Addressing the hole at center

[CleFan22]

You still need a guy capable defending the paint. We have none. That's the real concern.

With the Chris B. comment on Love last night, let's just say LeBron and Love come to Cleveland (because realistically, Cleveland would need a move like that to land LeBron). That would have a lineup of Kyrie/Wiggins/LeBron/Love. What kind financial situation would we have left to fill in the C spot?

 

[sailfish]

Andy combined with Zeller should be fine this year to fill the position. You have Young scorers all over the place now, they dont need a dominant force down low.

I think there's a good chance that we re-sign Spencer Hawes. He's a floor spacer and David Griffin saw enough in him to trade for him.

Another possibility might be Greg Oden, if the Cavaliers determine that he's healthy.

 

[jyan_osu]

I think there's a good chance that we re-sign Spencer Hawes. He's a floor spacer and David Griffin saw enough in him to trade for him.

Another possibility might be Greg Oden, if the Cavaliers determine that he's healthy.

So.. four number 1 picks on the floor with another number 1 on the bench?

 

[Derek]

I think there's a good chance that we re-sign Spencer Hawes. He's a floor spacer and David Griffin saw enough in him to trade for him.

Another possibility might be Greg Oden, if the Cavaliers determine that he's healthy.

Hawes and Oden... :thumbdown

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Do we really need an all star center?

No. But what concerns me is that we really don't have anyone at the 5 or at the 4 who legitimately projects to be an all-star. We can cross our fingers for Bennett, but that's about it.

It would be great if we could get one but a guy like Jordan Hill could fill what we need. Defense and rebounding is about it.

Hill's one of the better options out there, though he's a bit undersized to be a full-time 5. But I'd certainly take him if we could get him.

 

[Douglar]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princeton_offense

Having a strong post player is important because this player is critical to passing to backdoor cutters, and can draw help defense to open outside shots

 

[Green Lantern]

Even if the Cavs had taken Ebiid , he wouldn't see the floor this year anyway.
So they would be back in the same spot, having a hole at center.
I have no doubt Griff will make a move to aquire a viable center.

 

[Jack Brickman]

With the Chris B. comment on Love last night, let's just say LeBron and Love come to Cleveland (because realistically, Cleveland would need a move like that to land LeBron). That would have a lineup of Kyrie/Wiggins/LeBron/Love. What kind financial situation would we have left to fill in the C spot?

 

[Nathan S]

I don't see how this is a hole when we had, by many measures, the most effective player on the team last year playing this position. Not to mention that that player happens to be an ideal fit in Blatt's offense, and we have a solid young bench center behind him in Zeller.

 

[Derek]

I don't see how this is a hole when we had, by many measures, the most effective player on the team last year playing this position. Not to mention that that player happens to be an ideal fit in Blatt's offense, and we have a solid young bench center behind him in Zeller.

I hope you're not talking about Hawes. I'll probably throw up if he's our starting center this year.

 

[Nathan S]

I hope you're not talking about Hawes. I'll probably throw up if he's our starting center this year.

Jesus Christ, of course I'm not talking about Hawes. I'm talking about Andy!

 

[Derek]

Jesus Christ, of course I'm not talking about Hawes. I'm talking about Andy!

I figured nobody relied on Andy for anything anymore :chuckles:. Seriously though, he's a good offensive fit, but we'll still need somebody to defend the paint. Andy is one of the worst in that area.

 

[AustinCarr]

Though they all have weaknesses, and who knows if they stay, but we have three guys who seem to be good fits in Blatts system in Hawes, Andy, and Powell. Gasol might actually be a great fit at this point, as long as his contract had reasonable years.

 

[RealKingofCleve]

Why are people talking about Andy? Everyone knows hes only going to play 20-30 games before he goes down again. I honestly hope he isn't even back, because his body can't handle the NBA grind. For those saying it doesn't matter, we don't have good pfs either. How many teams have won something without a big who plays at an all-star level? The way this team is constructed is all messed up right now.

 

[Nathan S]

I figured nobody relied on Andy for anything anymore :chuckles:. Seriously though, he's a good offensive fit, but we'll still need somebody to defend the paint. Andy is one of the worst in that area.

We could definitely use a shot blocker, which is one of the main reasons I wanted (pre-foot-injury) Embiid, but while Andy is a subpar shotblocker he's still a solid defender overall at the center position. He is rarely caught out of position on that end thanks to his combination of quickness and smarts, he gets a significant amount of steals and bothers opposing bigs with his quick hands, and he soaks up rebounds on the defensive glass preventing putbacks. Don't be fooled by what "rim protection" stats say...opponents were scoring at the rim because Kyrie and Dion don't know how to contain penetration, Jack frankly didn't bother to contain penetration, Gee and Clark routinely lost track of their men on backdoor cuts, and TT and Bennett were among the most worthless help defenders in the entire league.