Needs some tweaking, I'm sure, but I just wanted to get something down with all of the players on it.


C: Rasheed Wallace|Nazr Mohammed|Cheick Samb or Vet's min FA
PF: Antonio McDyess|Jason Maxiell|Amir Johnson
SF: Tayshaun Prince|MLE|Ronald Dupree
SG: Rip Hamilton|Flip Murray|Arron Afflalo
PG: Chauncey Billups|Rodney Stuckey|Lindsey Hunter

Basic Assumptions:
Billups re-signs
Amir re-signs
MLE SF signed
Mejia to Europe or waived, NBDL if roster allows
Davis & Webber not re-signed
Dice is okay with starting

Discuss.

Depending on who the MLE player turns out to be, and assuming no trades, I'm thinking 3rd place in the Central, prolly 6 fewer wins than last year.

2nd round exit from the playoffs.

I mean the roster seem's to be the same as last year...I would prefer that Stuckey and Afflalo see the court more than Lindsey and Flip, but the reality of it is they both are probably two young to make any huge contributions, and we are pretty much stuck with Nazr Mohammed...


If that's what the rosters going to look like, might as well just re-sign C-Webb. At least he could give you some legit scoring off the bench...


As lifeless as that depth chart may seem to us, it's still good enough to win 50+, snag the 1 seed and win the East...

I would start Max and keep Dyess on the bench. Otherwise I agree. Max's energy might rub off on Sheed and Tay and cause them to be less lax out there. Plus Dyess has proven he can provide bench points and I wouldn't want to risk starting him and watch him or Sheed dissapear offensively (they both tend to operate on the wing rather than the post). Dyess might also pair well with Stuckey since apparently his mid range game is good and also he's great off the dribble. They could run pick and pops very effectively perhaps.

I hadn't given much thought to Webber lately, but you are right, we may need him if he'll take the vet's min. Him or Mutombo, lol.

Who's left that we could get w/ the MLE??


I'm assuming Mo-Pete will sign with Utah (for some reason he seems to be enamored with them)...


Gerald Wallace will probably make more than the MLE...Stackhouse is already back on Dallas...


Araujo??
Chuck Hayes??

I think you could get C-Webb back for the Vets minimum and not have to waste your MLE...

He's already gonna make a pocket load from Philly (unless they have the insurance paying for it)...


If you can get C-Webb back for 1-2 mil...I say do it

If we do by some chance lose Amir, our front court has suddenly gone from the deepest in the league to one of the shakiest/thinnest.

Depending on who the MLE player turns out to be, and assuming no trades, I'm thinking 3rd place in the Central, prolly 6 fewer wins than last year.

2nd round exit from the playoffs.

Really? If we add mo pete, and stuckey can be close to Ben Gordon like (like maybe 10-13 PPG off the bench)...we could be better than last year. Start Max and I bet he can match Webber's production (not a great passer, but in other ways). Mo Pete, Dyess and Stuckey could easily add 25-30 PPG off the bench combined with solid minutes.

I'm curious to see how Chicago will be this year (with Noah added and Thomas another year older), but would you really pick against us? The Cavs might lose either Sasha or Varejao, they didn't draft anybody either. They won't be any better this year IMO. The Bucks will be better, supposing they can get Yi in there (even if they don't they should be much better if healthy). So will Atlanta. But I bet those teams steal a lot of wins from the Cavs this year.

The bench still sucks, in fact, I think it's much worse (younger, but worse).

Milwaukee could rise to #2 in the division IMO (Bulls #1) depending on what they do with Yi/Mo Williams.

It depends on the MLE. Supposing we add no legit scoring SF, then it sucks big time. Probably no worse than last year (I think Afflalo/Stuckey can AT LEAST replace Delfino), but it wasn't good then either. If we add a guy like Mo Pete I think it will be fine. That's assuming our first rounders aren't total busts.

Can we count on Stuckey getting us 10+ ppg?...

what do you think

I agree with most everything, Glenn, but I think we'll either be #1 or #2 in the division and the conference. If we don't have the best record in the East, it will be Chicago. Cleveland overachieved last year, IMO, and they won't likely repeat that unless Boobie really can become a 16/8 player for them. Even then, Z is old and slow, Pavlovic is probably the worst starter in the league, and Gooden is just Gooden. If LeBron hadn't gone off in game 5, we would have been the team losing to SA, probably in 6.

Sure, I think Stuckey is good for those points, if we use him correctly. It sounds like he's fearless and quick enough to get some space for shots. I'll buy it.

I agree with most everything, Glenn, but I think we'll either be #1 or #2 in the division and the conference. If we don't have the best record in the East, it will be Chicago. Cleveland overachieved last year, IMO, and they won't likely repeat that unless Boobie really can become a 16/8 player for them. Even then, Z is old and slow, Pavlovic is probably the worst starter in the league, and Gooden is just Gooden. If LeBron hadn't gone off in game 5, we would have been the team losing to SA, probably in 6.



