Bron is arguably the best finisher in the game......and even before the trade they gave Boston problems, because of their size up front......Detroit looks good, but Cleveland has always played them tough so once again the games will be close...........if the games are close the team with the best player usually wins..................and Orlando is definitely not beating them for multiple reasons. Wally isn't great defensively, but chances are he won't even be starting....West is a good defender and so is Bron......Z and Wallace are tough down low also....overall they're still a good defensive team...........................the reason Wallace didn't meet expectations in Chicago was, because people expected him to come in there and be some sort of basketball God.....Ben has always been a role player who can provide energy and toughness.........I'm confident that he can still do that.....The Cavs will also be pretty deep PG:West/Gibson/Jones SG:Sasha/Wally SF:Bron/Wally PF:Wallace/Varejo/Smith C:Illgauskas/Varejo/Smith/Wallace Boston won't be able to match their depth or their size, and if it's close they're beating Detroit..............again.
I don't know if they'll beat Boston or Detroit.....but this trade makes them a lot more competitive.........for this season at least.
Last year, Detroit looked bored when they played the cavs. It wont happen again. Dunno about that. To me, the team with the better advantage in matchups will win. Whats your answer for dwight howard? dont think that ben wallace can contain him. I'm not talking about starting. I'm talking about playing time. If he's on the court, he's a defensive liability. So you need to take that into account when you're talking about his offensive abilities. people expected him to do in chicago the same thing he did in detroit. and now people expect him to do in cleveland the same thing he did in detroit. If he couldnt do it in chicago, why do you believe he can do it now? I'm sure boston's roster will change by the time the playoffs come. And no, cleveland wont beat detroit again. detroit wont take them for granted anymore.
and what was there excuse the year before, lol......they got beat, because Cleveland was better and the Cavs match up well with both teams making them pretty even what's their answer for Bron?, lol....Howard still isn't a "go to guy" yet so he won't be that big of a factor come the end of the game...plus Orlando has no deep playoff experience......they also don't have a point or another big guy to go next to howard......they won't make it past the 2nd round. steve kerr was a defensive liability also, lol.....not every player can do everything.....they have plenty of defense to makeup for Wally not being a "great" defender people actually thought he was going to make chicago this amazing team.....I never thought that......Wallace is a defensive role player.......that's all..... he had nothing to play for this year.....he'll be motivated again and he'll see a lot of easy looks around the basket because of all the attention that Lebron gets if it hasn't changed by now then it won't change much come the post season....Boston "needed" to trade in the worst ways and they didn't get it done.....I guess they could always sign Spreewell, Reggie Miller, or Mark Jackson lol.......and Detroit didn't take anyone for granted they just got beat by the better team, just like they almost did the year before...........
Who matches up with chauncey? rip? rasheed? When rasheed wants to be, he is one of the most unstoppable players in the game. thats 1 advantage in 1 position. overall, detroit has the advantage. right now, dwight howard reminds me of a young shaq except with greater athleticism. and actually, he is a "go to guy". and the 95 orlando magic didnt have much deep playoff experience either. remember how far they went in their conference? Jameer nelson is their point guard. and the other forwards (lewis, hedo) can both hit the 3 pointer. that'll force out the opposing forwards to come out to defend them. theres a big difference between wally getting defensive support from lebron, big ben, and big z to kerr getting defensive support from jordan, pippen, and rodman. and we're not talking about wally being a great defender. we're talking about him being an average defender. If the cavs are relying on big ben's offensive abilities, then they're in trouble. Or they could get cassell if he gets bought out. or brent barry.
West and Snow can matchup with Chauncey....Wallace and Varejo and Smith can matchup with sheed......Rip will be there best bet, but he's a better player off the ball so so it won't be as big of a problem... wasn't I arguing about Orlando with this point, lol.... that "young" Shaq was also throwing up 30 a game...that young Shaq also had Penny Hardaway (who is a better 2nd option then anything Dwight has right now), a Veteran 3 time champ PF in Horace Grant, and some excellent spot up shooters (Anderson, Scott, Shaw)..............overall that team was much better...... and Jameer being their PG is somewhat of a problem, lol......I'll give you Lewis and Hedo, but other teams have their weapons as well I wasn't really trying to compare this cavs team to the bulls teams of the past, my point was that a lot of times you don't have 5 great defenders on the court......my point was that you can still make up for that..... they're not, but I'm pretty sure he hasn't forgotten how to dunk the ball....... sam would be their best bet....Barry isn't really what they need.......
