Yes it is true, Williams' abilities are negligibly better than that of Gibson or West. Name something he does a lot better than Gibson or West. As for the depth part, judging by this and your stance in the Roy Williams thread, I don't think you quite understand that 'more' does not necessarily equal 'better'.
Well, how much consistency do they get out of the rest of their players? I mean, they have proven commodities....if it was about 3 years ago. Big Ben isn't the same person he was, even in his first year in Chicago. Big Z is a shell of his former self, as is Wally. Boobie Gibson is as inconsistent and streak as they come, so is Mo Williams. Do I need to say more? I wouldn't say that. Injuries happen, especially to aging players. I'd actually be shocked if Big Z or Big Ben didn't go down for an extended period of time. Also, Big Z only missed 9 games...not a huge amount. The only two players that missed A LOT of time due to injury were Pavlovic and Gibson. And frankly, they're not overly important cogs to their team. Their skill sets are both easily replaceable quite frankly, which is why the Cavs didn't falter much (if at all) when they were hurt. Best player in the league? Really? Ever hear of Kobe Bryant? Last I knew, he was still in the prime of his career, still the most talented offensive player in the game, and also played defense. Oh yea, he's got an MVP too. And last I knew, LeBron didn't have a complete offensive game and didn't really play on defense. So, until he develops a jump shot and plays both ends of the court, Kobe is going to be the best, unless his skills diminish quickly. I do like their guards, not gonna lie. Too bad none of them know what the word consistency is. They're all also basically the same player. They're all jump shooters who look more for their own shot than helping others out. Their wings are pretty horrid in my book. Pavlovic is a jump shooter, that's it. He's not that great on defense and hell, he wasn't even a very good jump shooter last year. Wally is a shell of his former self now. He looked awful with the Cavs last year and I don't expect that to change much. And their inside...wow. Decent is about as good as it gets there. Big Z and Big Ben are shells of their former selves. Big Ben is the biggest offensive liability in basketball and he no longer makes up for it with spectacular defense and rebounding. Big Z is now a face-up shooter. His knees don't allow him to bang down low too much. And I'd venture to say that Varejao is one of the biggest offensive liabilities in basketball too. His offensive game is all about put backs. He has no back to the basket game and his jump shot range is limited to what, maybe 8 feet? Their frontcourt is easily one of the worst in the NBA in my opinion. Oh yea, and good luck defending an athletic frontcourt. Aside from Varejao, none of the Cavs are overly quick. And as far as Hickson, I love the kid, but he's still REALLY raw. He's not going to make an impact this year and is going to struggle finding burn on the court as it is. What makes you think the Sixers are overrated? They added a consistent, top 5 PF in the NBA to a team that already won 40 games. Considering their young guys are only going to get better, I would have to think that they're a good pick for a top 4 team. As for the Magic...they haven't really changed anything from last year. I see no reason why they can't win 50+ games again, especially considering Dwight Howard will be even better this year. As for the Raps....if JO is healthy, he definitely puts them ahead of the Cavs. TJ Ford had no future with the Raps. He was a second string PG behind Calderon making an asston of money, so he wasn't necessary. JO gives them someone to put alongside Bosh, and if he's the JO of old, he's going to also demand doubles down on the block, making life easier for everyone else. If he stays healthy, the Raps are going to be a damn good team. So...again...I see no reason to put the Cavs any higher than 5th or so at this point. They have made no drastic improvements, their frontcourt is horrid, their bench is injury prone...yea. The Raps added JO...Brand went to teh 76ers...the Magic kept their 50 win team in tact...and the Pistons and Celts are still around.
i didn't bother reading the rest of your post. you clearly have no fucking clue what you are talking about.
No, I think you have no clue what you're talking about. I haven't seen a poster with as much bias as you in a long time. LeBron James' offense is nowhere near complete. He has no semblance of a consistent jump shot, he's a terrible FT shoother, and his man defense is pretty pitiful. He's ok at playing passing lanes, but that's it. Overall though, his defense is not that great.
No offense but coming from a Lakers Fan doesn't mean much. IMO Kobe is the best player in the league but Lebron supporters have a pretty good case. Even if Lebron wasn't the best bball player in the league right now, he is a close second. They are both #1
Oh and Mo Will is much better than West and Gibson in terms of scoring. He can drop 20 almost on any given night. Not the same can be said for West and Boobie. Mo WIll is a legit 20ppg player. That will help the Cavs a lot because they have no Offense aside Bron.
Gibson is just as legit a scorer. He just plays alongside a 30 a game scorer in LeBron. If you sent Gibson to Milwaukee in Williams' place, he's do similar things.
no he wouldn't. i'm a big gibson fan(i actually have his college id card that a friend of mine found while he was working as an RA in the dorms), but that just isn't true. he is a great shooter and has flashes where he is hard to stop getting to the basket but doesn't do so consistently enough to really be a 2nd or 3rd scorer for a team. mo williams does score well enough consistently enough to be a legit 2nd or 3rd option and creates for others much better than gibson as well.
So he's a legit 20ppg scorer that has not averaged 20ppg in a season? That's what I'm garnering here, and I can't say that that makes sense to me. For that matter...his best season was 17.3ppg...which is close to 20ppg...but not 20ppg. And quite frankly, if he's not a 20ppg scorer alongside Mike Redd, someone who shoots a lot less than LeBron...than I can't see him being a 20ppg scorer alongside LeBron. I realize LeBron is a great team player and all, but if he's getting 30+ppg and 22 to 25 shots per game, it's going to be very difficult for Mo Will to get 20ppg.
the sixers and magic both have better teams, and neither are overrated. toronto underperformed severely last season, maybe they'll do it again under sam mitchell. with a decent coach they'd probably finish ahead of the cavs after adding jermaine oneal. wouldnt be surprised if cleveland finishes ahead of them, though. the pistons are getting old, and have a new coach, and my mind wouldn't be blown if enough things went wrong for the cavs to finish ahead of them. the cavs aren't good, they're bad, other than their top 1 or top 2 player in the nba who carries them. they won't be a factor in the postseason.
Judging by what you said it seems we carry the same thoughts about the East. I think after Boston and Orlando, the 3 through 6 seeds are all interchangeable, and they might be only several games apart by the end of the season. Those 4 teams are gonna be close in seeding (Cleveland, Philly, Toronto, and Detroit).
so what happened here? cavs are 4th best in the east, no better than 4th in the east, 6th seed in the east, etc. that appears to be turning out well.
What is it, November still? I don't base my predictions around where things will stand come November 19. But fuck it, I'll bite. Of the three good teams Cleveland has played thus far, they've lost to two of them. So I'd say they're feasting on a pretty easy schedule.
Cavaliers have beaten the Bobcats, Mavericks, Bulls, Pacers, Bucks, Nuggets, Jazz (without Deron Williams), and the Nets. They have lost to the Celtics, Hornets, and the Pistons. So technically the only good teams they have played are the Celtics, Hornets, and Pistons, and they've lost all three. They still have a lot to prove, because so far, they haven't proven anything.
just wanted to see if you were standing by your prediction. you at least have to have given up on the "mo williams is not much of an upgrade over gibson and west" argument, right?
