Dion and Lebron Gravitating Towards Each Other

[MikeSU02]

They won't be better than Steph and Klay. Klay is a great on-ball defender at the 2, on top of both of those guys' shooting abilities.

Kyrie and Dion can be better than Wall and Beal, however.

The most important thing is that only one of those duos is playing with LeBron. Hope Dion makes the most of it.

 

[Melancer46]

They won't be better than Steph and Klay. Klay is a great on-ball defender at the 2, on top of both of those guys' shooting abilities.

Kyrie and Dion can be better than Wall and Beal, however.

The most important thing is that only one of those duos is playing with LeBron. Hope Dion makes the most of it.

I definitely think Kyrie and Dion will be in the conversation with Wall & Beal, but Wall was definitely better than Kyrie a year ago and Beal was very good as well. I think there's still a decent chance that Kyrie/Dion ends up being the #3 backcourt duo.

Edit: Lowry/DeRozen and Dragic/Bledsoe are in that conversation with the Wizards and Cavs duos as well. Kemba/Lance and CP3/Redick are probably on the fringe as well. If you consider the full backcourts, CP3/Redick/Crawford is probably Top 3 as well.

 

[SoBeCuse]

I definitely think Kyrie and Dion will be in the conversation with Wall & Beal, but Wall was definitely better than Kyrie a year ago and Beal was very good as well. I think there's still a decent chance that Kyrie/Dion ends up being the #3 backcourt duo.

Edit: Lowry/DeRozen and Dragic/Bledsoe are in that conversation with the Wizards and Cavs duos as well. Kemba/Lance and CP3/Redick are probably on the fringe as well. If you consider the full backcourts, CP3/Redick/Crawford is probably Top 3 as well.

Good post. Beal is a better shooter, defender, and rebounder than Dion. Dion has a higher ceiling imo but he's not better than Beal now. What's puzzling, and that's what the local media guys are getting after Dion about, is how can a guy who doesn't start make those comments. Good look on DeRozan/Lowry.

 

[SoBeCuse]

Who is John Wall to talk? Seriously.

Irving > Wall
Waiters > Beal
and Wall has very limited playoff experience to lean on. It's probably a good idea for him to .

Disagree. Wall has 3 triple-doubles I believe and is a very good rebounder. I think they are VERY close as players but I would take Wall. Irving is a shaky leader at best. Waiters is not better than Beal right now. More potential though. Beal does more on the court right now without question.

 

[Brooky03]

Disagree. Wall has 3 triple-doubles I believe and is a very good rebounder. I think they are VERY close as players but I would take Wall. Irving is a shaky leader at best. Waiters is not better than Beal right now. More potential though. Beal does more on the court right now without question.

Unless we're talking about Carter-Williams in college, I don't care much for rebounding numbers from a guard. That's not to say it's without value, but I just don't know how valuable 4 rpg is from your PG. Irving averages the same number of rebounds per game.

Irving has the more complete offensive game in my opinion, and the stats back it up. The only significant statistical advantage that Wall has is that he average about 2 more apg; steals, turnovers, rebounds, blocks are pretty much equal. You have a great point about the leadership characteristics, but LeBron might negate the issue. The PG doesn't need to be the leader on the court.

Waiters and Beal are closer. Actually, per 36 minutes, they accomplish just about the same production but in slightly different ways. Waiters is the better driver/finisher and Beal is shooter. Waiters has the FG% advantage whereas Beal has the 3pt% and FT% advantage. Outside of that, they're equal exept for Beal's 1 more rebound per 36 mins.

I know there are other factors that go into this other than stats, but I don't think it's unlikely that Irving and Waiters will be better than Wall and Beal this season.

 

[RF2044]

Unless we're talking about Carter-Williams in college, I don't care much for rebounding numbers from a guard. That's not to say it's without value, but I just don't know how valuable 4 rpg is from your PG. Irving averages the same number of rebounds per game.

Irving has the more complete offensive game in my opinion, and the stats back it up. The only significant statistical advantage that Wall has is that he average about 2 more apg; steals, turnovers, rebounds, blocks are pretty much equal. You have a great point about the leadership characteristics, but LeBron might negate the issue. The PG doesn't need to be the leader on the court.

