Z and Shaq on the floor together AGAIN??? God no...

[The Oi]

This was a dumb thread. The Lakers are one of the two teams that the twin towers set is perfect for.

 

[Andrew]

It worked against the Lakers, I just think it was new against the Celtics. Shaq and Z had no idea how to complement one another. They certainly did so tonight with Shaq in the paint and Z spreading the floor. Let me tell you, both their defensive sets spread the floor and if both are on their offensive game, can compete with any opponent.

 

[nime]

Does LA win a title if Bos or Cle face them last year?

Orl's defense isn't at the level Cle or Bos play at their best.
Bos pretty much exposed LA two years ago and would have done the same again last year if KG was healthy. The Cavs might not have had enough offensive firepower but they sure put on a better showing than the Magic last year imo.

Tonight was another example of how a solid defensive team will take out LA.
Our bigs were great defensively tonight.

 

[theSTEREO.]

Viva los Twin Towers!

 

[cavaliers4ever]

This is a combo that only works against certain teams, and the Lakers are one of those teams.

 

[Cavatt]

Shaq and Z matchup well with Bynum and Gasol. The advantage that Bynum has over most centers is his size and length. Shaq completely neutralizes that because he's bigger than Bynum. Gasol also has an advantage against other PF because of his size but he really can't postup Z and has to settle for shooting jumpers over a 7'3" with a long wingspan.

Against other teams that employ a frontcourt that is smaller and more athletic, the Shaq and Z combo might not be as effective. This game is had a little playoff type atmosphere where the physical play dominated, fast break points were hard to come by and both teams had to execute in the half-court.

I think this is crucial. YTou can't play them against bigs that are athletic or that shoot the ball really well. Pau shoots really well, but he doesn't stretch out further than Z can guard him. The best part was that the post ups that worked against Z last year weren't available, because Shaq and Bynum were clogging up the paint and Pau was too far out. Z really contained him. Great matchup against their 2 best bigs. Shaq has been fantastic against traditional post up centers. Howard, Bynum, Jefferson and even Perk. He just can't guard anyone that can put it on the floor.

Pau's only chance would have been to put it on the floor, but there was no room to operate with Shaq and Bynum in their! It was beautiful.

I actually coming to understand why MB thought it might work against every team. He thought it would be an offensive mismatch. Problem was that neither Shaq nor Z had the offensive start that our team expected. Z shot poorly as did Shaq. It is a great defensive libneup, provided it matches up with the skills of the opposing bigs. Anyone that can put the ball on the floor, or stretch the defense too much will exploit it. Luckily, Pau isn't comfortable out of 15 foot range or so. Hope he doesn't start working on his 3!

 

[MYoung23]

I think this is crucial. YTou can't play them against bigs that are athletic or that shoot the ball really well. Pau shoots really well, but he doesn't stretch out further than Pau can guard him. The best part was that the post ups that worked against Z last year weren't available, because Shaq and Bynum were clogging up the paint and Pau was too far out. Z really contained him. Great matchup against their 2 best bigs. Shaq has been fantastic against traditional post up centers. Howard, Bynum, Jefferson and even Perk. He just can't guard anyone that can put it on the floor.

Pau's only chance would have been to put it on the floor, but there was no room to operate with Shaq and Bynum in their! It was beautiful.

I actually coming to understand why MB thought it might work against every team. He thought it would be an offensive mismatch. Problem was that neither Shaq nor Z had the offensive start that our team expected. Z shot poorly as did Shaq. It is a great defensive libneup, provided it matches up with the skills of the opposing bigs. Anyone that can put the ball on the floor, or stretch the defense too much will exploit it. Luckily, Pau isn't comfortable out of 15 foot range or so. Hope he doesn't start working on his 3!

You do realize Shaq was 5-8 today, right?

Umm, maybe Andrew Bynum is just a good player rather than the deified LA superstar he is made out to be. The Cavaliers turned his lamp off just like they've done Andrew Bogut this year.

 

[ajz20]

since we talking about the towers. look at shaq's response to LA fans.


When the fans was throwin stuff, somebody hit me n da head wit some wet peanuts, lmfao, merry twitmas evryone

 

[Obawan12]

You do realize Shaq was 5-8 today, right?

Umm, maybe Andrew Bynum is just a good player rather than the deified LA superstar he is made out to be. The Cavaliers turned his lamp off just like they've done Andrew Bogut this year.

