LeBron, Shaq and winless Cavs coming to town Friday
Posted on October 29th, 2009 – 5:10 PMBy Jerry Zgoda
Who would have figured this?
You’ve got the undefeated Timberwolves (OK, they’re only 1-0 and how they are that, who really knows?) and the winless Cleveland Cavs set for tomorrow night at Target Center.
The Wolves practiced for more two hours this afternoon to get ready for LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal and the Cavs, who lost at home to Boston on opening night and then lost at Toronto Wednesday night.
“He probably won’t be too happy,” Wolves coach Kurt Rambis said of James. “He has also been around long enough and been the leader of a team long enough and in the playoffs long enough to know it’s a long season. The reality is most people won’t even remember how you start off a season.”
Rambis suggested you could see the first appearance of Nathan Jawai, the 6-10, 300-poundish forward acquired from Dallas last week, tomorrow night for a big-body presence to defend O’Neal.
Just don’t mention anything to Jawai about Shaq vs. Baby Shaq or the Australian Shaq, two nicknames the big fella has been given either in his native Australia or here in the U.S.
“Don’t call me that name again,” Jawai said of Baby Shaq after practice Thursday. “I hate that name. That’s not my name. That guy is a future Hall of Famer, so why compare me to him?”
95 Responses to "LeBron, Shaq and winless Cavs coming to town Friday"
700 lbs. of man on man fun, that will be enough for me to watch, lol. Oh and that Lebron guy too.
wonder if Gomes will not start this game. maybe Hollins gets a shot at starting after showing some good things in the win?
Don’t know if Rambis feels that Hollins is ready for it at this time (or if he will ever be for that matter)… the possibility of him getting abused in that paint is huge…
[…] On the Wolves » Blog Archive » LeBron, Shaq and winless Cavs coming to town Friday blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/wolves/2009/10/29/lebron-shaq-and-winless-cavs-coming-to-town-friday – view page – cached You’ve got the undefeated Timberwolves (OK, they’re only 1-0 and how they are that, who really knows?) and the winless Cleveland Cavs set for tomorrow night at Target Center. — From the page […]
Oddly enough, Pecherov could be huge for us in this game…I actually think we should start him at the 4.
For anyone who watched the Cavs/Raptors game last night, the early season formula for beating Cleavland is actually remarkably simple. Put a shooting big man at the 4 or 5, pair him with a competent point guard, and pick-and-roll the hell out of Shaq. He will never step beyond 15 feet of the hoop on defense for any reason.
Course, our skill level is a far far cry from Calderon/Hedo/Bosh/Bargnani….
Oh, and this is also why I think Cleavland will lose to Orlando AGAIN if they face each other in the playoffs.
Everyone makes a big deal about how Howard dominated Ilgauskus (and he did), but that wasn’t the real problem. The problem was no one in Cleavland’s front court could stick with Lewis, and Shaq just makes that problem worse. Now not only is Cleavland even more immobile, but the Magic have added sharpshooter Ryan Anderson and ultra-athletic Brandon Bass.
Analysis of the Wolves’ comeback win, Flynn’s fourth-quarter dominance, Lopez owning the paint, and more:
http://mnhowl.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/season-opener-flynn-credible-comeback/
Bryan - The difference is that we don’t have the “shooting” point guard to use Shaq as a “screen” from his defender.
Everyone is going to have to hit some shots off penetration or we’re screwed.
Swan
waayynnee ellinngggtooonnn
^and i mean that as in a guy who can shoot in the triangle.
Jerry, you don’t have to be intimidated by “Baby Shaq” — not with your guns.
So far Flynn is the favorite for rookie of the year lol. Yesterday he looked like the quickest person on the floor by far. Im very impressed with him.
Doesn’t have to be a shooting point. The Magic beat the Cavs with pick and rolls in the playoffs with Rafer Alston, and Calderon only hit one shot last night.
The Duke from UNC ?
