GSH
06-05-2007, 01:32 AM
With all the talk about "how will the Spurs match up against the Cavs?", and the ranting about Cleveland's defense and physical play, I thought it might be worthwhile to compare the Cavs to our last victims - the Utah Jazz. See which players you think offer the most difficult match-ups at each position. [NOTE: it is a little tough to compare some positions, since LeBron plays a point-forward role. But in the end, I think it lines up pretty nicely.] The stats I have listed are from the playoffs, and in the form ppg / reb / ast.
Bigs. Boozer vs. Ilgauskas and Okur vs. Gooden
Boozer - 23.5 / 12.2 / 2.9
Ilgauskas - 13.8 / 9.5 / .9
Okur - 11.8 / 7.8 / 1.8
Gooden - 11.1 / 7.9 / 1.2
Okur's and Gooden's numbers line up pretty closely. Ilgauskas may be a decent center, but compared to Boozer? Fuggedaboudit. You want to pair them by "true" position? Fine. Boozer vs. Gooden is even worse. Which set of bigs present the most difficult match-ups? It's Utah, all the way.
Medium-Sized Guys. Kirilenko vs. Pavlovic and Harpring/Giricek vs. Larry Hughes
The Jazz players definitely have the edge in physical play here, and the numbers favor them as well. The Jazz present more difficult match-ups.
Kirilenko - 9.6 / 5.2 / 2.6
Pavlovic - 9.0 / 2.6 / 1.8
Harpring/Giricek - 15.4 / 6.4 / 2.4
Larry Hughes - 12.6 / 4.1 / 2.6
Role Players. Fisher vs. Gibson and Millsap vs. Varejao.
Fisher started a lot of games for the Jazz, so it's harder to call him just a role-player, but the comparison still works I think. Without that 31-point Game 6, Gibson's numbers aren't even close. Millsap's numbers are very similar to Varejao's. Both come off the bench and bring lots of energy. Millsap was physical as hell, if you remember. Fisher is a much tougher match-up, and Millsap/Varejao is a push.
Derek Fisher - 9.5 / 1.6 / 2.6
Daniel Gibson - 7.6 / 1.6 / .7
Millsap - 5.9 / 4.4 / .5
Varejao - 5.6 / 6.1 / .5
Stars. Okay... Deron Williams is not LeBron James. But he is pretty damned close in terms of how difficult he is to match up with. The numbers clearly favor LeBron, but the difference is more than offset by Boozer's advantage.
Deron Williams - 19.2 3.8 8.6
LeBron James - 25.3 8.3 8.3
Coach. Sloan vs. Brown
Don't even go there. Even with Brown's recent Spur experience.
As a group, Utah plays better defense than the Cavs. They are definitely more physical. They have the discipline that comes from playing under Jerry Sloan. And they have a pretty impressive star of their own in Deron Williams. And the Cavs have no one that even approaches the match-up problems that Boozer presented in the playoffs. Overall, the Jazz are simply a better team that presented more difficult match-ups. And we beat them in 5 games.
Is LeBron James really the best basketball player on the planet, like the sports writers and announcers claim? The Cavs need for him to be. Because the rest of their team can't push the Spurs as hard as the Jazz did.
Bigs. Boozer vs. Ilgauskas and Okur vs. Gooden
Boozer - 23.5 / 12.2 / 2.9
Ilgauskas - 13.8 / 9.5 / .9
Okur - 11.8 / 7.8 / 1.8
Gooden - 11.1 / 7.9 / 1.2
Okur's and Gooden's numbers line up pretty closely. Ilgauskas may be a decent center, but compared to Boozer? Fuggedaboudit. You want to pair them by "true" position? Fine. Boozer vs. Gooden is even worse. Which set of bigs present the most difficult match-ups? It's Utah, all the way.
Medium-Sized Guys. Kirilenko vs. Pavlovic and Harpring/Giricek vs. Larry Hughes
The Jazz players definitely have the edge in physical play here, and the numbers favor them as well. The Jazz present more difficult match-ups.
Kirilenko - 9.6 / 5.2 / 2.6
Pavlovic - 9.0 / 2.6 / 1.8
Harpring/Giricek - 15.4 / 6.4 / 2.4
Larry Hughes - 12.6 / 4.1 / 2.6
Role Players. Fisher vs. Gibson and Millsap vs. Varejao.
Fisher started a lot of games for the Jazz, so it's harder to call him just a role-player, but the comparison still works I think. Without that 31-point Game 6, Gibson's numbers aren't even close. Millsap's numbers are very similar to Varejao's. Both come off the bench and bring lots of energy. Millsap was physical as hell, if you remember. Fisher is a much tougher match-up, and Millsap/Varejao is a push.
Derek Fisher - 9.5 / 1.6 / 2.6
Daniel Gibson - 7.6 / 1.6 / .7
Millsap - 5.9 / 4.4 / .5
Varejao - 5.6 / 6.1 / .5
Stars. Okay... Deron Williams is not LeBron James. But he is pretty damned close in terms of how difficult he is to match up with. The numbers clearly favor LeBron, but the difference is more than offset by Boozer's advantage.
Deron Williams - 19.2 3.8 8.6
LeBron James - 25.3 8.3 8.3
Coach. Sloan vs. Brown
Don't even go there. Even with Brown's recent Spur experience.
As a group, Utah plays better defense than the Cavs. They are definitely more physical. They have the discipline that comes from playing under Jerry Sloan. And they have a pretty impressive star of their own in Deron Williams. And the Cavs have no one that even approaches the match-up problems that Boozer presented in the playoffs. Overall, the Jazz are simply a better team that presented more difficult match-ups. And we beat them in 5 games.
Is LeBron James really the best basketball player on the planet, like the sports writers and announcers claim? The Cavs need for him to be. Because the rest of their team can't push the Spurs as hard as the Jazz did.