From watching him play in Athens it looks to me that his man to man defen<u>S</u>e has picked up. He may not be a Ron Artest, but he does have the ability to shut down an opposing player, especially sf's. His size at the SG position tends to make people feel he isn't a great defender, where the guys he is guarding is just way too quick for him. Moving to the 3 will make it alot more easier for him to defend.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Infante:</div><div class="quote_post">People still doubt my Cavaliers yet they are ranked 4-6th in the east in most power rankings.</div> The magic were ranked reasonably high in most pre-season power rankings last year as well. The pistons never got the pre-season respect that they deserved. Even though they added Sheed mid-year. They were still a top team before that. Power rankings are overrated. I'm still confused as to why Stein still has a job. The Cavs have no business being 4-6 in the east. They lost Boozer and added Eric Snow? Weak. 1. Pistons 2. Heat 3. Pacers 4. Knicks 5. Magic 6. Bucks And frankly, there are a couple teams I didn't even list yet.
I will obviously lose this debate seeing that there are no true Cavs fans in sight on this board. But if you say the loss of Boozer will be the key reason for not making the playoffs then, hey what do I know. I guess Zydrunas/LeBron/Snow are just worthless. Drew is not proven, but definatly a motivated athlete that finally got his break. Jeff McInnis was a prime reason the Cavaliers had bursts of winning streaks. We also added depth to the bench with perimeter shooters in Jackson/Pavlovic/Harris. I can see where losing an extra 11 rebounds a game would kick us off the playoff race I guess. I mean, we where short of making the playoffs last season by 1 game. IMO The Cavs have a better roster than last years.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Jurassic:</div><div class="quote_post">Those guys are so much better than Lebron. Lebron is not a god.</div> Well those players don't get doubled team when they stand around on the perimter...They get doubled and triple teamed when they drive. LeBron is up there with them when he drives towards the basket, and he's real strong, so he can finish his drives often.
I still feel like his assists will stay up there while averaging quite a few more points a game. Like Melo their field goal percentages should go a bit up. Especially if Lebron gets a post up game, I guy like that should actually be shooting around 48 to 50% with his kinda size and abilities to get to the hole. Of course his jump shot is still a liability so I say he can at least achieve shooting in the mid 40 percantile range.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Infante:</div><div class="quote_post">I will obviously lose this debate seeing that there are no true Cavs fans in sight on this board. But if you say the loss of Boozer will be the key reason for not making the playoffs then, hey what do I know. I guess Zydrunas/LeBron/Snow are just worthless. Drew is not proven, but definatly a motivated athlete that finally got his break. Jeff McInnis was a prime reason the Cavaliers had bursts of winning streaks. We also added depth to the bench with perimeter shooters in Jackson/Pavlovic/Harris. I can see where losing an extra 11 rebounds a game would kick us off the playoff race I guess. I mean, we where short of making the playoffs last season by 1 game. IMO The Cavs have a better roster than last years.</div> Dude, my point was that you lost Boozer and failed to add a player of equal calibre. You say that Jeff Mcinnis is part of why the Cavs did so well. Too bad that he will now be coming of the bench to Eric Snow. Adding Eric Snow does not make up for the loss of Boozer. I dont see how you can say that they have a better roster than last years. I listed my top 6 eastern teams, and you have yet to claim that the Cavs are better than any of the teams that I listed. So how can you say that the Cavs 4th to 6th is power rankings? Any ranking that would put the Cavs at 4th is just as bad as Steve Kerr putting Utah at 4th in the west.
I think his two most looked at stats will go up, something like: 25 PPG 6.5 RPG But his assists will go down a bit because he can play a different position this season
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Infante:</div><div class="quote_post">I will obviously lose this debate seeing that there are no true Cavs fans in sight on this board. But if you say the loss of Boozer will be the key reason for not making the playoffs then, hey what do I know. I guess Zydrunas/LeBron/Snow are just worthless. Drew is not proven, but definatly a motivated athlete that finally got his break. Jeff McInnis was a prime reason the Cavaliers had bursts of winning streaks. We also added depth to the bench with perimeter shooters in Jackson/Pavlovic/Harris. I can see where losing an extra 11 rebounds a game would kick us off the playoff race I guess. I mean, we where short of making the playoffs last season by 1 game. IMO The Cavs have a better roster than last years.</div> I agree, Infante. Drew Gooden will almost certainly put up the same amount of points as Boozer, maybe a few less boards. Last season at Orlando he was only about two points and five rebounds behind, I think, but he did it in about seven less minutes. LeBron has a whole season experience as well as the Olympics, even if his minutes were limited. The bench now has some depth in it and Eric Snow can play PG, which will cover the massive hole left there last season when Jeff McInnes was injured. Getting rid of Kevin Ollie was a huge step forward for the Cavaliers.