Ellington was good last night…even played PG on a couple trips down the floor. He’s got a decent handle…strange that he is known as a shooter and he has a better handle than Foye did (aka he can go right AND left). Even my dad noticed this and pointed this out last night…randomly: “Foye stunk, he couldn’t go left…its about time we have a point guard”
Haha, and he only watches 1 out of 5-10 games.
Ellingtom will be the steal of the 1st round. a guy that talented going 28th. craziness
I don’t know where Ellington got the rep as a pure shooter either. Ya, he can shoot, but he can also rebound, handle the ball, pass, and is surprisingly athletic.
Oh, and if last night was any indication, he’s a gritty, underrated defender as well.
UNC guys generally know how to play (sans McCants). Ellington at least puts the effort into D…that can make up for not being great at it (see: Madsen, Mark). Speaking of Mad Dog…he was at the game last night…one section over and about 5 rows up from me.
Whose pick do we get for Lawson? That may have been a mistake….
Blah - Bobcats
I agree with Bryan about the pick and roll but not sure it will matter unless Flynn shows he can knock down the 18 foot jumpers. It will be fun to watch though.
You don’t have to shoot off the PnR, you can drive right by shaq, get into the lane, get some of their boys in early foul trouble or kick it out to shooters who should be set up–ellington, pecherov, pavlovic–and waiting on the wings/corners.
Be interesting to see how Brewer handles James. I’m not worried about Shaq, he’ll play 20min or so, he’s so fat and out of shape its a shame. He’s not even 40% of what he was.
Sorry… posted this to the wrong string:
The thing I liked most about Flynn’s debut (besides his obvious display of charisa, composure and leadership) was his 10 FT attempts. It was not been exaggerated how well he gets to the hole. If he can improve on his opening-night 5-13 shooting, he’ll be pretty difficult to guard.
How do you explain 2 assists, though. I was travelling and only got to watch the end of the game, so I’m not sure why nobody on The Wolves had more than 2 dimes? Was ball movement shoddy? Did most of our points come on 2nd-chance shots?
Blah - I think everybody knew that Ty Lawson was a decent player. So if he plays well, that doesn’t mean the trade was a mistake!
Do people realize that in trades, there is such a thing as a win-win? It seems folks think a trade is a failure if the other team doesn’t get absolutely screwed.
1. Foye and Miller ARE GOOD PLAYERS. Duh. So what? They didn’t fit with Minnesota and The Wolves got a huge asset in return. Win-win.
2. Lawson for a future 1st-rounder. Perfect win-win swap. The Wolves didn’t need another PG, but Lawson was the best player available. What does the smart front office do in this situation? Take another PG? No. Reach 10 picks too early for a player who fits better? No. Trade the pick to a team that needs a PG in order to acquire another asset? YES.
I fully expect Miller, Foye and Lawson to be good players this year and beyond. That doesn’t mean either trade will be mistakes…
Foo
it was mainly because the shooting was so terrible. he had some issues running the offense, but in the first half he was finding guys open and the shooting was an abysmal 31%. in the fourth he finally decided he could take whomever was guarding him off the dribble and get to the line, any way the team could win. brewer shot 3-14, gomes 3-11 - that should tell u something right there.
BTW… I already posted this a few months ago, but the 2010 Draft class is one of the strongest ever.
Trading the 18th pick in a weak 2009 draft class for a similar pick (Charlotte’s Top-12 protected pick) in a very, very strong 2010 class is a no-brainer.
Medschool - Thanks. And I agree. Somebody’s gotta knock down shots for somebody to record a dime!
Foo
the lawson trade erks me because it would have been nice to get a more immediate asset instead of next year’s draft, unfortunatel, Charlotte’s pick is top 12 protected. they probably are not going to get any better and we won’t get that pick. they looked absolutely horrible against the Celtics (yes its the Celtics, but if you are giong to be a decent team you should at least put up an effort agaisnt them…)
in regards to shooting, i think flynn will get more times tonite as he finally realized he could a) run the offense, and b) get to the hole at will. that and nerves will (hopefully) get away from guys like Gomes and Brewer and allow them to make more than 3 jumpshots (or even layups in Brewer’s case…)
medschool - I’d love to have a more immediate asset, but that’s not what you get in return for a No. 18 pick in a weak draft.