Waiters and Beal are closer. Actually, per 36 minutes, they accomplish just about the same production but in slightly different ways. Waiters is the better driver/finisher and Beal is shooter. Waiters has the FG% advantage whereas Beal has the 3pt% and FT% advantage. Outside of that, they're equal exept for Beal's 1 more rebound per 36 mins.

I know there are other factors that go into this other than stats, but I don't think it's unlikely that Irving and Waiters will be better than Wall and Beal this season.

This is where everything gets subjective. Wall is a more advanced lead guard than Irving, IMO. Irving is a better scorer than Wall, but doesn't do as good of a job running a team at this stage of his developmental curve, IMO. So depending on which attributes you value, you could make the case either way.

 

[SoBeCuse]

It's a good argument above. All four guys are good players for sure. Irving/Waiters could definitely become a better backcourt than Wall/Beal but I don't think they are there yet. Heck, they haven't even spent enough time on the floor together to prove it yet due to injuries or the rotation so by default, Wall/Beal are better. LeBron could really help these guys be special together.

 

[RF2044]

It's a good argument above. All four guys are good players for sure. Irving/Waiters could definitely become a better backcourt than Wall/Beal but I don't think they are there yet. Heck, they haven't even spent enough time on the floor together to prove it yet due to injuries or the rotation so by default, Wall/Beal are better. LeBron could really help these guys be special together.

I'm guessing that Irving / Waiters will be nationally perceived as the better combo, once the Cavs enjoy a deep run in this year's playoffs. Right, wrong, or indifferent, that seems to be how many form these opinions. Plus, there's no love lost between Cleveland and Washington, so there are bound to be some entertaining games this year. Especially with this war of words re-igniting the old rivalry.

 

[jekelish]

Oh boy...

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/is-dion-waiters-the-new-mario-chalmers/

 

[Fireball Jr.]

Oh boy...

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/is-dion-waiters-the-new-mario-chalmers/

blah blah blah

 

[triplethrea]

Oh boy...

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/is-dion-waiters-the-new-mario-chalmers/

I don't remember Chalmers going Top 5 in the draft.

 

[Knicks411]

Who is John Wall to talk? Seriously.

Irving > Wall
Waiters > Beal
and Wall has very limited playoff experience to lean on. It's probably a good idea for him to .

Wall has limited playoff experience, but not sure I'd agree with your rankings. I take Beal over Dion. (Though I remember being surprised at how relatively low Beal's percentages were; from a scoring efficiency standpoint, they are pretty similar) I give Beal an edge, if for nothing else, he has better size and I think he's better on the defensive end. Irving v Wall is a much closer one; Irving gives up a lot of value on the defensive side, but he's still a dynamite offensive player, and his numbers should look even better with more guys to take attention away from him. Push comes to shove, I'm taking Irving there. Wall did improve his jumper last year, but I really like my PG to h ave legit 3 point range.

The biggest thing holding the Dion/Kyrie backcourt back could be defensive effort. Though I have a hunch they're going to be held a little mroe accountable on that side of the ball with Lebron on the team.

 

[Fireball Jr.]

Just a fun show for the fans last night, but Dion already showing he knows his role. By George, he gets it!

 

[Brooky03]

Though I have a hunch they're going to be held a little mroe accountable on that side of the ball with Lebron on the team.

That's what I'm banking on.

And I might be biased because I never cared much for Beal as a player. I always felt he was a little overrated.

 

[tee1222]

Just a fun show for the fans last night, but Dion already showing he knows his role. By George, he gets it!

For the first time in my life, I almost want to switch allegiances. But Knicks will always be #1 to me. This team has everything they need. Just comes down to passing and team defense and they have a good shot in year 1.

 

[VaBeachOrFan]

For the first time in my life, I almost want to switch allegiances. But Knicks will always be #1 to me. This team has everything they need. Just comes down to passing and team defense and they have a good shot in year 1.

Aw, g'won. Become a Cavs fan! What's not to like? With apologies to Eddie Feigner, it's King James and his New Court. Show Time!!!-VBOF

 

[orange2win]

Of course Lebron and Dion share one big bonding stat in common. Neither of them ever started on a college basketball team.