Ok, mabey saying the Cavaliers winning 4th is far too fetched, and I'll admit that. Realisticly, 6-8th will be chased by NY, Bos, Cle. My only problem is when people think that Carlos Boozer was our complete player and that we can't go any further without him. BUZZ news flash, Carlos is a non factor in Silas' playbook and only scored the ball because Zydrunas was double teamed every play. Boozer lacks lateral defense and also lacks offensive moves in the post. Carlos Boozer is your modern day Tyrone Hill. Don't let that paycheck fool you. To say that Paxon didn't bring back equal talent is obsured. Players lost. Boozer, Battie, EWill, Ollie. Players gained. Gooden, Traylor, Harris, Williams, Snow. As for Eric Snow starting over McInnis, if you read around Cleveland news or articles, "probably not, why would you?" you will see that Eric Snow and Jeff McInnis will be starting together. Zydrunas/Gooden/James/McInnis/Snow Zydrunas/Boozer/Newble/James/McInnis It looks to me that the Cavaliers starting 5 looks just as good as last season. But thats just me. Lets hear more.
You cannot start Snow and Mcinnis together. They tried that in Portland after Bonzi was traded and Derek Anderson was injured, they played Damon and Jeff together. Jeff has a mid-range shot (although inconsistant), but he needs to handle the ball too much. He doesn't dish well. Two points guards do not make up for the lack of a sg. Now on to Drew Gooden. While he has been brilliant at times, playing with Juwan Howard was nothing but a detriment to his game. You say that Boozer was a non-factor in their offense (I don't agree, but I'll give you that). Gooden does not have the ability that Boozer does, so even as a non-factor he wont be able to put up Boozer style numbers. Also, he doesn't have Boozer's rep, he's seen as soft. The Cavs are about to be the softest team in the NBA. A center who is injury prone, a pg with a baby face, a teenager, etc. Boozer was more than stats. Please don't try to say that Traylor will bring toughness anywhere other than the dinner table, because he won't.
I think he'll score a few more a game for sure and get some more bounds. Scoring might be tough at first but as the season goes on it'll go up. It'll help when he gets on page with snow and guys like Luke and Gooden start to show up. The do however need to try to make sure that even if snow is at point the still give McInnis a chance to run the O, James and J-Mac are way to good together. One of the softest teams because they added Snow and lost Boozer? Give me a break. Boozer is soft, and plays horrid D. Snow is one of the toughest little guys out there.
LeBron James may be a teenager, but he is a teenager with serious talent. I read somewhere ages ago that Zydrunas had surgery on various body parts, which is going to make him something like five times less likely to be injured this season. Drew Gooden might be seen as soft, but he can change that reputation by playing some great seasons at the Cav's, which I seriously beleive he can.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Heppy Lotmore:</div><div class="quote_post">LeBron James may be a teenager, but he is a teenager with serious talent. I read somewhere ages ago that Zydrunas had surgery on various body parts, which is going to make him something like five times less likely to be injured this season. Drew Gooden might be seen as soft, but he can change that reputation by playing some great seasons at the Cav's, which I seriously beleive he can.</div>That's some s---. Seriously, players getting surgery so they are less likely to get injured in the future.
Zydrunas has been healthy for 2 full seasons, one of them an All-Star season. Z's health hasn't been a factor for a while and even tho he isn't quick as before, does a solid job under the post. His health has been a big debate for giving him another max deal. It may be too iffy, but It looks to me the foot is not a problem anymore.
this thread should be deleted i made one just like it (except mines better) a few months back. Someone delete it!! see click the link---->http://www.justbball.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17192
There were some pretty good predictions in this thread. I think James has suprassed most of them, particularly with his rebounding and field goal percentage. Hopefully he can keep it up.
[quote name='Jurassic']. The Cavs have no business being 4-6 in the east. They lost Boozer and added Eric Snow? Weak. QUOTE] Yes they do. Let's take a look at some good players we got and some players the Cavs lost. <u>Lost</u> Carlos Boozer Can't see any one else major who was lost. <u>Recievved</u> Drew Gooden(as good as Boozer was last year) Eric Snow(leadership) Luke JAckson Also if you want to mention the great improbvement LEBron will/is having then its all good. I think the Cavs more than made up for the loss of Boozer. What he is averaging now PPG: 27.3 APG: 6 RPG: 8.10 SPG: 2.18 BPG:1.27 MPG: 41.5 FG%: .498(wow) 3-pt FG%: .389 THese stats look god-like. I bet whoever has him on their fantasy team is hacin a party right now. What I think he'll average PPG: 28.3 APG: 5.7 RPG: 8.3 SPG: 2.07 BPG: 1.36 MPG: 41.3 FG%: .465 3-pt FG%: .355 I am basing this on what he has already averaged and slightly changing it to my will