In fact, I HOPE The Wolves don’t get the pick next year. In the ensuing years of that Charlotte pick, it is protected through Top-10, Top-8, Top-3, then unprotected.
I read all your takes and know you’ve got some long-term perspective on these things. I’d also love an immediate return. But this trade take a little vision, right?
I guess the real question is what better could The Wolves have gotten in return for a No. 18 pick in a very, very weak draft?
I definitely could see it, but the more assets they have in next year’s draft the better. my main issue is we might not have ANY draft picks next year. this team just might get out of the top 10 and give the 11th pick to the Clips. in addition, unless the Bobcats do something, they probably won’t get out of the bottom 12 teams, and the Jazz could have a down year and go to the bottom 16 teams and we lose that pick too.
Lawson was regarded as one of the best pg’s in a pg rich draft; it’d almost would have been better to keep him as even a 3rd pg (as insurance in case Rubio didn’t come and decreasing the need to sign Sessions) and trade him on next year’s draft nite for a sure pick, instead of a protected one.
As far as Lawson being one of the best PGs in the draft, define that with a number - how many PGs would you have taken ahead of Lawson? I don’t at all think he was a “steal” at No. 18 and that wasn’t the assessment on draft night either.
I put him as the 5th-best PG in the draft and that’s only when you classify Stephen Curry as a SG.
the fifth (behind Flynn, Rubio, Jennings, and who?) best pg in this year’s draft is probably better than the 2nd best pg in next year’s draft, amiright?
Holiday. He’s MUCH younger than Lawson, but has a lot more upside. Purely from a “prospect” side, I like Holiday more and he was ranked more highly pre-draft as well.
Give me a 6-3, elite defending PG any day over a streaky 5-10 PG.
But as I said earlier, this will be a win-win deal because I do think Lawson will be a good pro. I just don’t think it would have been the best choice for The Wolves to have drafted and kept Lawson.
I think of the TRUE PG’s (not the combo guys like Evans and Curry), he’ was probably 4th best behind Rubio, Flynn and Jennings; its a toss-up between him and Jrue who was taken 1 pick ahead of him and the early returns point to Lawson (granted he’s on a better team).
Didn’t you expect Lawson to be better in the “early returns” than Holiday? Holiday only played one year of college hoops.
yes, but you did ask what my current rankings are, and pointing to that I’d say Lawson is 4th best. he’d have been a great asset to have on draft nite next year is all I am saying.
on another note, it seems a bit odd Jawai is so touchy about being called baby shaq. i can see it as being annoying, but also it should be flattering to even be compared to a future hall of famer like shaq, wouldn’t it?
I don’t really want to quibble between 4-5-6-whatever.
If I said “current,” then I must have misspoken because it wouldn’t matter what the “current” rankings are. The draft was months ago and that’s when The Wolves made their decision to trade Lawson.
Again, I like Lawson. I just buy the notion that The Wolves were hoping for Austin Daye or Earl Clark to slip to No. 18. When that didn’t happen, trading the 18th pick/Ty Lawson was the most prudent thing to do. On draft night, which is the only time you can judge them in, having Flynn-Rubio-Lawson made no sense. So to get the asset that they got was huge. Again, whatever year they get The Bobcats’ pick will be a better draft than this year’s draft.
As I said earlier this morning, there are win-win trades. Just because I like Lawson doesn’t mean he would have been a great fit in Minnesota.
But even today, I’d still rather have The Bobcats’ future draft pick that Ty Lawson… especially if the pick eventually winds up being in the Top-10… which becomes more and more probable the longer that it takes for us to get the pick.
lets hope so. this team needs as much talent as it can get. its a good deal on paper, but I get the feeling he’s was traded for as much as money saving purposes as it was for a future pick, much like the calathes pick.
