Dion Waiters

CavsFaninNJ said:

He's playing better with an entirely different team. That's great and all - Dion was my favorite Cav since draft night so I'm so happy for him - but it's about who fits in better with this team and that's clear JR.

They have Westbrook, true, and I love how he and Waiters have been sharing duties when playing together - but we have Kyrie AND Lebron.

Even though Love isn't being integrated as well as he should right now, when you have a big three that all create space, you really don't need another player who plays best with the ball in their hands. You just don't.

Consider ourselves lucky that Kyrie has adjusted as well as he has to off the ball play, for that matter.

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In what was is Dion playing better?

47% TS% is abysmal, and same as he put up all year with the Cavs...

tedginnjr said:

In what was is Dion playing better?

47% TS% is abysmal, and same as he put up all year with the Cavs...

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Actually it's 52.3% after tonight's game and if you don't count his first game with OKC when he went 1-9, it's 57.7%

crabbyshark said:

Actually it's 52.3% after tonight's game and if you don't count his first game with OKC when he went 1-9, it's 57.7%

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If you aren't counting Dion's 1-9 games, you aren't counting a game a week.

Cavatt said:

They didn't spend any time integrating him here. If they said we need you, you are an important part of the team, you will get minutes, he would have played like that here. Terrible job developing Dion. He is going to get a lot better.

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Still a good trade, if only because trading Dion gave us a 3 for one deal with JR, Shump and Mozgov.

You dont need to be integrated into OKC's offense its basically what every team at the rec centre plays. Remember when we drafted dion they said in all scrimmages he was kicking ass. Thats his game. He's gone to the perfect situation for him

Adam said:

You dont need to be integrated into OKC's offense its basically what every team at the rec centre plays. Remember when we drafted dion they said in all scrimmages he was kicking ass. Thats his game. He's gone to the perfect situation for him

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This is true. In addition, OKC wasn't/isn't searching for an identity, has no real weaknesses (can rebound defensively and offensively, score in the paint and from the wing, shoot FTs, can defend the wing and the interior, has shot blocking, has size/depth/length/athleticism), and oddly isn't facing any pressure at all, perhaps due to injuries to Durant.

Weird that Durant doesn't get more heat because James at the same age was getting a shit ton of heat for not winning a title even though he had nobody remotely as good as Westbrook on his team and didn't have anywhere near the roster that OKC has.

In any case, it was a tailor-made spot for Dion and he's accepting his role. Now, we'll see how well it all works out for OKC in the playoffs when every possession matters and Dion jacks up a fadeaway 20 footer. If he stops doing that altogether, then kudos to him and OKC. He's continuing to defend well--he was our best wing defender the last 4 weeks he was with us.

Meh, I still say JR is a nice upgrade on the offensive side. I got a feeling he will start to pout when he is 2 or 3rd off the bench or goes a game or two without significant minutes. I enjoy his realism but he thinks he is better than he actually is.

Who? JR or Dion? What happens when JR is 8th off the bench? I do think the trade has benefited both teams, but it is a bummer we couldn't use dw here better.

Cavatt said:

They didn't spend any time integrating him here. If they said we need you, you are an important part of the team, you will get minutes, he would have played like that here. Terrible job developing Dion. He is going to get a lot better.

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Should have just decided if he was a 6th man or a starter from the beginning and gone with that. The constant swapping back and forth made no sense.

cavsfanclanman said:

Who? JR or Dion? What happens when JR is 8th off the bench? I do think the trade has benefited both teams, but it is a bummer we couldn't use dw here better.

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Dion, Waiters will pout. JR has known his role in the league for years.

Great two games from Dion. We all know he is capable of having games like these. Consistency is his problem.

KingDion™ at it again

The new Big 3. Waiters and the Servant with Goatbrook...UNstoppable!

3 point shooting up to 37.5% with OKC. That's with an 0-3 in his first game. Meanwhile J.R. Smith is the "better shooter" and is shooting 33.3% from 3 with the Cavs.

I will say this, though, J.R. takes smarter shots. If Dion just took 3s instead of pullup 2s, he'd be a lot more efficient. But he's also more consistent because he can hit that mid range shot at a decent clip (even though it's still not efficient).

Also, Dion's D is lightyears better than J.R.'s, he mostly stays in front of his man, needs minimal help (which is so underrated by so many here, guys like JR and Kyrie get bigs out of position constantly) and he's averaging 2.0 steals and 0.8 blocks with OKC, continuing his streak of stat stuffing defensive games from the last couple of weeks with the Cavs.

SteelSmack said:

3 point shooting up to 37.5% with OKC. That's with an 0-3 in his first game. Meanwhile J.R. Smith is the "better shooter" and is shooting 33.3% from 3 with the Cavs.

I will say this, though, J.R. takes smarter shots. If Dion just took 3s instead of pullup 2s, he'd be a lot more efficient. But he's also more consistent because he can hit that mid range shot at a decent clip (even though it's still not efficient).

Also, Dion's D is lightyears better than J.R.'s, he mostly stays in front of his man, needs minimal help (which is so underrated by so many here, guys like JR and Kyrie get bigs out of position constantly) and he's averaging 2.0 steals and 0.8 blocks with OKC, continuing his streak of stat stuffing defensive games from the last couple of weeks with the Cavs.

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A lot of Dion's issues here were because he forced shots because he was constantly ignored when he was wide open and calling for the ball. So he took his opportunities to score when he got them. It's no surprise that his 3pt % has gone up significantly with a team that does not ignore him.

http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/showthread.php?13136-Time-to-start-Waiters

Don't you guys miss these conversations?