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Post by TrayWithAnA on May 12, 2014 21:58:49 GMT -6
I will have a formal statement tomorrow morning once I am done with the training camp analysis, but I'd like to give you a few talking points to direct your questions towards
1. Another Division title, but another beat down in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Celtics
2. Moved Dudley and Wesley for Mark Jackson
3. Moved Adams for Lamond Murray and points
4. Moved Laettner, Murray, and salary for Benoit Benjamin
5. Smith took a huge step forward in TC, Miller and Johnson stayed the same.
6. Starting lineup - C: Benjamin / PF: Johnson / SF: Smith / SG: Miller / PG: Jackson
7. Goals - Win division, hope someone else knocks off those assholes from Boston
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J2
Junior Member
Washington Wizards
Posts: 955 
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Post by J2 on May 12, 2014 22:03:28 GMT -6
So, what caused the shift in direction during the offseason? With his excellent TC, is Steve Smith now the focal point of the franchise?
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Post by gmessi2 on May 13, 2014 4:19:15 GMT -6
What has been the cause of losing to the Celtics when it counts and do you believe you have addressed that issue?
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Post by TrayWithAnA on May 13, 2014 7:12:40 GMT -6
So, what caused the shift in direction during the offseason? With his excellent TC, is Steve Smith now the focal point of the franchise? To answer your first question, we were sort of locked in with a few pieces that were aging and we didn't see ourselves getting any better in the offseason. The moves were made to swap Dudley and Adams for a center and point guard that could potentially strengthen the starting five here in Detroit. I don't want to blame it all on Zo, but it was one of our main concerns after a tough end to the playoffs. Steve Smith started taking the focal point of the franchise last year when his efficiency and scoring began challenging Miller towards the end of the season. It's always been Miller and Smith as 1 and 1a. We are very pleased with our hound star making Miller fight for that #1 spot on the team. Miller is still simCaptain, but we are very pleased with the future we have ahead of us with Smith. What has been the cause of losing to the Celticss when it counts and do you believe you have addressed that issue? The Celtics just matched up so well against us last year. Dudley couldn't stop Zo, and his wings did everything in their power to embarrass our best players. Really, looking back, I'm surprised that we were shocked by the outcome. They are just that much stronger and we couldn't stop them with the game plan we ran all year. I think we have addressed a few needs. One of the keys to their success against us was making us turnover happy in our low motion offense. We can now move the ball around a little more with Mark Jackson at the 1. Also, Mark Jackson gives us a third offensive threat from the outside which could help us counter Zo's stellar defense. It's all an experiment but we only sacrificed a little bit of depth and a young star in Wesley to try it. We'll live with the results either way. |
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Post by JNR on May 13, 2014 8:59:48 GMT -6
With so many moving parts in the Central division, do you think your team still has the division by the throat?
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Post by WigNosy on May 13, 2014 11:29:01 GMT -6
There are some who would call your frontcourt, Benoit Benjamin notwithstanding, undersized. Do you think this was a factor against the Celtics, and do you feel you've done enough to address it?
Who do you think will be the "X-Factor" on your team this season - the guy who will surprise people with production when nothing is expected of him right now?
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Post by TrayWithAnA on May 13, 2014 13:07:59 GMT -6
With so many moving parts in the Central division, do you think your team still has the division by the throat? After looking at how the competition's draft, free agency, and training camps went, I think that if we stay healthy (a big 'if') we will have a leg up on the competition. Up until this point, we have been one of the most efficient teams on offense and I believe that we will continue to be near the top of that list in the league and, more importantly, in our division. I still look for the Hawks and Raptors to give me a run for my money, but there is no reason to sugar coat it, the division has seen better years as far as talent is concerned. There are some who would call your frontcourt, Benoit Benjamin notwithstanding, undersized. Do you think this was a factor against the Celticss, and do you feel you've done enough to address it? Who do you think will be the "X-Factor" on your team this season - the guy who will surprise people with production when nothing is expected of him right now? I think Benjamin is the key piece to at least slow Zo's dominance against us. No one, except maybe the Rockets, should ever expect to stop Zo. He is a stellar athlete that the sim-gods continue to bless. I would say that our push to be a more motion offense and our ability to move the focus outside should help in our attempt to challenge the Celtics. The key point as I said earlier is to stay healthy. We have sacrificed a lot of the depth we had on the team before. Hopefully our coaches can pick out those key bench players on our roster that can come on and give our starters the 8-10 minutes of rest each of them need. This is the primary reason we are benching our starters in the preseason and giving all our bench players the same 26-28 minutes to work with. Hopefully that helps clarify who can be that stop gap and who can't. As far as expectations as to who will be our x-factor, I think that Benjamin hasn't been a huge offensive presence in the past, but with the additional ball-handling skills that have been added to the team, he can find some open buckets to really give the backcourt some relief to being our opponents key defensive focus. I also expect Johnson to benefit from being an "afterthought" to the stellar backcourt that we have pieced together in the offseason. Expect the team to hit a lot of 3's and Benjamin to clear up the rare misses against most of the teams centers in this league. At least that is the hope. |
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Post by IamQuailman on May 13, 2014 14:01:03 GMT -6
With your pride and joys of the 92 Draft moving out West, how will you look to bring in more youth on your team in the coming years?
