Post by greeme on Jun 10, 2012 11:45:43 GMT -5
Nuggets vs Woves
Greeme has been saying that this is a bad matchup for him. Is he just blowing smoke or should the Nuggets be scared?
J - Anytime you have to face a player like KAJ, you can’t be 100% confident IMO. I don’t think Greeme has much to worry about here. The Wolves are a weak team, game is not good at making DCs, and Rudy is a big downgrade from McAdoo imo. The Nuggets have the frontcourt to slow down KAJ enough to win here.
G - A little of both. It is the Nuggets' series to lose but the Wolves are much better than their record would indicate. Kaj and Monroe are still top flight players. Rudy is very solid. All in all not as talented as the Nuggets but certainly not far behind.
Which team is worse off because of injuries (Nuggets are without artis and bing for game 1 and Wolves are without Monroe for the first 2 games) ?
J - Since the Nuggets are missing 2 starters, they are worse off. It will be difficult for them to win game 1 without those 2.
G - The Nuggets are hurt more bc their players are out for a home game. This series could well come down to hc advantage and if the Nuggets lose it in game 1 they might not bounce back.
Who should guard KAJ, Ray or Artis?
J - I would leave Artis on him because you will lose less on offense should he get in foul trouble.
G - IDK, that is why I asked ;D. I will probably just leave Artis there just because I am undecided. Maybe I will switch in the second part. Idk.
Key series matchup?
J - Gilmore/Ray v. KAJ. If you can slow down KAJ, the wolves have no chance.
G - Bing vs Silas. Bing was brought in to get a ring ad dominate pgs. The Nuggets will need him to thoroughly outplay Silas in order to get to the next round.
Prediction?
J - Nuggets in 6. I would say 4 or 5 if not for the injuries.
G - Nuggets in 7.
OKC vs Blazers
On paper this seems to be an easy series to pick, what has to happen for OKC to make it interesting?
J - Walt Hazard’s long career of success come the playoffs. He is still a great PG and those always have a lot to do with pulling an upset.
G - Rick Barry. The Blazers have had a hard time guarding sgs all year. Rick Barry might be the best sg in the game at this point. He will have to play like it in order for Thunder to stay in the series.
Broph has been whining about his dc not being good. Is his team better than his 60 wins or not?
G - Broph has a very good team. I think it may be the best team in the West. However, I don’t like the fact that he doesn’t have a dominant scorer. He has a bunch of guys who I would consider 2 and 3 options at this point. I think this could hurt considering many teams have more than 1 guy who could be a #1.
G - No. 60 wins seems about right for this team. Not really clear why Broph thinks that it isn't enough. I like a lot of his guys, including larry jones whom Broph seems to blame for his problems, but I honestly don't think that they match up with the nuggets statistically.
Key series matchup?
J - Hazard v. Fryer. Hazard has the potential to make this series interesting. Even though Fryer is a good PG, I think Hazard may really dominate him
G - Key series matchup? Rick Barry vs??? Only shot the Thunder have is to exploit this matchup to the fullest. The revolving door at sg for the Blazers has been going on all year and nobody seems to stop good 3pt shooters. I don't know if it will be enough but Barry will definitely have the green light this series.
Prediction?
J - Trail-Blazers in 5. The Thunder do not have enough outside of Barry and Hazard to really threaten the Trail-Blazers over 6 games.
G - Blazers in 5
Jazz vs Hornets
Jazz have a better record but the Hornets beat them 3 times in the last 25 games of the season, what kind of stock do you put in regular season matchups?
J - It depends on the actual games themselves and the likelihood of game changing performances being repeated. If a team flat out beats you, then I think you have to take that into account. If a game is close or a player dominates that normally would not, I think you can look to tweak your lineup or not put as much weight into the actual result.
G - Eh, usually not much. Trades, dc changes, injuries etc all factor in. In this case though we are talking about 3 games simmed in the last few days. I think that both teams would be foolish not to study the boxes and make the necessary adjustments.
Pete and Mcginnis had a lot of success in those three games, even though Carter and gerard have high defensive ratings. If you are the Jazz do you change up your defensive strategy?