I don’t know about that… folks seem to throw the “Glen Taylor is Cheap” card way too liberally.
Is cash a concern for The Wolves? Sure. But that trade made a lot of basketball sense to me. I doubt cash had anything to do with it.
Again… look at the basketball options:
1. Draft your 3rd PG of the night.
2. Reach by about 10 picks for another position.
3. Trade Lawson’s draft rights for a future pick.
I think The Wolves’ course of action made the most basketball sense of all their options.
Foo- I’m a little late on this, but what I saw was good movement on offense to start the game and then stagnation later when the Nets where ahead by a good margin. Flynn did look a little hesitant to start and no one was hitting their jumpers, but in the 3rd quarter there were some times where they tried to do a two man motion at the top of the key and the other three players seemed to be in the way because the spacing was off and they were just standing there watching. My perspective, but that’s what I saw.
Besides… The PG of the future is Jonny Flynn. I don’t think having Ty Lawson around does anything for Flynn’s development.
As you already mentioned, the only reason why they’d do that is if they were certain Lawson could be a great future trade chip. But even then, do you think The Wolves could have gotten more for Lawson than a future 1st-round pick that only gets more valuable with time?
On the Lawson draft/trade topic:
I see more sense in what the Wolves did in trading Lawson rather than keeping him, but after selecting Rubio and Flynn I would have liked to see them go after someone like Casspi or Sam Young (still not sure how he dropped to the 2nd round based on how he was rated before the draft) and get a player at a position of need that could contribute as a rookie.
It’s too bad Terrence Williams, Earl Clark and Austin Daye were all already off the board, and it would have been tough in this economy and with a big FA class next summer to have another guaranteed rookie contract to pay, but there is that part of me that would have liked to see a more immediate result from the 18th picks usage.
I can’t argue that what happened was a bad decision on the Wolves part, but only time will tell if it was the best decision. When they get Charlotte’s pick and who they select will give us the answers.
It did at the time, I agree. would have looked ’stupid’ to draft 3 PGs in a draft heavy with them.
what I mean is giving that 3rd 1st round guaranteed contract was an issue at the time. the problem with that look is that they assumed they could get rubio over here. it took tons of money, time and effort of Kahn, which also took away from other areas of the team’s needs. all for naught, as Rubio plays minor league ball in Europe with his family and buddies.
even assuming rubio does come, you’ve locked up that pg spot forever with three of the better young pg talents in the league. in addition, he would have provided insurance for rubio doesn’t come over. now you’ve still got a solid backup in lawson, for half the price of Sessions. in addition, he’s a pg that can actually shoot the ball (better than sessions and flynn at the very least).
apologies for arguing a moot point, but i still feel it may have been better to keep him and trade him next year, where there is rally only one 1pg (Wall) that will go in the lottery that is projected
Hindsight is always hard on drafts. As much as I like Flynn, given how the draft played out you could make a case for picking DeRozan or T. Williams over him and then taking Lawson at 18. (I would not have advocated any of that on draft night.)
In any case, we should just be happy that Flynn and Ellington look like keepers so far. If Rubio gets us good value in a trade and we choose well with the Charlotte pick (whenever it comes), it’ll have been a pretty good haul.
I’m most excited about Ellington at this point. I expect Flynn to be at least a decent starter, but if Ellington ends up being a starter-quality player (still a big “if”), that would really speed up the rebuilding process.
If Brewer shows he can play with some calm and contribute consistently on offense, that would really speed up the rebuilding process too.
medschool - I do agree that there is a dearth of PGs in next year’s draft. Wall and a bunch of combo-guards. That’s why I love that we took care of that position this year with Flynn, Sessions and the rights to Rubio.