And chauncey would destroy them. remember, chauncey likes to post up and neither snow nor west are strong enough to stop him. and rasheed would destroy them. not only is rasheed taller than any of the players you mentioned, he's also much longer and has a high release. whose going to block his turnaround fadeaway from 10-12 feet? thats why he's one of the most unstoppable players in the game. since he's an off the ball player, he'll wear down his defender. You dont think dwight can put up 30/game against cleveland? yes, that orlando team was much better than the current orlando team. but the 95 orlando team was also much better than the current cleveland team. and dont discount the magic's supporting cast. rashard and hedo are very capable of throwing up big numbers. jameer isnt a problem if he's going up against delonte west or eric snow. the only ways to make up for a defensive liability are to play an up-tempo offense where you can easily recover points (i.e. suns before shaq) or to have great team defenders to compensate. as of now, the cavs have neither (you cant judge wallace by what he did w/ the pistons; until he proves otherwise, you can only judge him by his performance w/ the bulls) with his shot and playoff experience, brent barry would be an asset to any team. theres a reason so many teams want him.
In last year's playoffs, Chauncey really "destroyed" Gibson. Yeah right! He's no longer "Mr. Bigshot" and is getting old. Billups is still good but he's isn't the player he was. If Rasheed could focus for long periods of time, he would end up in the Hall of Fame. But Rasheed is Rasheed's biggest enemy and always will be. He'll never learn it wasn't the refs holding him back, it was himself. That's why "one of the most unstoppable players in the game" is only averaging 13/7 this year. Same old same old and I like Rip a lot. What happens on the chalkboard is one thing; the games are another. The Cavs are better than last year. The Pistons haven't changed much and their key players are older. They aren't the juggernaut you say or the Bucks & Magic wouldn't have just beaten them two in a row.
31 isn't that old for a big PG like Billups who relies on savvy and shooting. I think he'll age much like Cassell did. It looks to me like he's having one of his best years, and the Pistons are loaded. I'd take them over the Celtics in a 7-game series.
I agree that Cleveland is not going to regret dropping Gooden or Hughes. I still don't agree at all that they're winning the East, not with this lineup. Isn't that what Chicago fans were expecting? I don't suppose you're a Bill Simmons fan, are you? When games are close, the better-executing halfcourt team wins. It's like college football overtime. If you've got an unstoppable play (you might take this to mean player, but I wouldn't fully agree) and a defense that can disrupt anyone's bread & butter play, you win. Most of the time, that means the team with the dominant low post guy. Occasionally it means the team with a Michael Jordan. LeBron was a decent example of this last year. LOL. This is the same Delonte West that couldn't get more than 20 mpg with the 15-win Sonics, right? He's going to be just fine as the starting PG on a championship contender? You're sure? Defensively, this team is not going to shut any real offenses down. They're in the East, so they'll get 50 wins, they'll advance past the first round no trouble. But if they are the #4 seed and have to play Boston in the second round, I don't see them advancing. Evan
I've made the Cassell/Billups comparison a few times. You are dead on. I think barring injuries, Billups will be 90% of what he is today in 5 years.
Last year, the pistons looked complacent...almost like they thought the cavs were just a formality. If the cavs meet the pistons this year, I expect the pistons to give their full effort. Maybe thats due to the fact that the pistons' starting lineup features 3 other all-star caliber players, and mcdyess is more than competent. Actually, they are the juggernaut I say. They just dont show up every night. Do you have any comments about the 30 pt thumping they gave the suns?
If you honestly believe that then I can't say anything. It's ridiculous to think they were complacent in the conference finals, but that reasoning is a convenient excuse for them losing. The Cavs smacked the Pistons in the jaw and staggered them two years ago and got their attention in the playoffs. There was no reason at all for complacency last season. Chauncey wasn't complacent, he was just bad. Same for Tayshaun. Or maybe it's due to the fact he's plays disinterested about 1/2 the time. Sometimes he likes playing against the refs more than the opposition, even during the playoffs as we learned. The Suns are really really bad right now. One game against the shaken up Phoenix Suns doesn't prove ANYTHING about how the Pistons will perform in the playoffs. Two seasons ago and last season should prove that to you. The Pistons have a chance to make the Finals, but their window gets smaller every year.
