Weekly Roundtable: Best new shooter, guard rotation and storied(?) careers
By Zak Kolesar
May 23, 2012; Philadelphia, PA USA; Philadelphia 76ers former guard Allen Iverson before the start of game six against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Welcome to the fifty-fifth installment of Right Down Euclid’s “Weekly Roundtable.” This weekend Trevor Magnotti and Zak Kolesar sit down and discuss the latest trending topics concerning your Cleveland Cavaliers and the NBA. The combination of rotating RDE duos answer three questions regarding the hometown Wine and Gold and two questions surrounding the league.
Today the discussion revolves around shooting percentages, Cleveland’s guard rotation, Chris Grant’s tenure, Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady’s careers and a strange video.
Cavaliers Corner
First Question: Which new shooter will improve Cleveland’s percentages the most?
Trevor Magnotti: I think Jarrett Jack, just because he’s the most consistent new guy the Cavaliers have. He adds a much more consistent three-point shot than any other Cavalier outside of maybe Kyrie Irving, he’s another solid pick-and-roll weapon, he has good, but not great, court vision and he can hit mid-range jumpers with ease. He’s going to stretch the floor more for the Cavaliers and really help space things out, especially if he’s allowed to spot-up from three. One interesting lineup I’d like to see would be putting Irving with Jack and Sergey Karasev off the ball, because Kyrie + two spot-up shooters + pick-and-pop bigs = FUN.
Zak Kolesar: I agree with Trevor that Jack is the best new shooter added to the roster this summer, but that doesn’t speak volumes for the shooters that Cleveland did manager to haul in during the offseason. We have yet to see what both Andrew Bynum and Anthony Bennett will look like on the floor in Wine and Gold because of their injuries, but we did get a good look at Karasev overseas, and that prompts me into saying that Jack and Sergey are the two best shooting additions to this team. Earl Clark will need to become more comfortable with the small forward position before we can call him a shooter, but in the meantime, I’m hoping to see Jack and Irving thrive in the same offense.
Second Question: How pivotal is the addition of Jack to the Cleveland guard rotation?
TM: See the above answer for most of my reasoning here, but I think he’s a nice compliment here. As we’ve beaten to death in a way on this site, Jack might be the Cavs best shooter right now, as he gives interesting possibilities because he can play off the ball (or let Irving play off the ball, which could be fun), and he’s a guy who can consistently get you 14-16 points off the bench. I like the possibilities with Jack.
ZK: He fits in right between Kyrie and Dion. His skillset is going to be a major x-factor for this team in 2013 and beyond, whether that be due to his passing abilities, long-range shot, effectiveness or experience as a sixth man. Having the youngest team in the NBA can be troublesome at times, but the veteran leadership of Jack and Anderson Varejao will go a long way this season.
Third Question: What grade would you give Grant’s tenure in Cleveland?
TM: I feel like you have to give him a B+, only because he appears to have something quality built here, but we’re about two years away from accurately assessing how well he’s done, only because the team is so young, and everyone is still developing. So it’s a B+, but that’s like, a midterm grade if that makes sense.
ZK: Of course it’s difficult to grade someone who is in the midst of their project, so this should just be considered a checkup. In the matter of three years, things have definitely turned around. We have a defined All-Star in Kyrie, we may have found an answer on defense in Bynum and a young supporting cast of up-and-coming stars to go along with that should be something to brag about in three more years. From me, Chris Grant gets an A-.
NBA Roundup
Fourth Question: What two words would you give to describe the careers of Allen Iverson and Tracy McGrady?
TM: Allen Iverson: Tenacity. The guy played 14 NBA seasons in constant overdrive. He never backed down from anything, or anyone. He was a 5’11” shooting guard, which shouldn’t work in the NBA by any means. However, he compensated by playing an absurd amount of minutes, getting banged up every game and being so intimidating that referees were afraid of giving him technicals. I loved Allen Iverson. On the other hand…..
Tracy McGrady: OVER-RATED *clap clap clapclapclap* I’ll try to be nice, because Tracy McGrady is my least favorite NBA player EVER. He won two NBA scoring titles, but his teams in Orlando never finished with better than 44 wins. He was utterly useless in Toronto. He had a nice run of sustained success in Houston but couldn’t stay healthy enough to see it pay dividends in the playoffs. People destroy Iverson for his inefficiency, but yet McGrady’s career TS% is only one tenth of a percent better than Iverson’s, and McGrady got to the line 1.5 times less per game than AI. Also, McGrady never gave a crap on defense, never shot better than 46 percent from the field and complained about playing time so much in his last season in Houston that the Rockets dumped him to the Knicks and started their current game of asset accumulation. I’m sorry, but you’ll never convince me that T-Mac was better than Iverson, or that T-Mac should be a Hall-of-Famer.
ZK: I love ridiculous things, and Allen Iverson was definitely a ridiculous player. I could list off what he has done over an impressive, and at times showstopping, career in the NBA, but I would much rather jump over to this discussion about Mr. McGrady. Has any other player, who at one time claimed the title of best player in the NBA, disappeared from the spotlight as quick as McGrady? He was even in his early 30s when it was all done and he was all forgotten. He was just lucky to be in situations that made him look better than he really was. Just another example of a player getting a ton of minutes and scoring an unimpressive amount of points in that time.
Fifth Question: Let’s have some fun this week: What do you think of this video?
TM: What? I…………..what?
ZK: You’re welcome, Trevor.
Make sure to check back next week to see what Trevor Magnotti and Chris Manning have to debate at the “Weekly Roundtable.”