RollWithEm

Depth Charts:

Jazz
PG Russell Westbrook (32)/Mark Price (16)
SG Sidney Moncreif (24)/Dennis Johnson (24)
SF Elgin Baylor (35)/Adrian Dantley (13)
PF Rasheed Wallace (32)/Marcus Camby (16)
C Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (32)/Bill Walton (16)

Cavaliers
PG Allen Iverson (33)/Dave Bing (15)
SG Michael Cooper (26)/Kevin Martin (8)/Allen Iverson (8)/Dave Bing (1)/Bobby Jones (5)
SF Julius Erving (35)/Bobby Jones (13)
PF Bob Pettit (33)/Kevin Love (15)
C Yao Ming (33)/Roy Hibbert (9)/Kevin Love (6)

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But that's just me.

RollWithEm

First 8 Minutes of the First Quarter: The Squid starts the game on Iverson. He has basically the best chance of anyone in this league of keeping him out of the paint. Westbrook sags off Cooper to help out on penetration as well banking that Iverson can't beat the Jazz with his passing. Baylor has the size and athleticism to stay with Erving and also the versatility to score on him at the other end. The really clear advantage the Jazz have to start the game is in the frontcourt, though. Kareem is one of the few players in history who could challenge Yao with his length and potentially block his jumper. Also, Rasheed is the perfect combination of length and athleticism to smother Pettit. Offensively, Wallace will space the floor while the surest 2-points in the game (Jabbar) exposes Yao's lack of lateral quickness on the block.

Last 4 of the 1st and First 4 of the 2nd Quarter: With Price, Walton, and Dantley on the bench, the Cavs' reserves have no chance to keep up offensively. On top of that, DJ will limit Kevin Martin's touches and keep him off the line. Johnson was one of the best perimeter defenders in the 80's despite his extremely low foul rate. Camby is one of the few rebounders in this tournament with the length and tenacity to keep KLove from making an impact on the glass. Jazz should win this 8-minute block by around 10 points.

Last 8 of the First Half: It's DJ's turn on Iverson. The rest of the starters come back in to join him. Johnson is going to use his size to punish Iverson to make sure the Cavs don't close the half on a run. The offense will run through Rasheed to close out the second quarter. His size advantage over Pettit along with Kareem's and Baylor's offensive rebounding prowess with equal more paint points than the Cavs have any hope of dealing with.

First 8 Minutes of the Second Half: As he is wont to do, Westbrook will go nuts from midrange to start the half. Iverson has no prayer of stopping him. Oh and more Baylor and more Kareem. Moncreif will also defend Dr. J occasionally during this stretch. Hopefully the additional turnovers forced will allow Westbrook to get the crowd involved with some fast break slams.

Another 8 Minutes of Bench Execution: Walton's artistry will be on full display over this time period from the high post - rendering Hibbert's shot-blocking irrelevant. He will focus on getting Price a few open looks and Dantley some slashing buckets. This will be a beautiful 8 minutes for true basketball fans to watch. If Love sags off Camby, he'll step into a knockdown 17-foot shot. Poetry.

Closing 8: The Jazz will close with the starters. If by some miracle the Cavs stay in the game up until this point, the Westbrook/Kareem and Westbrook/Baylor pick-and-rolls with steal their soul. Moncreif will be well-rested and ready to guarantee Iverson doesn't win this game in hero mode.

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But that's just me.

XxIrvingxX

I shall do my argument by pointing out the flaws in each of his arguments and countering with my own.

First 8 minutes of the first quarter: So I see you wanted to start out with speculation, by assuming that you can keep Iverson out of the paint? I don't care how good of a defender Moncrief is, even if by some miracle Iverson is kept out of the paint, you would need a deflated ball and a lid on the basket to make that be enough to stop Iverson. And when Iverson forces the double team with Westbrook, Iverson will just pass out to Cooper who will most likely hit the open three. So right there is a huge flaw in your plan. Offensively, Westbrook will be completely shut down by Cooper's smothering defense. Baylor can keep up with Erving? We aren't talking about Luke Walton here, we're talking about Julius freakin Erving, size and athleticism won't help you defensively against Erving, and with Erving's great defensive footwork and defensive aggressiveness, I already know Baylor's shooting % will go down the drain if he even tries to be aggressive against good old Dr J. While your point about Kareem may be true, you're clearly ignoring the fact that Yao is one of the only people in NBA history who could actually defend that famous sky hook. Kareem would have to think twice before going to that move. And how exactly does Kareem plan on stopping Yao's offensive game? Yea get back to me on that when you finally think of a reason. Rasheed's defense will be completely ineffective against Petit, as well as his rebounding. And Rasheed will probably end up getting himself thrown out of the game by the time the first half is over with.

Last 4 of the 1st and First 4 of the 2nd Quarter: No chance of keeping up offensively? Did you suddenly forget who Bobby Jones is? Yea you can forget about the part were Dantley does anything offensively (except for, you know, getting shut down and missing numerous shots). And you think Johnson can do anything against a guy who's quicker then him and has three inches on him? Martin would have a picnic out there with Dave Bing playing alongside him. Those two alone would light up the offense. And tell Camby he needs to try covering a guy who can shoot the three AND be dangerous inside. I'm sure he'll love to hear that. Kevin Love will completely dominate Camby on the boards and Love's outlet passing will help keep the whole offense flowing.

