BuzzerBeater Forums

Non-BB Global (English) > Big Trade Today

Big Trade Today

Set priority
Show messages by
This Post:
00
16980.8 in reply to 16980.7
Date: 2/24/2008 3:48:26 PM
Overall Posts Rated:
1616
will big ben agree to have zy start over him, or will zy accept to relinquish his (deserved) starting spot to big ben? I can't really see these two guys playing together, barring some major coaching work.

that's exactly what I didnt understand about this trade. They gave away their good PF (Gooden) and now they have 2 centers. Starting both or starting just one and Varejão starting at PF doesn't look like an improvement to me... Varejao has good energy coming off the bench but even I as a brazilian know that he is not starting 5 material... he is no Tiago Splitter...

This Post:
00
16980.9 in reply to 16980.5
Date: 2/24/2008 3:50:44 PM
Overall Posts Rated:
1515
Wally doesn't have to guard 2's.

Plus, while he is a couple of steps slow he is very good positionally on defense. In other words, while he can be beat off the dribble the offensive player usually ends up going where Wally wants him to anyways. With the HUGE upgrade in interior defense brought by this trade he will not be a liability because he maintains solid positioning and will have help. Similarly LeBron will be able to worry less about help and increase his own defensive pressure.

I don't see this as a net loss defensively at all since they gain so much elsewhere and Wally is workable as a team defender.

That being said...I do agree that this trade was not all that much help.

This Post:
00
16980.10 in reply to 16980.7
Date: 2/24/2008 3:58:04 PM
Overall Posts Rated:
1515
Actually I think they will play very well together. Ben performs better with another good big man on the floor so he can focus on defense and rebounding. This way he cannot easily be double teamed while rebounding and he is able to play on ball defense rather than worry about being the only helpside underneath.

This Post:
00
16980.12 in reply to 16980.10
Date: 2/24/2008 7:59:44 PM
Overall Posts Rated:
1616
Actually I think they will play very well together. Ben performs better with another good big man on the floor so he can focus on defense and rebounding. This way he cannot easily be double teamed while rebounding and he is able to play on ball defense rather than worry about being the only helpside underneath.

yeah, I wuold prefer to try that also instead of starting Andy. They will probably do that I guess.

This Post:
00
16980.14 in reply to 16980.13
Date: 2/25/2008 11:08:32 AM
Overall Posts Rated:
1515
Boring basketball no question.

It can work though. On offense he doesn't need to be directly under the basket. He has workable court vision so he can be used in the high post to crash from there. That is how Detroit used him with Corliss Williamson. His place in the offense would shift when played with Varejao.

In essense though I think he will be a sort of designated crasher a la Dennis Rodman. (Who was equally useless away from the basket)

This Post:
00
16980.15 in reply to 16980.11
Date: 2/25/2008 11:14:04 AM
Overall Posts Rated:
1515
1.) LeBron gets breaks on defense in the regular season, not the playoffs. Also guarding Allen is hardly a break because he moves without the ball much much more than Pierce does.

2.) Almost every team has the same matchup problems with the Pistons, so what is your point?

3.) For the couple seasons Wally has had little interior defensive help so his positional strength was pretty much useless. When left to defends the ball by himself he has trouble, true, but with proper helpside he is a much improved defender. Defense is much more of a team concept than people seem to realize. Why does everyone insist that a persons 1 on 1 defensive skills are the whole story?

This Post:
00
16980.17 in reply to 16980.16
Date: 2/25/2008 3:59:24 PM
Overall Posts Rated:
1515
It also includes being in the right place. Too many players depend on speed and end up not being in position when it matters. Wally is good at being where he is supposed to be.

I'm not here trying to claim that Wally is a great or even good defender. I am just pointing out that he is not a liability. This talk of his defensive weakness onoly started to come up when this trade was made. When Minesota was playing well and made the conference finals he seemed pretty adequate, and they played nothing but teams that could score that year. (Dallas, Sacramento, and LA)

Is he a stopper? LOL

Will he fit into a team defensive scheme and make sure the man he is responsible for goes where he wants him to go? Sure. Better than Hughes did. (Speaking of guys who rely on speed and then have nothing when they lose a step)

Advertisement