Detroit had a lot of problems with Cleve 2 years ago. Last year Clev just took it to them. Cleveland has a defense that gives Detroit fits, and then Clev has by far the best individual on the court and who Det has no answer for in their base defense. So no it wasn't that the Pistons got complacent. It was that they faced a team who physically matches up and has an hungry young player who Detroit doesn't have anyone who can guard. IMO Detroit is the most overated team for playoff prospects. (I would put Orlando second, more because of the experience factor). They are playing great right now, high execution and intensity on both sides. But deep in the playoffs all teams start playing with great intensity and usually great defense--and they just don't have a Lebron, Wade, Duncan to keep up with those teams that do. How many years has it been Detroit is one of the best 1-2 teams through 3/4 of the season only to not have answers in the playoffs? Chicago has a bunch of problems and wanted him to center their defense. In Cleve he only has to come off the bench and provide energy and hustle. Besides, he is probably only the 3rd most critical person in the set of deals. Wally and Smith will be huge, and are keys to getting their offense more efficient. Ben Wallace however does give them a person to continue their physicality, defense and rebouding edge they almost always have versus opponents. And they are in a position where they just need 24 hard minutes.
With the exception of ben wallace, the pistons havent changed much since their championship year. because of this, its hard to describe them as "overrated". If you recall, they did win a championship.... Thats your opinion. Other people seem to expect ben wallace to play like he did in detroit. Coming off the bench and providing energy/hustle was varejao's job. To expect big ben to give them a physicality, defense, and rebounding edge, it looks like you expect him to be the big ben from his detroit days.
Like who...you? You keep mentioning this but no one thinks Cleveland got on this deal expecting a Detroit Ben Wallace. Just because Big Ben isn't the same as he used to doesn't bolster your argument that Detroit will take care of Cleveland. All he has to do is meet or exceed Gooden's rebounding/defense, which isn't asking too much from him. And you seem pretty convinced that the Pistons are going to beat the Cavs in the playoffs...just like everyone though last year. Stop making excuses for them. They got beat flat out. Every time the Pistons tried to get aggressive and retake the series the Cavs shut them down. Did you even watch the series?
Their championship was what 4 years ago and Ben Wallace was who many people thought was their key player. What I mean by overrated is people thinking they are one of the favorites to win it all, or that they are really the 2nd best basketball team (in terms of playoff ball). I think they are a very very good team. But we have seen it three years in a row if you get a team with excellent defense and a guy they can't handle in their base defense (Wade, Lebron, Duncan), that team will break them. In fact they wouldn't have made it to the finals 3 years ago if not for Wade getting injured, Miami had them on the ropes that year as well. I would defintely pencil them in the East semifinals, no question. I think they can match-up with Boston really well and maybe beat them. But the Cavs, no. I don't see them coming out of the East unless the Cavs get injured or Boston or Orlando takes out Cleveland for them. Healthy Cleveland is a terrible macth-up for them.
Look I'm actually a fan of Chauncey Billups, but the guy isn't some unstoppable force, lol.....last year a rookie named Boobie did a fairly good job on him.....West is a pretty good defender and you should never judge a player's value based on the number of minutes they get......West has got some game, and anyone who actually watches him play will tell you that.............honestly what did they lose defensively???.....more than half the time larry hughes was hurt and their defense was fine....a couple of years ago without Hughes the cavs took this same detroit team WITH Wallace to 7 games......I honestly felt that the Cavs could beat the Pistons or Celtics BEFORE this trade just, because the Pistons really haven't changed that much since last season and they've shown that they matchup well with Boston this season, because of their bigs down low.........
Everyone who thinks ben will offer anything more in Cleveland than what he offered in Chicago is basing their expectations on his Detroit days. In my opinion, while in Chicago, although he put up comparable numbers, he wasnt nearly the defensive force he used to be in detroit. Gooden also had an offensive game that big ben lacks. Do you envision big ben shooting 15 ft jumpers? That seems like a lot to ask. Just b/c cleveland beat them last year doesnt mean they'll do it again. If you recall, detroit beat cleveland two years ago. and honestly, did YOU watch the series? how often do you anticipate lebron repeating his game 5 heroics? if you factor in the degree of difficulty of most his 4th quarter shots, i doubt you'll ever see a repeat performance.
Gooden was inconsistent as hell also, and he wasn't the smartest b-ball player....Joe Smith has a decent mid range game and Ben is an upgrade over Gooden at the defensive end....... detroit barely beat them a couple of years ago, and since that point Cleveland has gotten better.........Game 5 was ONE game, and Bron did what superstars do, and that's take over.......he's proven on multiple occassions that he's capable of taking over a game by himself..............and now that he has better shooters around him that will lighten his burden............