Last 8 of the First Half: DJ on Iverson? Still won't be a problem. Until you can find someone that can match AI's speed and defend his crossover well (something no one ever could do), you won't be stopping Iverson. And for a short time Bing will be at PG, that right there is a deadly offensive duo. And while you sit there and hope that Rasheed will consistently hit the three pointer, I'll sit back and enjoy the fact that Erving and Petit are completely dismantling the Jazz offensively.

First 8 Minutes of the Second Half: I think you forgot who Michael Cooper is. Before Westbrook has any chance of hitting numerous mid range jumpers, first he has to find some jumpers he can actually hit. Cooper won't let him do that. Guess what, more AI, Dr. J, Petit (especially Petit), and Yao. Lets face it, Rasheed can't handle Petit, it just isn't going to happen. I still find Kareem limiting Yao incredibly hard to believe even if Kareem is and always has been a excellent defender. And for your sake hopefully the turnovers (when ever those happen, if they happen at all) will happen, but until then, Petit will just continue to rip you apart offensively.

Another 8 Minutes of Bench Execution: There's one huge flaw here. You're letting your center be the controller of your offense. I'm sure that won't backfire in any way (sarcasm). As I said before, Dantley won't be having much of an effect on offense with Bobby Jones on him. And with Dave Bing, Kevin Martin, and Kevin Love on offense, along with Hibberts height advantage over Walton, there's so much that can be done here offensively. Martin and Love will both be deadly from outside, you say Love sagging off of Camby will result in Camby hitting a 17 footer? You don't even need to sag off of Love, he'll most likely end up making it anyways. And Martin can get himself open because he just has that ability.

Closing 8: As the Jazz do, the Cavs will also close with their starters. Pick and rolls? You don't have John Stockton on your team. And you think that with Cooper covering Westbrook, that Westbrook of all people will somehow decide to start running pick and roll plays, and by some miracle will end up doing so successfully?? And with Yao Ming's length, pick and rolls suddenly become easy pickings for my team in terms of steals. AI and Erving will continue to run the offense with Cooper getting open threes and both Petit and Yao getting easy mid range jumpers that will help give Erving the space he needs to score inside. And if both Kareem and Sheed wait inside, then Petit and Yao will just continue to kill them from mid range.

Sorry I made it a bit long but you made a good argument here so I needed to make some lengthy points.

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XxIrvingxX

WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE VOTING BEFORE BOTH ARGUMENTS ARE OUT?!

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RollWithEm

A few general responses to Irving's points:

1. We don't have to shut Iverson down. We just have to keep him out of the paint as much as possible and make him shoot over length. His perimeter game was suspect.
2. Yao doesn't have the lateral quickness to defend a prime Kareem in the low block, regardless of his length. Yao's strength defensively was his solid base. He used to do a decent job of keeping centers from catching the entry pass in their comfort zones. The issue with that is Kareem's range. He was not Shaq. He did not have to catch it inside of 8 feet to be effective.
3. You are greatly under-estimating both Camby and Rasheed defensively, but I think you know that.
4. Elgin vs. Dr J will be a war. It's ridiculous for either of us to paint that picture one-sided.

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But that's just me.

XxIrvingxX

Your second point is the only one I agree with.

...okay fine you're also right with the fourth one lol

I'm not underestimating either person. I know how great both are defensively. I think you're simply underestimating Petit and Love offensively. I guess I should give Camby some more credit, but I'm not underestimating Rasheed at all. I know he wouldn't be able to handle Petit. Come on now.

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Knick Killer

I'll be honest here and say I think these are the two worst teams in the league. With that said though, the Cavs suck less than the Jazz so they get my vote.

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RollWithEm

My team would very likely sweep yours in a 7-game series.

__________________
But that's just me.

XxIrvingxX

Thanks?

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Knick Killer

I was just kidding I don't think either team sucks, but I don't see either team going far in this league. That is just one man's opinion.

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XxIrvingxX

You're being too nice lol. I honestly don't think I'm going to win a single game simply because getting Petit after Erving was a huge mistake. But hey who knows I might get lucky.

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Knick Killer

Bob Pettit is a 2x MVP and an NBA Champion but he played such a long time ago that he doesn't get much love in these types of leagues. It wasn't a terrible pick, but you probably could've got him a couple rounds later.

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XxIrvingxX

Well it isn't necessarily that, it's more of the fact that I could've chosen a much better option to have play alongside Julius Erving, going with Petit pretty much cost me my chances at getting myself a excellent center or PG like Stockton (who I could've gotten ugh) that can make my players better. Petit might have been the best player talent wise to go along with but if there's one thing I learned from this draft it's that you need to go with guys who will mesh well with others and won't hold them back. I still can't imagine Iverson and Erving playing on the same team lol.

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e-monk

any team with Iverson on it is ****ed - I dont care who else you have on offense because neither does he

RollWithEm

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Iverson and Clyde Frazier would be a great backcourt in a competition like this. Iverson is not unusable in this setting. I just don't like him at PG.

__________________
But that's just me.