But I digress… I guess the crux of the debate is whether you think Lawson could have gotten more than what The Wolves actually got in The Bobcats’ future 1st-rounder.
I can’t say enough times that I like Lawson, but I just see a very limited ceiling in him as a 5-10 PG. There aren’t many sub-6foot PGs in The NBA who amount to anything more than a solid backups. Flynn has the potential to be one of those exceptions. Lawson is no Flynn.
Of course, if both Ellington and Brewer have good years, that might increase the odds that we get stuck with Aldrich in the next draft. It’s hard to know what to hope for sometimes.
mm true; Flynn is special, despite my cursing on draft night
on another note, if only we could have gotten Evans over here. he’d be able to play on the wing intead of as PG on a bad team.
Mad-Dan - I understand the rationale, but neither DeRozen, Williams or Lawson have near the potential of Flynn, right? I think all three of them are most likely to be role players/6th-men/weak starter types at the same level of a Randy Foye.
The Wolves need stars.
Flynn has the potential to be an All-Star, right?
I’ve beaten this drum before, but would Evans have looked all that good on the Wolves? I don’t doubt that he can play, but I’d rather have a better shooter in his spot.
Dan
getting ’stuck’ with Aldrich isn’t so bad althoug I am guessing you didn’t mean that would be bad. he’s projected to be similar to Brook Lopez - and we saw what he did to us on Wed.
My thinking on Lawson…
Why would they trade him if they knew signing Rubio was in contention and they had no back-up pg (Sessions wasn’t signed yet)? Since Denver just wanted him to back-up Billups, couldn’t they wait to make that trade? Is having a $4mil back-up in Sessions smarter than keeping Lawson and using that 4mil for someone that can score next year?
I realize its hard to say if it was a good deal until we see what we make with the pick.
dan
a better shooter as in…wayne ellinngggtooonnn?
Mad-Dan - I’m with you on Evans. I don’t like him either.
My dream scenario coming into draft night was Harden-Flynn because I assumed Rubio would have been a Top-3 pick. But given that Rubio slipped and Harden wasn’t available, I like exactly how the draft played out. I also would have preferred Thabeet if he fell to No. 5-6.
Blah - That’s just “depth-chart” thinking and not “asset” thinking. Sure, there were plenty of back-up PG options (Collison, Maynor and Teague were also available) in the draft or in free agency, but none of them are half the player Sessions is.
If you think in terms of assets, Sessions is a no-brainer better piece to have than Lawson or any of the other options that were out there this off-season.
Foo - to be clear, my main point is just that at some point we’ll be able to look back at the 2009 draft and know that we could have done better with the four picks. With that many picks, you’ll never get it all right. That said, I was and am happy with our draft.
I agree that Flynn has more upside than Lawson, but DeRozan might be the exception. (Not sure about Williams.) I hated the idea of drafting him at the time, because he looked like another physical specimen who didn’t know how to play. But at this point, he looks like he might have a clue. No regrets from me, though.
very true foo…well we’ll just wait and see what happens. we might get the 13th pick from them and get a guy like Aminu or Evan Turner or get the 11th pick in 2011 and get a solid player there.
speaking of thabeet, what a bad situation he has in Memphis. he’s stuck behing a solid C in marc gasol. i find it odd they drafted a guy like thabeet when they have glaring needs elsewhere. they are paying 4.5 million for a project C. kind of intereesting to say the least.
medschoolmatt - I actually don’t like Aldrich as a top-tier prospect. I know other people do, though, so I put on my Eeyore hat for a minute to try to spice things up a bit. (Feeling pull to Dark Side… must resist!)
Since Swan doesn’t seem to be around, I now feel compelled to type the following on his behalf:
No Thabeet!
heh; funny Eeyore hasn’t been on since they won. good times? I think so.
say what you want about Aldrich. he’s got osme issues especially offensively, but his ability to pass out of the post and defend the paint are good qualities. let Laimbeer get ahold of him for awhile and see how he progresses. I think he can be special.
also for Swan:
DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE!
medschool - I agree on Memphis. They are the worst front office in pro sports (worse than The Raiders, Redskins and Clippers).
