last 3-4 years, until Rondo is 32 and will beat noone driving to the basket anymore. Let's hope we can build this "contender" quickly enough to beat the Heat or Thunder, then.

If age 32 is the expiration date on relevancy in the NBA, I look forward to the imminent demise of the Heat's Big Three.

Actually, make that Big Two. Wade's already cooked.

[DarkAzcura]

That said, we can argue numbers if you want to, for sure. I'm sure you'll use the +/- for the Wolves with Love on the floor and Love on the bench, and probably his eFG% and maybe his true shooting percentage, too.

 

Gotta love NBA teams built around a big man who can't defend and a PG who can't shoot. Red Auerbach would approve. 

Sounds like Dallas. Building a team around an offensive PF isn't unheard of if you have a guy who can back his defense up like Jordan, Lopez, or Chandler. Guys like Asik or Sanders could fit the bill. PG who can't shoot? Well...that's a conversation for another day. Rondo's no worse a shooter than Westbrook, and there are plenty of numbers to back that up. Only difference is Westbrook can get to the FT line like a maniac and actually convert there. Rondo makes up for it with his intelligent play, imo.

[Casperian]

Too bad the magic will only last 3-4 years, until Rondo is 32 and will beat noone driving to the basket anymore. Let's hope we can build this "contender" quickly enough to beat the Heat or Thunder, then.

If age 32 is the expiration date on relevancy in the NBA, I look forward to the imminent demise of the Heat's Big Three.

Actually, make that Big Two. Wade's already cooked.

Around 32 is the expiration date on players who rely on athleticism. Yes, Wade's already cooked, and they're still making it to the finals. Are you comparing Rondo to Wade?

Sounds like Dallas. Building a team around an offensive PF isn't unheard of if you have a guy who can back his defense up like Jordan, Lopez, or Chandler.

Except, you know...

Love might be as good as Dirk today, but he's not even close to prime Nowitzki. Don't be stupid.