Does GSW and CLE playing without a true center in the Finals

[OneSport3]

affect Robin Lopez's value this summer? Does "small-ball" affect Neil Olshey's perception of Lopez and how they approach his contract?

 

[riverman]

The Bulls won championships with Luc Longley, Will Perdue and Bill Wennington at the 5...not spectacular players. Jazz went to the finals twice with Greg Ostertag at center so it's not a given that an elite big man gets you a ring

 

[blue9]

I dunno - Mozgov was a beast. If CLE had a real roster I think they would have beaten GSW, and Mozgov would have been an integral part.
These Finals are not a good litmus test for the state of the league - not only did GSW get a easy ride throughout the POs, but this was one of those rare seasons without a truly dominant team.

 

[RR7]

How is a season with a 66 win team one without a dominant team?

As for the question, I hope it decreases his value so we get him cheap, but it shouldn't decrease his value to us. It's foolish, imo, when building a team to chase last year.

 

[riverman]

I dunno - Mozgov was a beast. If CLE had a real roster I think they would have beaten GSW, and Mozgov would have been an integral part.
These Finals are not a good litmus test for the state of the league - not only did GSW get a easy ride throughout the POs, but this was one of those rare seasons without a truly dominant team.

I thought Cleveland blew it by benching Mozgov. He impressed the hell out of me. Bogut in my view is vastly overrated

 

[Pinwheel1]

I thought Cleveland blew it by benching Mozgov. He impressed the hell out of me. Bogut in my view is vastly overrated

Keep in mind that Cleveland got blown out in Mozgov's best game, and was only down by one in the 2nd half at one point in the game he benched him. I agree Blatt should have gone back to Mozgov sooner, but I don't think it was as bad of a move as everyone makes it out to be.

 

[Orion Bailey]

How is a season with a 66 win team one without a dominant team?

As for the question, I hope it decreases his value so we get him cheap, but it shouldn't decrease his value to us. It's foolish, imo, when building a team to chase last year.

Im pretty sure he means PLAYOFF seasons. and no one was dominant in this years playoffs, regardless of their regular season record.

 

[riverman]

Im pretty sure he means PLAYOFF seasons. and no one was dominant in this years playoffs, regardless of their regular season record.

Weren't the Cavs pretty dominant before the finals though? I know it was the east but seemed to me they had more time off between series than anyone else

 

[Orion Bailey]

Weren't the Cavs pretty dominant before the finals though? I know it was the east but seemed to me they had more time off between series than anyone else

I just went and looked because I didn't watch many east early round games. Cleveland swept the first and conference finals, but lost 2 to the Bulls. I guess that's pretty dominant.

 

[blue9]

I just went and looked because I didn't watch many east early round games. Cleveland swept the first and conference finals, but lost 2 to the Bulls. I guess that's pretty dominant.

Well, CLE was "suppose" to be the dominant team of the East, and wasn't nearly as dominant as some people thought they would be. GSW racked up a ton of wins, but I don't think anybody viewed them in the same light as the championship LAL/MIA/BOS/SAS teams of the past 15 years. They were more similar to the flukey DAL championship team - the best team of the season, but not head-and-shoulders above the rest of the competition.
Most seasons you can pick out 2-4 teams in Oct/Nov as they only ones with a shot at the title - that wasn't the case this year, hence my comment about no dominant teams.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Well, CLE was "suppose" to be the dominant team of the East, and wasn't nearly as dominant as some people thought they would be. GSW racked up a ton of wins, but I don't think anybody viewed them in the same light as the championship LAL/MIA/BOS/SAS teams of the past 15 years. They were more similar to the flukey DAL championship team - the best team of the season, but not head-and-shoulders above the rest of the competition.
Most seasons you can pick out 2-4 teams in Oct/Nov as they only ones with a shot at the title - that wasn't the case this year, hence my comment about no dominant teams.

Valid and makes sense

 

[Rastapopoulos]

It would be foolish to draw a lesson from how teams played in ONE SERIES. (That's why it's foolish to think that Meyers can replace Lopez.)

Bogut has been one of GState's most important players. It's no accident they suddenly did well when he was finally healthy. While it's true the team that relies on a center for OFFENSE is rare, that's not going to affect Robin. (It's affecting Okafor already.) Everyone wants a seven footer who is elite defensively. (That's why Cauley-Stein is a hot commodity despite mediocre college stats.)

Re: Mozgov. Yes he scored a bunch - BECAUSE HE WAS PLAYING AGAINST SOMEONE 6'6"! But the Warriors still ran away and hid because they were hitting from outside.

Now, if Meyers could play defense like Bogut AND hit threes like he did in the Memphis series - he'd be league MVP!

 

[Run BJM]

It would be foolish to draw a lesson from how teams played in ONE SERIES. (That's why it's foolish to think that Meyers can replace Lopez.)

Bogut has been one of GState's most important players. It's no accident they suddenly did well when he was finally healthy. While it's true the team that relies on a center for OFFENSE is rare, that's not going to affect Robin. (It's affecting Okafor already.) Everyone wants a seven footer who is elite defensively. (That's why Cauley-Stein is a hot commodity despite mediocre college stats.)

Re: Mozgov. Yes he scored a bunch - BECAUSE HE WAS PLAYING AGAINST SOMEONE 6'6"! But the Warriors still ran away and hid because they were hitting from outside.

Now, if Meyers could play defense like Bogut AND hit threes like he did in the Memphis series - he'd be league MVP!

Agree, Bogut's a big, plodding, defensive C. W's would have been toast against the Grizz and maybe Rockets/Dwight without him. But he didn't really have a place in the Cleveland or NO series. If you don't have a C like that, you're going to get crushed somewhere along the way. The NBA is getting smaller, but its always been a matchups league. You need to have an answer for the big teams. These traditional centers are kind of being phased out, yet most of the good teams still have a true 7 foot rim protector, even if they only play 20 mpg and sometimes barely play at all. And as I've said elsewhere, if you take Bogut off the roster then I suspect Draymond, Festus, Barnes, Speights, etc would be ground into dust by the time the post season started.