Why didn’t they just draft Harden? A Conley, Mayo, Harden backcourt rotation would have been nice.
Or why didn’t they take Rubio. I don’t care that he dissuaded The Grizz from picking him. He would have been a great asset and may have actually come to The NBA if he were The No. 2 pick… he could have gotten more salary and wouldn’t have had to contend with another rookie PG like he would have here.
Matt: I think Aldrich could be good, but I think “special” is out of his reach. If we got him with a pick in the teens, I’d love it. But I think we’d have to spend a top-5 pick to get him, and I think that’s too high a price. We’ll see how he looks this year — he’s got a good team around him.
yes, they already have a franchise C in Gasol who was arguably the best player on the floor against the Pistons - he just destroyed Wallace in the post.
Dan
thats fair; i may be overreacting with the ’special’ bit, but I am also projecting him getting significant time with laimbeer (should we draft him) for his post moves and continuing to get better on the defensive end. he’s also been reported as being a hard worker, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he put on some muscle over th enext year.
Mad-Dan/Swanny - I actually agree on Thabeet too. If both Rubio and Harden were gone, I just would have preferred him over the likes of Evans, DeRozen and Curry.
I actually think Swanny liked those guys better than Thabeet too. But I would have rather taken Thabeet… just definitely not ahead of either Harden or Rubio.
Most of all, Mad-Dan, I agree that it’s folly to play told-you-so on retrospective draft discussions. I’m still very pleased with how the draft played out because there’s no way I would have expected that Rubio would have fallen to No. 5. He’s such a great asset for The Wolves.
this article about him does worry me though, so I see your point Dan
http://www.draftexpress.com/article/LeBron-James-Skills-Academy-Player-Profiles-3294/
I’d use a Top-5 pick on Aldrich. I think ESPN’s draft profile assessment on him is spot on: “Joel Przybilla with more Offense.”
Given the current composition of The Wolves’ frontcourt, Aldrich is a great fit. Good passer, good rebounder, legit-C size, good defense.
Other than his rebounding, all of his other skill sets give Minnesota something it doesn’t currently have in the frontcourt.
Interesting ESPN assessment. I was going to bring up a Przybilla comparison, but didn’t want to draw fire for just picking another white Minnesotan. I’ve read the DX article that Matt linked in the past, and it just made sense to me given what I’ve seen of Aldrich in college.
Foo: how’s your priority list go for that top-5 pick? Would you pass on Turner for Aldrich?
Foo,
I do think that Flynn has the potential to be a very good starting PG. But do you really think he has the potential to be an all star? I just see a solid group of guys playing his position (even just in the WC) that I don’t think he can surpass. For instance, I’m starting to think that Westbrook is figuring it out this season and will eventually surpass Paul as the top PG in the West.
Defense for me ?
you always preach it, thought I’d bring it up…
Mad-Dan: If it were today, I think I’d go Evan Turner. I think Turner and Aldrich are the two guys The Wolves should target because rest of the draft is full of PFs and combo guards. So unless we win the lottery (Wall) or another player winds up being available to The Wolves who is better than Aldrich/Turner, I go with one of those two.
The reason I go with Turner, though, is because I’m one of the believers in a Love-Jefferson frontcourt. I know they have holes, but they are both good NBA starters. I always say draft the best player available and only consider team need as a tie-breaker. So because I have Aldrich and Turner rated in the same tier, I’d go with Turner because I consider wing scorer/defender to be a bigger need.
Seems like Turner’s shot is improving, but I can’t pass up his perimeter defending, excellent handle and his ability to get to the hole/FT Line at will.
I love the idea of starting Flynn, Brewer, Turner, Love and Jefferson.
Fiveanddime - When I mentioned “All-Star”, I guess I was talking about a level of play… not some voted-upon honor.