I agree, the Cavs were playing way above their heads last year...they may lose either Pavlovic or Varejao...or maybe even both...They didn't get any draft picks and Ilgauskas isn't getting any younger...

They have nothing of any trade value, and they don't have much cap room to go out and sign a FA like Gerald Wallace, they are going to be mediocre next year...


The Bulls will be solid, and all of their guards are coming into contract years (Gordon, Deng, Duhon)...they still have no scoring downlow...

Pistons are still probably top to bottom the best team in the East...but I still think they need to add a player

I wish the regular season was only 40 games long... :(

Our bench may be improved. Max and Amir should get some burn, and I would assume combined, they can get something like 12 pts 10rebounds. Stuckey should provide 10pg off the bench no matter what position he plays. With Dice being even hungrier than ever(?) hopefullyhe can find his rhythm early...:emo kid:

With the MLE, I hope we get either Barnes or Pieturs. We'd be the team to beat in the East again.....

Our bench this year may be reminiscient of the Alternatorz in some ways, at least in terms of having lots of guys coming in to do individual little things. Maxiell fits the Corliss mold, Stuckey the Chucky mold, and that's probably where the striking similarities end. But throw in Dice, Amir, and Afflalo to that, and we could have the Alternatorz II.

C: Rasheed Wallace|Nazr Mohammed|Cheick Samb or Vet's min FA
PF: Antonio McDyess|Jason Maxiell|Amir Johnson
SF: Tayshaun Prince|MLE|Ronald Dupree
SG: Rip Hamilton|Flip Murray|Arron Afflalo
PG: Chauncey Billups|Rodney Stuckey|Lindsey Hunter

Acker could/should be in there somewhere too.

Acker won't be here unless we move Flip Murray.

If we had another SF, I wouldn't be surprised to see Dupree bought out if we needed a roster spot.

But as scary as it sounds, we actually "need Ronald Dupree" right now.

Yikes.

If McDyess' effort doesn't inspire Sheed, I don't know that I believe Maxiell's will.

Acker could/should be in there somewhere too.
He should be in there right where Murray is.

I would like to think that we will start Sheed and Maxiell, keeping Dice as the main big off then bench. I suppose that we will play Nazr a lot early on to increase his trade value.

as for the Sf's I think we may get a taste of small ball this year, with Rip sliding to SF when Tay sits for 2 minutes per game. I expect to see at least a little Chauncey, Rip, Stuckey/Afflalo rotation out there while tay gets a breather. Dupree will probably be the backup SF by name.

This offseason could have been so different had Joe not used those two picks redundantly and actually filled a team need with the second pick.

as for the Sf's I think we may get a bitter taste of small balls this year,
Fixed.

Starting Maxiell is a sheer fantasy, until he learns not to rebound like a 10-year old girl.

Power forwards who can't even rebound a missed free throw do not start on NBA teams. Max can throw down all the fancy dunks he wants. He still isn't going to start if the other team gets 3 shots at the basket every time he's out there.

Starting Maxiell is a sheer fantasy, until he learns not to rebound like a 10-year old girl.

Power forwards who can't even rebound a missed free throw do not start on NBA teams. Max can throw down all the fancy dunks he wants. He still isn't going to start if the other team gets 3 shots at the basket every time he's out there.

I'm pretty sure he rebounds better than some other power forwards we've had:

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/topstory/sports/robinson_clifford1126.jpghttp://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/detroit/MillsDet.JPGhttp://www.hhweb.com/nba2004champs/CorlissWilliamson01_small.jpg

As bad as Cliff was on the glass, he was never Max-bad.

Cliff was also 7 feet and managed to box out his own man most of the time, albeit he rarely got to the ball.

I never saw Cliff struggle to rebound missed free throws as frequently as I've seen Maxiell.

It's at the point you just pray the guy behind him knocks the ball out of bounds and we can have the ball back.

Max is a really fun player to watch when he's doing what he does best, but me liking his highlight dunks does not make starting him a sound basketball decision.

As you said, Cliff was 7 feet tall. Also, he'd been in the league for many years before coming here. Before defending him you might want to check his 3.9 career rebounding average. And before you say it's diluted from his last few years, his best year was 4.3 RPG in his first 4 years. And he averaged 33 MPG that year too. Max gets 3 RPG in less than 15 MPG.

As you said, Cliff was 7 feet tall. Also, he'd been in the league for many years before coming here. Before defending him you might want to check his 3.9 career rebounding average. And before you say it's diluted from his last few years, his best year was 4.3 RPG in his first 4 years. And he averaged 33 MPG that year too. Max gets 3 RPG in less than 15 MPG.

I'm less concerned with Max's rebound average (because he is a decent offensive rebounder) and more on the fact that he gives up a TON of offensive rebounds.

I'm just sick of watching 7-foot centers tipping the ball to themselves right over his head, like he's a 9-year old little brother being toyed with.