J - Yes. I think there are a lot of changes you can make on those two players. They can both be turnover prone and the Jazz are running normal normal settings which are easy to adjust.
G - Yeah, you can't just sit pat after losing three straight. On the other hand what are they going to do? The jazz are a good regular season team but they don't have a lot of pieces to change up in the playoffs. Their d seems weak and they don't have defenders off the bunch that can start if need be.
Key series matchup?
J - Carter v. Maravich. The Jazz need to slow down Pete because I don’t think they can keep up with the Hornet’s offense if he puts up over 30ppg.
G - Carter vs Pistol. If Carter can't slow down Pistol then the Jazz won't win. I really think that this series is that simple.
Prediction?
J - Hornets in 6. The Jazz are outmatched here imo.
G - Hornets in 6. I don't think that the Jazz have the defense to win this series.
clippers vs lakers
Which frontcourt would you rather have – Goo and Lanier or Neal and Moore?
J - Neal and Moore. Goo is not a special player outside of his rebounding while Neal and Moore are complete bigs. Lanier may not even be the best of the bunch since Neal has picked up his offene.
G - Neal and Moore. I like Lanier the best but Neal and Moore are close behind and goo isn't that close. Goo is a very good rebounder and doesn't turn the ball over a lot. Besides that he is below average in everything. Neal and Moore block shots, play d and rebound. Everything else is gravy. They are both pretty efficient scorers but that isn't where their main value comes from.
Paul Westphal and Bristow – will either of them play defense or will they both drop 30+ on each other?
J - I don’t think both will put up 30ppg, but there won’t be a lot of defense played.
G - If they are high options in outside offenses then they won't be able to stop each other. Lou Hudson did shut Bristow down the last time, I wonder if styro will let him start…
Key series matchup?
J - Neal v. Lanier. Two elite centers. Foul trouble for one of them could be the determining factor in the series
G - Kenon vs Haywood. Kenon is right at the edge of superstardom and the Lakers need him to outplay Haywood if they are going to advance. Haywood is not as talented as Kenon but is a very solid all around player.
Prediction?
J - Clippers in 6. Styro always struggles with his playoff DCs and this is a close matchup so I’m going with the Clippers
G - Clippers in 7.
Greeme has been saying that this is a bad matchup for him. Is he just blowing smoke or should the Nuggets be scared?
J - Anytime you have to face a player like KAJ, you can’t be 100% confident IMO. I don’t think Greeme has much to worry about here. The Wolves are a weak team, game is not good at making DCs, and Rudy is a big downgrade from McAdoo imo. The Nuggets have the frontcourt to slow down KAJ enough to win here.
G - A little of both. It is the Nuggets' series to lose but the Wolves are much better than their record would indicate. Kaj and Monroe are still top flight players. Rudy is very solid. All in all not as talented as the Nuggets but certainly not far behind.
Which team is worse off because of injuries (Nuggets are without artis and bing for game 1 and Wolves are without Monroe for the first 2 games) ?
J - Since the Nuggets are missing 2 starters, they are worse off. It will be difficult for them to win game 1 without those 2.
G - The Nuggets are hurt more bc their players are out for a home game. This series could well come down to hc advantage and if the Nuggets lose it in game 1 they might not bounce back.
Who should guard KAJ, Ray or Artis?
J - I would leave Artis on him because you will lose less on offense should he get in foul trouble.
G - IDK, that is why I asked ;D. I will probably just leave Artis there just because I am undecided. Maybe I will switch in the second part. Idk.
Key series matchup?
J - Gilmore/Ray v. KAJ. If you can slow down KAJ, the wolves have no chance.
G - Bing vs Silas. Bing was brought in to get a ring ad dominate pgs. The Nuggets will need him to thoroughly outplay Silas in order to get to the next round.
Prediction?
J - Nuggets in 6. I would say 4 or 5 if not for the injuries.
G - Nuggets in 7.
OKC vs Blazers
On paper this seems to be an easy series to pick, what has to happen for OKC to make it interesting?
J - Walt Hazard’s long career of success come the playoffs. He is still a great PG and those always have a lot to do with pulling an upset.
G - Rick Barry. The Blazers have had a hard time guarding sgs all year. Rick Barry might be the best sg in the game at this point. He will have to play like it in order for Thunder to stay in the series.
