CLEVELAND
CAVALIERS
Rotation
C Pau Gasol/ Timofey Mozgov
PF Blake Griffin/ Ekpe Udoh/ Trevor Booker
SF Danilo Gallinari/ Reggie Williams
SG J.J. Redick/ Josh Howard/ Jordan Crawford
PG Ricky Rubio/ Aaron Brooks/ Eric Bledsoe
Starting Five
Gasol and his teammates struggled so badly in the postseason that it's easy to forget that he attempted more shots per minute than he ever has as a Laker while maintaing his effeciency, turned the ball over less, posted his highest PER and Win Share, and earned All-NBA Second Team honors. The most polished 4/5 in the league can go to either hand on the block, loves the high post, has a dangerous 15' jumper, consistently finds cutters, draws and makes free throws. Gasol finished 2nd in Win Shares, 5th in double doubles, 6th in rebounding, 8th in minutes played, 12th in FG%, 14th in blocks, 15th in efficiency, 20th in free throw attempts.
18.8 points .529 FG% .823 FT% 10.2 rebounds 3.3 assists 1.6 blocks 23.3 PER
The first rookie All-Star since Yao Ming in 2003. The first rookie with two 40+ point performances since Allen Iverson in 1996. In his delayed debut Griffin mounted a campaign for the ages. Ecstatic basketball, tenacity, smart rebounding, top conditioning, a great sense of spacing, and a underrated craftiness to his offensive game. Blake is quick and decisive when he does act, yet also patient and adept at finding open teammates out of the post, the double-team, or both. It got so bad teams started giving him flagrant fouls to get him off the rim. Nothing worked. Went ahead and finished 2nd in the league in free throw attempts, 3rd in double doubles, 4th in rebounding, 5th in minutes played, 11th in efficiency, 12th in scoring, 20th in win shares.
22.5 points .506 FG% .642 FT% 12.1 rebounds 3.8 assists 0.8 steals 21.93 PER
The rangy 6'10" sharp shooter and nightly mismatch led all small forwards in free throw attempt to field goal attempt ratio (.611), beating out even Durant, James and Anthony. He was the 26th most efficient scorer in the NBA last season at 22, and scored an outstanding 1.09 PPP when isolated, good for fifth in the league. He also rebounds his position and is improving on defense, skilled at bothering shooters with his length and helped by great lateral quickness for his size. His strength is hedging on the pick and roll (.58 PPP, .30 FG%, 6th) and contesting off screens (.86 PPP, .405 FG%, 75th) Still hampered last year from missing most of his rookie season, Gallo is due for a breakout in 2011-12.
15.6 points .414 FG% .352 3PT% .862 FT% 4.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists 0.8 steals 15.71 PER
One of the few mainstays in Orlando's rotation, Redick is not just first class in catch-and-shoot situations (1.21 PPP, 23rd) he also reads defenses well and can and will attack off the dribble, plays within himself and with urgency and takes care of the ball. On defense, J.J. is generally overmatched guarding bigger or quicker two guards, but is rarely caught out of position or giving up on a play, and has developed in to one of the best in the league at chasing his man and contesting shots. Opposing guards shot just 31.6% coming off screens against Redick last season (.71 PPP, 20th).
10.1 points .441 FG% .397 3PT% .875 FT% 1.9 rebounds 1.7 assists 0.9 TO 12.89 PER
The much discussed rookie point guard who will turn 21 just before the season begins, isn't unlikely to be an effective scorer at the start, rather his model for success is the defensive guard who generates possessions by collecting rebounds and steals at a high rate and creates opportunities for teammates through upper-echelon ball-handling and passing. In an underwhelming 2010-11 season Rubio still led all ACB point-guards in both steals and rebounds. And while his assist rate fell from a ridiculous 2008-09 peak, which was a standard deviation better than the next best player's, Ricky remained in the top three over the past two years. Poor scoring efficiency aside, Rubio did three things: pass, steal, and rebound, better than any point-guard in Europe.
[size=9]Rubio isn’t just a ball hawk though, as the numbers show he is a very good on the ball defender as well. Teams have tried to use pick and rolls to get an advantage on Rubio, running him off of ball screens 48.9% of the time, but Rubio has done a good job defending off of screens. Rubio’s opponents coming off of ball screens shoot 36.9% from the field while posting a PPP of just 0.683 while forcing turnovers 25.4% of the time.
In isolation situations, Rubio is an even better defender, holding opponents to a PPP of 0.634 on 29.6% shooting.[/size]
8.9 points .358 FG% .886 FT% .267 3PT% 4.6 rebounds 7.3 assists 1.8 steals - Kevin Pelton's projected 2011-12 performance
Bench
Josh Howard - 62 playoff games and when he was last healthy he averaged 18 points on 45% shooting, 5.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 steals as a plus defender.
Became a vocal leader in Washington rather than squander his latest chance. Heck even in an injury plagued 2009-10 Howard was good for 12.7 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 26 minutes. Although his offensive efficiency has suffered markedly.
Aaron Brooks - Isn't likely to replicate his 2009-10 performance where he was named the NBA's most improved player after averaging a career-high 19.6 points and 5.3 assists and becoming the sixth player in league history to tally at least 200 three-pointers and 400 assists in a single season. His play, particularly his shooting bottomed out - along with his confidence - following contentious extension negotiations, a chronic ankle injury and mid-season trade. But he's still a dangerous combination of quickness into the lane and streak shooting, the Cavaliers third toughest cover on any given night. And when he's too hot to take out, he's capable of playing the two guard for short stretches alongside Rubio.
Reggie Williams - Over a season and half has established himself as a legitimate, and highly efficient scorer, despite playing behind a pair of high volume shooters in Golden State. His 1.08 PPP ranked 14th in the league! Guy has a knack for getting tough mid-range baskets, can get hot in a hurry, and ranked 9th in the NBA in 3PT% (.423).
Assessment
Season outlook: Does size win the day or star power? The Wine and Gold have two top five big men. Two top six rebounders. The league's most efficient one-two scoring tandem - the Knicks are a distant second and some nine teams don't have one scoring option as efficient. Two top five passing big men surrounded on the perimeter by a bevy of aggressive knockdown shooters. I'm not sure there's a defense out there with both the size inside and sufficient perimeter defenders to prevent the Cavaliers from getting the looks they want.
Cleveland has the league's best inside-out offense and is tough in transition - Griffin and Rubio together is a nightmare and Gasol is one of the game's best trailers- and features smart team play on both ends; strong rebounding, and depth.
Topic: 2011 CB Draft Southwest Division Press Conferences (Read 20382 times)