Yes, but I think boxing out just comes with experience. Barkley made a living in the NBA because he learned to box out. I don't know how he did his first couple years, but I suspect he wasn't great at it right from the start. Max will learn to overcome his height deficiancies as well. I suspect Ben Wallace relied on his jumping too much when he came into the league (which is why Washington didn't keep him). When he learned to box out he because a beast on the glass.

actually he averaged eight and a half. His second year he was 12 RPG. But you are still correct he was good from day 1.

whoops I was looking at his per-minute stats.

I don't get the "I like McDyess off the bench but Maxiell starting because we need McDyess' bench points" argument at all. No offense but that just seems retarded to me. Your best players should play the most. The guy with the best all around game should be the starter. How many other teams bench a better player in order to "know what they are getting off the bench"? I suppose you could say that it's similar to what Dallas does with Stackhouse but I think they do that because he can't handle extended minutes.

Ginobili, San Antonio

And because he's pretty inconsistent. (Stack)

And because McDyess prefers to come off the bench.

I don't get the "I like McDyess off the bench but Maxiell starting because we need McDyess' bench points" argument at all. No offense but that just seems retarded to me. Your best players should play the most. The guy with the best all around game should be the starter. How many other teams bench a better player in order to "know what they are getting off the bench"? I suppose you could say that it's similar to what Dallas does with Stackhouse but I think they do that because he can't handle extended minutes.

two different things. Dice didn't start during the playoffs, but he certainly played more than CWebb.

Manu came off the bench for the World Champions as mentioned (so it works).

The best play the most minutes, and play in crunch time. They don't have to start to do that.

I don't get the "I like McDyess off the bench but Maxiell starting because we need McDyess' bench points" argument at all. No offense but that just seems retarded to me. Your best players should play the most. The guy with the best all around game should be the starter. How many other teams bench a better player in order to "know what they are getting off the bench"? I suppose you could say that it's similar to what Dallas does with Stackhouse but I think they do that because he can't handle extended minutes.

Then you're also saying that McDyess should've been starting over Ben Wallace?!?! ...because there's no doubt that Antonio has a better "all around game" than Ben.

JTT, its hard to read your posts since I keep looking at your avatar. who is that?

Anyway, I like Dice on the bench since he can be a more focal point of the offense. With the starting 5 we could have, I think an energy guy at the 4 might be better since lineup with Dice and CWeb was emotionless at the start of games. Max gives us more of a spark.

BBF, looks like ashley simpson

http://wizbangblog.com/images/ashlee_simpson04_c.jpg

BBF, looks like ashley simpson


Holy shit, he does?

You found me out after all these years. Take your pants off Glenn.

Ashley Simpson it is. I hate the bitch but plastic surgery has done the ho well.

In this picture I've always felt that the thought that's running through her head is...BLOWJOBS!! OMG I JUST LOVE 'EM!!

Is that really you, BBF, or are you just lipsyncing?

So where are we with the rotation now that we've seen a couple of SL games and AJ is in the mix?

Dice and Max but what about Stuck, AA and AJ? Just a prolly on them?

Going back a bit, it was mentioned that someone (sorry to not give the shout-out, just can't remember who said it) hated seeing 7 foot centers tipping the ball to themselves for boards over Max. Well, unless Max was playing C at the time, that wasn't necessarily his problem. Shouldn't the C have been boxing that guy out? You shouldn't blame Max for guys that Sheed or CWebb failed to box out. If he WAS playing C, blame Flip (it's easy to do).

Going back a bit, it was mentioned that someone (sorry to not give the shout-out, just can't remember who said it) hated seeing 7 foot centers tipping the ball to themselves for boards over Max. Well, unless Max was playing C at the time, that wasn't necessarily his problem. Shouldn't the C have been boxing that guy out? You shouldn't blame Max for guys that Sheed or CWebb failed to box out. If he WAS playing C, blame Flip (it's easy to do).

..it's called a switch. It happens constantly on defense, and given that Maxiell constantly switches out on screens, he's more vulnerable to it than anybody.

You expect your PF to be able to get a defensive rebound against a center. This isn't even a concern for %95 of the power forwards in the NBA. Nobody ever gets worried that Dice or Sheed will get stuck boxing out a 7-footer. Most BELOW average power forwards can easily get a defensive rebound against a 7-footer.

You don't box out someone simply because you teammate missed an assignment. It doesn't work that way. You box out the player closest to you when a shot goes up.

The problem with Maxiell is he has difficulty boxing out players that play HIS OWN POSITION. God forbid he gets switched out on to a guy 7 feet or taller, and it's over.

Fun as Maxiell is to watch, he is one of the worst players I've ever seen at boxing out his own freaking man. It's frustrating, and it's the biggest reason why he can't win the starting PF job, no matter how many points he scores.

it would not surprise me one bit to see Amir Johnson (see: PF that CAN box out) bury Maxiell on the bench. Send him to a 7th-grade girls team until he actually stops giving up 23 offensive rebounds per possession.