Broph has been whining about his dc not being good. Is his team better than his 60 wins or not?
G - Broph has a very good team. I think it may be the best team in the West. However, I don’t like the fact that he doesn’t have a dominant scorer. He has a bunch of guys who I would consider 2 and 3 options at this point. I think this could hurt considering many teams have more than 1 guy who could be a #1.
G - No. 60 wins seems about right for this team. Not really clear why Broph thinks that it isn't enough. I like a lot of his guys, including larry jones whom Broph seems to blame for his problems, but I honestly don't think that they match up with the nuggets statistically.
Key series matchup?
J - Hazard v. Fryer. Hazard has the potential to make this series interesting. Even though Fryer is a good PG, I think Hazard may really dominate him
G - Key series matchup? Rick Barry vs??? Only shot the Thunder have is to exploit this matchup to the fullest. The revolving door at sg for the Blazers has been going on all year and nobody seems to stop good 3pt shooters. I don't know if it will be enough but Barry will definitely have the green light this series.
Prediction?
J - Trail-Blazers in 5. The Thunder do not have enough outside of Barry and Hazard to really threaten the Trail-Blazers over 6 games.
G - Blazers in 5
Jazz vs Hornets
Jazz have a better record but the Hornets beat them 3 times in the last 25 games of the season, what kind of stock do you put in regular season matchups?
J - It depends on the actual games themselves and the likelihood of game changing performances being repeated. If a team flat out beats you, then I think you have to take that into account. If a game is close or a player dominates that normally would not, I think you can look to tweak your lineup or not put as much weight into the actual result.
G - Eh, usually not much. Trades, dc changes, injuries etc all factor in. In this case though we are talking about 3 games simmed in the last few days. I think that both teams would be foolish not to study the boxes and make the necessary adjustments.
Pete and Mcginnis had a lot of success in those three games, even though Carter and gerard have high defensive ratings. If you are the Jazz do you change up your defensive strategy?
J - Yes. I think there are a lot of changes you can make on those two players. They can both be turnover prone and the Jazz are running normal normal settings which are easy to adjust.
G - Yeah, you can't just sit pat after losing three straight. On the other hand what are they going to do? The jazz are a good regular season team but they don't have a lot of pieces to change up in the playoffs. Their d seems weak and they don't have defenders off the bunch that can start if need be.
Key series matchup?
J - Carter v. Maravich. The Jazz need to slow down Pete because I don’t think they can keep up with the Hornet’s offense if he puts up over 30ppg.
G - Carter vs Pistol. If Carter can't slow down Pistol then the Jazz won't win. I really think that this series is that simple.
Prediction?
J - Hornets in 6. The Jazz are outmatched here imo.
G - Hornets in 6. I don't think that the Jazz have the defense to win this series.
clippers vs lakers
Which frontcourt would you rather have – Goo and Lanier or Neal and Moore?
J - Neal and Moore. Goo is not a special player outside of his rebounding while Neal and Moore are complete bigs. Lanier may not even be the best of the bunch since Neal has picked up his offene.
G - Neal and Moore. I like Lanier the best but Neal and Moore are close behind and goo isn't that close. Goo is a very good rebounder and doesn't turn the ball over a lot. Besides that he is below average in everything. Neal and Moore block shots, play d and rebound. Everything else is gravy. They are both pretty efficient scorers but that isn't where their main value comes from.
Paul Westphal and Bristow – will either of them play defense or will they both drop 30+ on each other?
J - I don’t think both will put up 30ppg, but there won’t be a lot of defense played.
G - If they are high options in outside offenses then they won't be able to stop each other. Lou Hudson did shut Bristow down the last time, I wonder if styro will let him start…
Key series matchup?
J - Neal v. Lanier. Two elite centers. Foul trouble for one of them could be the determining factor in the series
G - Kenon vs Haywood. Kenon is right at the edge of superstardom and the Lakers need him to outplay Haywood if they are going to advance. Haywood is not as talented as Kenon but is a very solid all around player.
Prediction?
J - Clippers in 6. Styro always struggles with his playoff DCs and this is a close matchup so I’m going with the Clippers
G - Clippers in 7.