I think he was talking about the beginning of the season when he said Shaq and Z were shooting poorly.

Would you say the same thing about Gasol, Howard, and all the other bigs we have shut down? Bynum is a really good player, we are just fantastic at defending the paint and big men in general. All 3 of their big men were invisible, not just Bynum.

 

[Ruken]

Tonight all of our pieces showed up like they needed to. I just hope Mo has finally arrived.
Our offense was very god tonight as well Lebron off the ball was ding wonders and our ball movement was great. Not to mention Moon making everything he shot

 

[Cavatt]

You do realize Shaq was 5-8 today, right?

Umm, maybe Andrew Bynum is just a good player rather than the deified LA superstar he is made out to be. The Cavaliers turned his lamp off just like they've done Andrew Bogut this year.

Yeah I was talking about the beginning of the season, and i still don't think twin towers is a good matchup for every team. I was saying that MB was thinking he could get enough offense out of the 2 giants that their defensive liability would be nullified. It didn't turn out that way of course.

Bynum is great against most teams because of his strength, but Shaq is bigger, stronger, and smarter. He can be outrebounded.

 

[rabman_gold]

Bynum is basically a lesser developed Dwight Howard, so having Shaq on him was the first thing I had in my mind.

Gasol was guarded well by Z last year. So I was hoping that matchup could be used again.

These two men negated everything Dwight had last year in the Finals. Because they had more to throw at D12. Just like we finally had two legitimate offensive and lengthy (and somewhat strong) big men, better than last year of course.

So Odom was the one that worried me. Andy was really ready for him this time. Andy usually can stick it to them, but got hit hard when he didn't expect quickness and ability from big guys like Lewis and Odom. Odom really got frustrated.

This matchup was clearly possible because of Shaq. Last year, Ben guarding Pau and Andy guarding Bynum was just not in the cards for good results. Now you see the difference it makes from the previous year.

And the twin towers isn't meant for a full season. Neither guy has any real foot speed to help compensate for the other, like Tim was able to do with David in the last year of his career (2003, and Dave wasn't too slow either). But it's a good possibility against the contenders. Just wish Mike could've figured it out in preseason, but oh well... lesson learned.

Shaq can deal with Perkins, Dwight, and Bynum just fine as we see. Z can hold his ground against Wallace, Gortat (who has no offensive game), and Pau. Garnett is a difficult cover that may need multiple people. Rashard, Odom, Davis, among the other perimeter bigs are a good shot to be guarded by Andy, Jamario, J.J. (if he's actually able to hold his ground for a minute or 2), Leon (if he can come back healthy), and LeBron.

We have some outs, but we'll need some luck, decent seeding, and ability to play at the highest level like we did tonight (calling Coach Brown).

Twin Towers FTW-at-least-against-big-lineups-right...

 

[naturesrat]

I think he was talking about the beginning of the season when he said Shaq and Z were shooting poorly.

i'm only chiming in because it's clear homeboy myoung misread that post which in his defense, was a little unclear, but there's a difference between intelligent discourse and just jumping all over someone's mistakes. really not even trying to be a dick and single him out, but i lurk here to read about basketball, not to watch a bunch of people constantly trying to prove that they're smarter than everyone else. but that's life on a message board, ugh. everybody does it and now i'm totally doing it too, so i'll shut up

Would you say the same thing about Gasol, Howard, and all the other bigs we have shut down? Bynum is a really good player, we are just fantastic at defending the paint and big men in general. All 3 of their big men were invisible, not just Bynum.

ya, to contribute something basketball related, i'll agree that yes we completely neutralized their great big men. they have an absolutely fantastic big man lineup, this is undeniable. arguably the best in the league. and this game proved that we're capable of matching up, which is the greatest news ive heard all year. odom practically had a career game against us last season and that's because he went off on JJ. But JJ's 4th in the big man rotation, and soon to be 5th. so, yeah, exciting things developing, still a lot of season to go, but this game left me feeling quite optimistic, go cavs!

 

[futuristxen]

I was surprised Gasol wasn't able to use his speed on Z more effectively.

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

I was surprised Gasol wasn't able to use his speed on Z more effectively.

They were stuck in a half-court game because of the way we executed.

Once they're in that half-court, Gasol can still use his speed against Z..but he's still running into Shaq...and after Shaq knocked this shit out of Gasol early, Gasol took like 5 straight jumpers and never went near Shaq again. He was fucking rattled as hell.