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The Cavs vs Bulls Series

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so great he isnt even on the roster anymore . Face it the Bulls dont stand a chance

Wait, what does him being traded to a team desperately in need of a starting center from a team that has Dwight Howard have to do with you making up things about Thibs making role players look good only during the regular season (BTW: in the 2011 playoffs Taj and Asik both looked better than almost anyone not named Rose/Noah on that roster).

Taj isn't all NBA nor is he the greatest player ever, but he is a better bench player than anyone the Cavs have, by a wide margin.

And I do think the Cavs will beat the crap out of the Bulls, I just happen to think it'll be because they have right around 5/6 players depending on where you draw shot qualifications that hit 40+% of their catch and shoot threes and they have Kyie/LeBron/Love to exploit that strength, something the big heavy bulls will struggle with.
 
I hate when benches and teams' depth is evaluated by listing out a lineup of 5 guys who aren't starters.

The Cavs have a fairly gross looking bench when you list it as Delly/Jones/Miller/Marion/TT.

Forget the playoffs, where using 10 guys is unheard of, when are you ever going to see the Cavs use a lineup of what I just listed in the regular season? You won't!

Benches, depth, however you want to refer to it, to me, is evaluated by how well it rounds out the team's talents and compliments what the core of the team is trying to do. The bench the Cavs have assemble does all of this extremely well except for the fact that they lack a rim-protecting big for situations where they need to do exactly that: defend the rim.

Delly compliments both of the starting guards extremely well. His skills match up with either guy, allowing Blatt to bring Delly in to play with either Kyrie or Dion whenever he wants. Delly's tremendous defensive ability makes this even more important. Delly isn't a better 'point guard' than Kirk Hinrich, but he fits this team and roster like a glove.

Mike Miller is a swingman, who, because of his passing ability and tremendous length, can excel at either wing position. He's one of the best shooters in the entire league as well as a very good rebounder for his position. He will almost exclusively be guarding the other team's lesser wing threat (I'll get to why). His role will be to knock down open shots, move the ball both in the half court and in transition, and rebound effectively, especially on the defensive glass. He will also be depended on to contest jumpers or cuts on defense.

James Jones fills the same role as Miller, though he doesn't fill it as well. I view Jones as injury insurance for Miller much as I now view Amundson as injury insurance for Andy and TT.

For his role, Mike Miller is almost perfect. For the Cavs, this is the role they need from him.

Shawn Marion was such a huge signing because he compliments Mike Miller AND Kevin Love AND helps spell LeBron for a few minutes on one side of the floor. Marion's defensive efficiencies offset Miller's aging defense while Miller's fantastic shooting offsets Marion's lack of spacing (I know Marion shot well last year, but I'm not expecting it to continue. If it does, gravy).

While Marion is on the floor, he'll be guarding the other team's best or second best scoring threat. He'll do very well at that while also helping out on the boards. His high basketball IQ will enable him to sift through open space for cuts, offensive rebounds, etc. By doing this he'll keeping his man honest on offense.

Next is TT, the new RCF whipping boy. TT excels at rebounding. What will the Cavs ask him to do off the bench? Yep. Rebound. TT is also a very capable man on man defender at the power forward position, and his quickness makes him a strong pick and roll defender. TT also runs the floor effectively in transition, which will shine even more if he's used as a small ball center. TT isn't very good at scoring points, but he no longer has to score a single point for his team to win games. Again, he's in a position where he should absolutely crush his new role.

As for Chicago, their bench is solid, but a bit redundant.

Hinrich is a strong, savvy backup point guard who's long out of his physical prime. He's a very effective shooter when open, but doesn't often create by getting into the lane. His defense is good when guys aren't blowing right past him. If Rose isn't in the game, Chicago lacks shot creators. Hinrich does not fill that role. If Rose and Hinrich play together, then Chicago is small and will give that up. I'd assume if Chicago plays those two together, Blatt answers by bringing in Miller at the 2 and having him guard Hinrich.

Taj Gibson is one of the best bench players in the NBA. Against the Cavs, it's unavoidable that he plays starters minutes if he doesn't start altogether. He's really their only defensive answer for Love, Marion, and a power forward-playing LeBron in a small lineup. Gibson is the Bulls' defensive specialist off the bench while also being able to score 12-14 a game. He's awesome, but he'll be working his ass off.

Nazr Mohammad has absolutely no place in this hypothetical series and I bet he won't be playing much all season anyway. He's old, slow, not very good, and out of place. The Cavs would be thrilled to run the ball down Chicago's throat with this guy on the floor. Who does he guard? What's he provide on offense?

I really like both McDourmott and Mirotic's games. However, they're both primarily stretch forwards who play little to no defense. I don't think they can be in the game together because of the points they'll be giving up. If they are in the game together, it means one of Gasol/Noah is out and one of Butler/Rose is out. I don't see consistent minutes for both of these guys, and whoever is better will certainly have an impact on Chicago's team because shooting is what they lack.

Tony Snell is also in a weird situation. Butler is going to play a ton of minutes, and Snell really serves the role of playing as a poor man's Butler. If he's coming off the bench, he's competing for minutes with both McDourmott (at small forward) and Hinrich (at guard). He's also an inefficient player with no ability to create shots for other players. He's a decent defender, but decent is going to get you anywhere when you have poor offensive skills.


