2014-2015 NBA Regular Season Thread Part II

[Pitt Gorilla]

Now with more Rustshack!

[KevB]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

I mean, I guess if OKC can thrive with Harden, they can thrive with Waiters. As long as Waiters doesn't bitch about his role as a 6th man (which he will).

Waiters can't and shouldn't be on the floor at the same time as Durant/Westbrook. He is terrible shooting pick and pop so the only thing he can do for you is create his own shots off the dribble, which means the only way he can score is to keep the ball away from those 2 guys. If you can give him some floor time where he can ballhog away... he's nowhere near as good as Harden, but for $5M, he can do some damage for the team.

Which is exactly the role Reggie Jackson already plays. Will be interesting to watch.

[mcaj22]

do the Cavs insert Shumpert in the starting lineup to pair with Lebron as the only other player on the entire roster that plays any defense?

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

do the Cavs insert Shumpert in the starting lineup to pair with Lebron as the only other player on the entire roster that plays any defense?

Yes. This is the reason I despised the Love trade from the start.

Marion still plays okay defense but his offense is total balls now. Dellavadova plays good defense and is a scrappy offensive player, but he's purely a depth guy.

Still no rim protector, and Varejao and Tristan have quietly been completely ineffective all year long. Because of the Love trade, the Cavs are struggling big time to find a trade partner.

I know people want to blame Blatt. He's done a shitty job. But good lord the team he was given is a pile of shit.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

If you look at what OKC got from a pure talent perspective it makes sense, but Waiters is destined to be a guy happier shooting 22 times a night for a 20 win team than as a contributor to a contender.

Smith is a knucklehead, but I don't see him being much of an issue in Cleveland, and Shumpert is a solid rotation piece.

Cleveland is a much better team after making this trade.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

If you look at what OKC got from a pure talent perspective it makes sense, but Waiters is destined to be a guy happier shooting 22 times a night for a 20 win team than as a contributor to a contender.

Smith is a knucklehead, but I don't see him being much of an issue in Cleveland, and Shumpert is a solid rotation piece.

Cleveland is a much better team after making this trade.

Shumpert is a huge addition to the team.

But their Centers right now are an outright AIDS tree. They tried like hell to trade for one but nobody wants their table scraps.

They are going to get destroyed by any team that has any kind of a good Center.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Yuck. Aside from the Knicks clearing cap space, I don't understand this trade at all.

[KC_Connection]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Yuck. Aside from the Knicks clearing cap space, I don't understand this trade at all.

I definitely don't understand it for OKC. Without even taking into account the Shumpert/Smith additions (who could be decent contributors and add some much needed depth), the Cavs just getting Waiters off the team should help in itself.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Shumpert is a huge addition to the team.

But their Centers right now are an outright AIDS tree. They tried like hell to trade for one but nobody wants their table scraps.

They are going to get destroyed by any team that has any kind of a good Center.

The buyout period still looms. They might want to consider spinning Smith to Denver along with a pick to see if they couldn't get either Hickson or Mozgov.

[RobBlake]

Cavs still aren't going to the finals so its moot.

[Mav]

Has rust shack stopped crying yet?

[BIG_DADDY]

Since my Lakers suck and the league lost all credibility building a home for LeBron I have not watched one game this season until last night. The Warriors look great. I wish them the best.

[KC native]

Originally Posted by Count Alex's Losses

Basketball Royalty, bitches.

The Spurs laugh at your supposed royalty

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Not that this is anything new, but Golden State is coached so much better than OKC.

Yeah, they really are. As on OKC fan, it's kind of embarrassing. I mean, Durant and Westbrook are both obviously elite, and they can have success going one on one..but I really don't think hero ball is the most efficient way to win games. OKC's offense is basically just isolation, let Durant and Westbrook just run around with the ball. No real organization or flow to it.

I'm not 100% sure if that is just how Durant and Westbrook have to play, or if it is the coaching. But I'm pretty confident its just a lack of good coaching.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by KC_Connection

Waiters' BBIQ, court vision, and overall talent level is nowhere near James Harden's. I can see him doing more damage than good for OKC (as he'll end up taking the ball away from Durant/Westbrook, two top 10 NBA players, which they can't afford). Puzzling trade on their part.

Not really, they gave up..what Lance Thomas? He's a 10th man bench player at best. Waiter's douchebagness is a little worrisome, but with an established locker room like OKC I don't think it will be much of a problem.

I do think there were players more suited for OKC though who they could have gotten. So in that sense, I don't like it much. But I certainly don't think this trade will hurt them.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Dion Waiters couldn't buy in with LeBron James, but I'm sure that he'll fit right in with the Thunder.

He's Ricky Davis, Steve Francis, Stephon Marbury.