[ESPN - Hollinger] Early surprises and dissapointments

I'm happy that Thibodeau is getting more and more recognition for his work with team defenses.

 

Good for Tom but I doubt they can remain at the top in defensive efficiency for very long. It just doesn't add up, but good for them and good for him.

JET is shooting 54% beyond the arc, shiiiiiiiii+. Mike James take a note.

Manu for MVP? No thank you.

 

So what are the disappointments?

I am not an Insider.

 

I predicted before the season started that Boston and Orlando would be the teams to beat in the East because of the Van GUndy staple.

Credit Doc Rivers for giving Thibodeau the reigns. If you've noticed, the Celtics run a very similar offense to what we ran last year, which is give it to the star players (KG, Pierce, sometimes Allen) and have the rest of the guys spot up, and let the big guy (Perkins) get the rebounds and play defense. The system certainly fits their players because they've surrounded their big 3 with good shooters and scorers (scalabrine, house). The difference bw them and Houston last year is that they have 3 superstars and a much stronger bench. They're light at the 1 and 5 starting positions, but I expect them to make a couple of moves via trade (they could end up with Franchise considering Daryl's relationship with Ainge and Boston and his want to see Steve succeed). I wouldn't rule out Chris Webber either.

 

This article is free. Clink the link on the original post.

 

Agh, noted. Thanks.

Good to see he give Yi Jianlian props. I read somewhere Hollinger was kind of harsh on Yi.

 

i don't buy it. deron and boozer completely burned us w/ the PnR during the playoffs.

 

I was gonna say that, but then again, I'd be a Yao basher.

Oh durvasa, thanks for the training camp outlook on Yi.

 

a basketball post by basso?

 

Rafer did a good job on Williams, better than any other player did guarding Deron in the playoffs. Yao didn't, but we had no other choice. I wouldn't say the Jazz burned us on the P&R. We didn't have enough offense in the 1st 3 games we lost on the road, and in game 7, we couldn't rebound or play championship defense down the stretch.

 

I like how the Rockets great start isn't a surprise.

In regards to Manu being a threat to Alex English's title of greatest second round pick ever - if I could add any second round pick in the league to my team, it wouldn't even be Manu. It would be Carlos Boozer. Hell, I'd have to think hard before I took Manu over Gilbert Arenas. Never mind Arenas is looking terrible this season.

 

so in your opinion boozer is a better overall player than ginobilli

 

boozer is a rockets killer. his stats is on par with Yao. Ginobody? not so much.

 

boozer is definitely better. though this doesn't really prove my point it is amusing: one of my best friends is from ohio, and naturally a huge cavs fan -- he cries any time you mention carlos boozer.

 

I would hate to see Francis get traded to Boston and actually thrive there. It would make us look like a bunch of fools. When Alston and James are hitting the slumps (not hitting anything), we could've used Francis' creativity and instant offense on the floor. Instead, we sit this massive waste of talent and salary on the bench, just so we could trade them to a title contender and have him take them to the next level.

If Morey went through with this trade, I would questions the sanity of upper management and our head coach. It'd be so stupid, it's mind boggling.

 

In a hypothetical retrospective fantasy draft of all players drafted in the second round, I would take in this order:

1) Gilbert Arenas
2) Carlos Boozer
3) Michael Redd
4) Dennis Rodman
5) Rashard Lewis
10) Manu Ginobili