bleedspeed177 wrote:Problem is Irving and Love are horrible defenders. If Rose is healthy and 90% of what he was it will be a big problem for the Cavs. Noah and Gibson can dog Love. Butler and Snell can dog Lebron. Rose would be able to handle Irving. They can handle multiple threats. Add in how well Thib makes a team defend as a unit I don't see it is a problem. This Bulls team should be able to score enough to take advantage of that.
The Wizards were able to carve them up with Wall and Nene. Replace those two with Irving and Love. Now add the best player on the planet. Yea not seeing it
1. Its not just Rose is Noah and Gasol who are threats to be injured too. Those guys are bigtime players if one of them are out its a big blow to the Bulls and its likely not if its when they get hurt is the key.
2. Young talent. Bulls have Mirotic, Snell McBuckets and at least one other guy I am forgetting that might be contributors. Maybe not of those guys are starters or stars but depth can be huge for NBA teams.
3. McBuckets looks like the real deal as a move without the ball get up and make shots kind of guy that will be able to do that well enough from the beginning. He could be a real offensive factor for them this year.
Its been mentioned already but who else would you want coaching your team than Thibs? The list is pretty short. He hasn't had a healthy roster to get deep enough to see if he can win those coaching battles late in the playoffs but his teams keep overachieving in impressive fashion. I'll take that over rookie David Blatt even with some good assistants and Lebron on the team.
Every eastern conf team has some significant warts its still pretty wide open except Indiana took a step back loosing Lance. That backcourt of Hill and whatever FA scrub they signed is unimpressive.
horatio81 wrote:Total agreement. Gasol will go miles towards fixing their offensive woes all by himself. They're a top-four seed before factoring in the potential emergence of McDermott or Mirotic (or return to form of Rose). If one or two of the "unknowns" break right for the Bulls, they'll be the favorites in the East. In fact, as much as Love would improve the Cavs, I'm not sure I'd favor a Love-infused Cleveland over this year's Chicago squad.
LeBron + Love + Irving >>> Noah + Rose + Gasol
Yes, I'm sure Chicago's defense will continue to be suffocating, but the best part about Thibs defense is that he can pinpoint one guy on the opposition and do a good job of making life tough. Have fun taking out LeBron with Love and Irving behind him.
I'd never favor the bulls over the cavs + love on the basis of 1-3. Chicago simply has a much stronger 4-9. They've also addressed their biggest weakness ( offense ) with their acquisitions. The cavs are poised to be an explosive squad with defensive issues, and adding mike miller, ray Allen, etc doesn't solve those issues.
What would I do right now if I were in charge of the Cavs' front office?
1. First, I'd trade Wiggins, Thompson and Bennett for Love if that's what it took to get him. Waiting for the possibility that Wiggins and Bennett will develop and not knowing how good the'y'll be or how fast they'll develop makes no sense after signing LeBron James on the eve of his 30th birthday. And it makes even less sense after signing veterans like Miller, Jones and possibly Ray Allen. Love is a proven star just entering his prime at age 25. He's not a great defender, but when you factor in his defensive rebounding prowess, he's not a bad defender, especially when he puts in the effort which he will surely do playing with LeBron.
As for who the Cavs would be giving up, keeping Thompson as a backup makes little sense because he wouldn't get many minutes behind love and would probably leave for another team after next season for the chance to start. Bennett has potential but he plays LeBron's position and hasn't shown that he will make it in the NBA, much less become a really good player. Wiggins has lots of potential but has confirmed in Summer League and his one year in Kansas that he's not the second coming of LeBron, Jordan or Durant. In other words, we don't know how good he'll actually be and it will likely take a couple of years before he really taps into his potential.
2. As for the defensive side of the ball, I'd attempt to trade for Tony Allen. I would also attempt to sign Okafor and/or Elton Brand to shore up the Cavs' interior defense. I'll also note that the Cavs defense would not be terrible without these moves. LeBron is an excellent defender. And although neither Irving nor Love has ever been known as a good defender, neither one is terrible and both are likely to raise their level of play on the defensive end under LeBron's leadership. Moreover, the offensive production the Cavs would get from Love and Irving would allow LeBron to devote more energy to the defensive end. In addition Varejao is a very good high energy defender.
