POST GAME CLEVELAND - HOME

swish wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:No question that IT's defense is his weakness, hes lucky hes on a team that has personnel to cover up alot of his shortcomings with very good/great defenders at all the other positions. Smart and AB are the 2 best guard defenders in the league, Crowder is a strong defender and Jaylen's defense is getting better and better every game....on any other team his defensive weakness would be way more exposed.

cowens

Here are some numbers comparing the 6 Guards that rank in the top 20 in scoring this year (all of the below figures are for the 2016-17 season)

The numbers below represent the percentage points that the player being guarded by the below list of players shot against the league and against the player.

  Thomas - The man he was guarding shot 1.3% points higher against him then he did against the rest of the league.
  Lillard  -  The man he was guarding shot 2.2% points higher.
  Harden -  The man he was guarding shot 2.4% points higher
  Lowry -    The man he was guarding shot 3.1% points higher.
  Westbrook - The man he was guarding shot 4.2% points higher.
  Irving -     The man he was guarding shot 4.8% points higher.

Not bad for a player with a reputation as a bad defender

  swish

dboss wrote:

swish wrote:

dboss wrote:

swish wrote:Here we have THOMAS, a proven elite scorer, and some are fantasizing about replacing him with a 19 or 20 year old draft pick whose future career is completely speculative. And even if he does become a super scorer, like Thomas, would you like to predict the year that he will be putting up those Thomas like numbers.

 swish

Be nice my friend.  Suggesting that If Boston drafts Fultz, IT may be gone is not a fantasy.  It is not something I want to happen but simply something that could happen. Given the money factor and others considerations.  Just so that we are clear, all superstars were 19 or 20 years old.  Fultz may very well be that next superstar and the 2017 draft gives the Celtics a good chance of drafting that level of player. That would be a rare position for this franchise to be in.  

dboss

dboss

   "Suggesting that If Boston drafts Fultz, IT may be gone is not a fantasy.  It is not something I want to happen but simply something that could happen."

   Based on your above statement I would think that latching on to another proven star this summer would be a priority for Danny - if indeed Thomas were to move on. With out Thomas we could very well be a non contender in a hurry and then its back to a youthful rebuilt and all the uncertainty that goes with relying on a roster laced with a bunch of kids. We are close enough now to warrant making an all out effort to win it all in the next 2 years. Use those high draft picks for the star(s) that could make it happen now - not down the road a way, if ever. Its all about opinions dboss -  and Danny has the only opinion that matters

swish  

Agreed Da does want to add a big time scorer.  He may very well trade the Nets pick this year to get on. But he could also use the pick and add to an already over crowded backcourt.  Someone will not remain.  Da would prefer to add a scorer through free agency and just keep his picks.

dboss

worcester wrote:Swish, Your stats about high scoring guards completely changed my mind about resigning IT. Thanks for the insight. Yes, IT is a keeper for sure.

jrleftfoot wrote:

worcester wrote:Swish, Your stats about high scoring guards completely changed my mind about resigning IT. Thanks for the insight. Yes, IT is a keeper for sure.

I was for keeping IT too, but swish  backs up his, and in this case my, opinion with solid evidence. Somebody earlier in the thread , said IT  was susceptible to triple teams. I` m sure that was a slip of the keyboard tongue. I would love to know  what player in the history of basketball wasn`t susceptible to triple teams. My catholic upbringing would suggest the father, the son and the holy ghost. O.K. that`s a cheap shot, but I couldn`t resist. Actually against Cleveland, in the closing minutes , the entire defense sagged on him twice and he hit Crowder and Smart for crucial threes . Then , when a defender went under a screen , he hit a three from the parking lot ; then got past D.Williams and drew the game winning foul. So, in effect, he did beat triple teams 4 times with the game on the line.

bobc33 wrote:

jrleftfoot wrote:

worcester wrote:Swish, Your stats about high scoring guards completely changed my mind about resigning IT. Thanks for the insight. Yes, IT is a keeper for sure.

I was for keeping IT too, but swish  backs up his, and in this case my, opinion with solid evidence. Somebody earlier in the thread , said IT  was susceptible to triple teams. I` m sure that was a slip of the keyboard tongue. I would love to know  what player in the history of basketball wasn`t susceptible to triple teams. My catholic upbringing would suggest the father, the son and the holy ghost. O.K. that`s a cheap shot, but I couldn`t resist. Actually against Cleveland, in the closing minutes , the entire defense sagged on him twice and he hit Crowder and Smart for crucial threes . Then , when a defender went under a screen , he hit a three from the parking lot ; then got past D.Williams and drew the game winning foul. So, in effect, he did beat triple teams 4 times with the game on the line.

My Catholic upbringing had me chuckling quite loudly!