As to whether Flynn gets to play in that exhibition game, I’m not sure. I’m just a lot more interested in how he plays and I believe he will play at an All-Star *level*.
Who was the idiot who was all for the Wolves drafting Thabeet???? Yah we know who you are BK boy.
And Aldrich will dominate in the NBA, no doubt about it.
For sure Flynn has the potential to be an all-star. he can score, he can defend, he can pass. if he can get a solid j, he’s going to be very good.
As for the draft mumbo-jumbo: you guys forget we had Telfair on the roster at that time as well. keeping lawson would have 4 pg’s on the roster, thus forcing a trade and automatically bringing down the value of lawson or telfair. besides, i’d rather have sessions than either of those 2.
Westbrook, if he ever puts it all together, will be a very good PG as well, still doesn’t mean Flynn can’t compete w/him on that level.
Aldrich would be a nice addition, especially if this Jawai doesn’t pan out. If he does, well that only gives us more options going into next years draft.
Kings, ‘Cats, Bucks, Warriors, Indiana, Philly, NYK, Grizz i see as being worse or even with us, and thus no way we fall out of the top 10 and lose our pick this year. Flynn will hit the wall at some point this season, given the minutes he’s likely to play each game. AJ won’t be AJ until around xmas time either. That and by december starts we should have a rather bad record.
All good points, Arenal. The best one though, “i’d rather have sessions than either of those 2″ referring to Lawson or Telfair. It’s not hard to find a back-up PG type.
Did anybody watch Pekovic yesterday? I wonder whether we’ve already got the rights to our “Aldrich”.
Good call, Mad-Dan. I didn’t watch Pekovic yesterday. But considering that I’m generally a believer in a Love-Jefferson frontcourt, I would be more than satisfied with a 4-man PF-C rotation of Al, Love, Hollins and Pekovic.
As I’ve been saying for two years, if The Wolves make their perimeter defense elite (Flynn, Brewer and Turner would qualify IMO), then that only helps the frontcourt defense when Al and Love are on the floor together. And Pekovic and Hollins are available to rotate in to help with the more difficult opposing centers.
how did he look? its hard to watch those euro-league games with so many people changing in and out (pekovic and rubio, supposed studs on their teams, only average about 20 minutes). i tried to see rubio but he wasnt in the game for ages so i turned it off. only so much spanish i can handle.
No Thabeet !
I didn’t tune in, but I’d also be curious to hear folks’ impressions if they watched.
I’d like to dispell this idea that Flynn is an elite level defender. He has never shown that, and from what I’ve seen he has just as much trouble as you’d expect for a guy his size, if not even more, in fighting off screens. He is constantly taken out of plays. I know he will improve, but I think there is a limit there. If you wanted an elite defender for the point out of the last draft there were other directions you would have gone in. Flynn’s speed will only ever partially compensate for his lack of height, length, and muscle.
fiveanddime - Can’t disagree with you. To be true to my post though, I was talking about the perimeter defense as a whole - the one I threw out there was Flynn-Brewer-Evan Turner. I believe that Brewer and Turner will be elite-level defenders and Flynn’s tenacity (half of defense is effort) and speed will allow him to be decent.
But I never said he’s an elite-level defender… I just think he could fit in well with an elite-level perimeter-defense unit. I just don’t think he’d be the liability that Telfair or Foye were.
Pffftttt use the Pekovic rights as a trade piece.
Flynn I think is a good on the ball defender, but as 5&10 says and I agree, he can get hit with picks. it is something he can improve on though.
I didn’t see Pek’s game yesterday, and I’ve always been skeptical about him being anything more than a banger (don’t really know why). But I’ve read some really positive things about him at Canis Hoopus, so maybe I’ve got it wrong.
Swan - Are you saying you don’t like Pekovic or that he’d draw a strong return in trade?
Do you like him?
New Thread.
Sound great.
I am planning on taking a trip this december, but im not sure where yet.
Anny suggestions?