TLDR: The Cavs' bench is comprised of role players who compliment the team perfectly and uniquely. They are not redundant and Griffin has done a superb job of assembling talent that fits together, just as he said he'd set out to do.
 
While Marion is on the floor, he'll be guarding the other team's best or second best scoring threat.

Beyond TT being the most blah bench player ever (because he can't defend anyone), this is the only other real issue I have in a great post (and it isn't an issue, but an observation). In my mind Marion's most important role with the Cavs is that he can guard PFs and that will let him fill the Battier role. LeBron just doesn't guard PFs, it takes too much out of him and was a hindrance to running small ball in Miami until they signed Battier who could bang while letting LeBron play the four on offense. Marion is the key piece for the Cavs to run small ball with Love and LeBron running the big spots on offense, which is the most terrifying roster concept this team possesses. His signing is less about guarding the second best scorer and more about providing that lineup the flex piece it needs at the 3/4 to work.
 
Wait, what does him being traded to a team desperately in need of a starting center from a team that has Dwight Howard have to do with you making up things about Thibs making role players look good only during the regular season (BTW: in the 2011 playoffs Taj and Asik both looked better than almost anyone not named Rose/Noah on that roster).

Taj isn't all NBA nor is he the greatest player ever, but he is a better bench player than anyone the Cavs have, by a wide margin.

And I do think the Cavs will beat the crap out of the Bulls, I just happen to think it'll be because they have right around 5/6 players depending on where you draw shot qualifications that hit 40+% of their catch and shoot threes and they have Kyie/LeBron/Love to exploit that strength, something the big heavy bulls will struggle with.
Nonsense
 
Gibson is clearly the best player off all the bench guys between the two teams. Don't really see how it is close no matter if you use the eye test (the guy kills Thompson when isolated on him on offense or defense) or advanced metrics (he is one of better defenders in the league at the PF spot)

Problem for the Bulls is he isn't that much better then the rest of our guys and I'm not impressed with the rest of the Bulls bench. If Mirotic and McDermott have abnormally good rookie seasons then maybe but even if they pan out the chances that it clicks enough to make a difference in their rookie year is slim

Otherwise I think it's just as likely that Delly and TT improve as well. I predict Delly is going to be acknowledged as one of the better backup points in the league next year. Plus our vets aren't nearly as washed up Dunleavy and Hinrich. Those guys put up some below average numbers last year unlike Marion and Miller
 
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Bulls tryna get Martin for snell and Dunleavy

That would hurt us
 
d boy gentleman said:
I honestly don't get the fear of Cleveland; their Big 3 isn't near as good as Miami's and their bench doesn't scare me. Miller's injury prone; Marion's over the hill and they have no size in middle. Our team is much deeper than theirs...

bledredwine said:
Defense is exactly the reason I don't fear Cleveland. Lets see what they can do. Love and Kyrie are also as injury-prone as Wade and the big 3 in Miami was easily better offensively - people forget Wade would often outscore Lebron and Bosh was one of the best jump shooters in the league.

2015nbachamps said:
not worried about their big 3 at all. Wade was a way better defender that Kyrie and a better guard overall. Bosh was a better defender than Love and in my opinion, a better PF overall.

this big 3 is not as good.

But the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th men are significantly better overall.

Waiters, Mike Miller, Verijao, Marion, likely Ray Allen---this is way better than 1st year heat with 2nd year chalmers, Battier, joel anthony, mike bibby, and mike miller

[video]
 
NOTE: Center Joakim Noah said he plans to wear a knee brace on his surgically repaired left knee the entire season but doesn’t think it will limit his activity.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/basketball/bulls/30269548-579/bulls-derrick-rose-getting-re-educated-on-nba-contact.html#.VDKBNJxW_HQ/
Yeah, Joakim- go ahead and think that....this little nugget at the bottom of an article about Rose complaining about contact makes me not fear the Bulls. Like AT ALL. With their 1 and 5 scrabbling to get back up off their backs... Pau is nice, but coupled with Mike Dunleavy at the 3/4? Doesn't exactly scream physicality, does it? Which leaves Jimmy Butler- do we fear him? I think not.
 
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I actually think that last Chicago quote was reasonable. They played Miami tough before Rose got hurt: just didn't have enough offense. Obviously after Wades final performance our Big 3 is better them the Miami trio. That being said, Wade was at another level compared to Irving and Love during their earlier years.

I happen to agree that the bigger concern for Chicago is that we are much better then Miami after the Big 3. Not even close IMO
 
And the big thing Bulls fans ignore with all this talk about 'the Cavs aren't better than the Heat' -- the Heat beat them pretty easily every time they faced them in the playoffs. Yeah, the games were close but the Heat won in five games each time -- even when Rose was at his peak coming off his MVP season. Indiana pushed the Heat a lot harder than Chicago did. They would have to have Rose return to his peak MVP form and Pau Gasol play like he did in the Lakers championship years to have a chance against the Cavs. Anything short of that, it ain't happening.
 
Chicago fans not fearing our big three are just in denial. Kyrie, Love and Lebron are more dangerous than Lebron Wade Bosh of last year. The remaining guys are a lot better than Miami's.
 

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