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Post by Conroy on May 13, 2014 14:04:56 GMT -6
Bill Simmons Sports Guy here, it looks like the luxury tax may be a very big issue for you next year with Steve Smith's super max coming soon, any thoughts?
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Post by Nick Malone 77 on May 13, 2014 15:24:41 GMT -6
Nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: Was it a tough choice to decide between Larry and Christian on whom to part with in your deal with Seattle? Also what about the deal to ship David out to Portland for Mark Jackson? And last and final question, who do you see as challenges still here in the East and within the division?
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Post by TrayWithAnA on May 13, 2014 17:49:23 GMT -6
With your pride and joys of the 92 Draft moving out West, how will you look to bring in more youth on your team in the coming years? I will probably have to rely on finding hidden gems in free agency or through trades. I am a few years away from having another draft pick so I may have to look to buy late first rounders in the future to discover another Terry Dehere every once in a while to replace league mins on my roster. Moving Reggie Miller eventually could be a good option if Smith really has taken the step he appears to have taken. Bill Simmons Sports Guy here, it looks like the luxury tax may be a very big issue for you next year with Steve Smith's super max coming soon, any thoughts? We were very reckless with our spending in the offseason and will have to start saving up our points for winter since we all know it is coming. We can only pray for a little help from Steve and Larry when in-season negotiations begin. I think that we could move Miller if we need the cap space, but ultimately, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Nick Melon; Charlotte Observer: Was it a tough choice to decide between Larry and Christian on whom to part with in your deal with Seattle? Also what about the deal to ship David out to Portland for Mark Jackson? And last and final question, who do you see as challenges still here in the East and within the division? The choice was completely up to NickCajun. We are glad he choose Laettner since we coveted Johnson more. As far as dealing Wesley, it was unfortunately necessary for us to sweeten the deal to both unload Dudley and also to find a viable replacement for the declining Adams. We think that Dehere can serve as that sixth man this season, and we hope that he can replace a little bit of what Wesley did in his first two years in the league. We weren't that impressed by Wesley last year though so it wasn't hard to put him in that deal. Obviously the Celtics are our biggest challenge, and we would be fooling ourselves not to consider some other teams there in the Atlantic as threats too. As far as our division is concerned, there are a lot of teams with a solid starting 5 and better depth on their bench. We need as close to 82 games as we possibly can get from our 5 starters, but at the end of the day, if that happens, we should have a strong argument for a division title 3-peat. |
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logpmess
Junior Member
Miami Heat
Posts: 557
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Post by logpmess on May 13, 2014 18:46:51 GMT -6
You put an emphasis on your starting lineup, but a lot of times its that key bench player that can make the difference to a team. Do you have a key bench player that you see contributing enough to push you over the hump?
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Post by TrayWithAnA on May 13, 2014 20:32:31 GMT -6
You put an emphasis on your starting lineup, but a lot of times its that key bench player that can make the difference to a team. Do you have a key bench player that you see contributing enough to push you over the hump? I think Dehere is the only backup that can play significant minutes and contribute. Right now, I don't know much about our bench. Hope there is a diamond or two in the rough. |
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Soundwave
Full Member
Toronto Raptors
Winter is coming
Posts: 2,465
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Post by Soundwave on May 13, 2014 22:05:08 GMT -6
Clark Kent, Daily Planet:
Were your moves made with the sole purpose of getting past Boston in mind?
Would you rather make it to the conference finals and get swept or not make it at all and be remembered for putting up a heel of a fight against the best team in the league?
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Post by bowtothebill23 on May 13, 2014 23:07:57 GMT -6
Jack Markson from Golden Take. With Benoit now, do you feel it's championship or bust this year?
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Post by IamQuailman on May 14, 2014 12:29:38 GMT -6
AWARD 5 POINTS (TOWARDS MEDIA DAY POINTS)! THANKS FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION!
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credit loco for photoshop
