Merged: Cavs trying to use Shaq to lure Williams

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Howard can score ALL DAY LONG against us for all I care because he can't beat a team on his own. The problem is the other 4 guys around him shooting 50% or better from 3pt land. That's where we lost the games. You get out there and guard those players instead of letting them have wide open after wide open shot and it's an entirely different series. I'm not saying we don't need another big man but we need our ONLY SF a hell of a lot more than we need a center to compete against ONE TEAM every once in a while and maybe in the playoffs. I know you hate Marvin and would get rid of him for any player in the league but without having someone to replace him it would be absolutely foolish to trade him. And yes I know you don't appreciate the defense that he provides or the willingness to play the 4th or 5th shooter role without complaining and while being treated like crap by the fans but the fact is that you won't find many SF's who can play defense as well as Marvin does that can also score the basketball as much as Marvin does when he is asked to do so.

Dol . . . the problem with the single coverage of Howard, is that his athleticism gets people in foul trouble. Letting Howard score all day long, enables them to pound our already weak frontline, getting multiple people in foul trouble. And when Horford got in foul trouble, the play of the frontline dropped significantly. Then, on the other end, we don't have bangers in the post that can pick up fouls on Dwight on the other end.

The teams that have been able to successfully defend Orlando, started with their defense on Howard FIRST. When you have the ability to guard Howard one on one, you don't have to leave the shooters.

LOL . . . Marvin Williams cannot, I repeat, CANNOT, be the reason why we don't bring in a Shaq to address our need for a change of pace big man center. I personally want to keep Marvin AND add Shaq. But Marvin can't be the reason why Shaq is not obtained . . . he just can't. He is the one player on this squad that is expendable. You play JJ at the 3, and Jamal at the 2. If you need a SF defensive specialist, go out and add a Matt Barnes or somebody.

Marvin is maybe the 5th or 6th most important person on the squad. He is definitely expendable. I don't always agree with the way the fans dog him out, because he doesn't deserve it. But he is expendable. And if we have to give him up to FINALLY get a center here, so that we can see if Horford can really excel when playing PF at times, it's worth the risk.

[BusBoyIsBack]

Actually I have to correct myself. It's been brought to my attention we are NOT guaranteed to face Orlando in the 1st round.

"The top four seeds will be the three division winners plus the team with the next best record. Those four will be ordered by record (and tiebreakers if needed), so it's possible that two teams in the same division could hold the top two spots, with the other two division winners at Nos. 3 and 4.

Seeds 5 through 8 are the next four teams according to record (and tiebreakers if needed). "

So in other words, Orlando CAN get a higher seed than 4 if they finished with better record than other division winners. It is only our spot which would be stuck at 5.

So things could end up like this

Miami (1) (South east winner)

Orlando (2)

Chicago (3) (Central winner)

Boston (4) (Atlantic Winner)

Atlanta (5)

Milwaukee (6)

Charlotte (7)

New York (8)

That would give us Boston in the 1st round ,a team we could take on. But man look how open a road that is. If we got the 2 seed, we're talking a legitimate chance at making the Eastern Conference Finals.

I can definitely see that happening somewhere down the road. And what better time than now if we get Shaq to help us vs Dwight Howard for the regular season where those meetings between us could be the difference record wise down the stretch.

[Dragitoff]

You have to look at the Shaq vs. Dwight matchup from 2 sides. Yes, Dwight's athleticism gets others in foul trouble, but savy inside players have easily been able to get him into foul trouble. The Bobcats had guys who constantly attached the rim and got him into foul trouble. That's a big reason they were able to contain him. It's hard to put up big numbers when you're riding the pine in foul trouble. That's Superman's kryptonite-fouls! Al's not big enough to challenge Dwight consistently and get him into heavy foul trouble. Shaq definitely is.

The other point we all need to remember. Elite teams that are trying to win championships sign or trade for players in the off-season for specific matchups. Boston got Rasheed Wallace specifically for Dwight. How did that work for them? It got them to the NBA Finals. If we're all wanting our team to be considered legit championship contenders, we have to face the facts that we may need to sacrifice some areas for specific needs. In all honesty, no one can say Marvin Williams is an elite defender. He's not going to stop LeBron. He might do better than others, but he's not going to stop him. Very few defenders will make a significant impact to a player of his skill level. I think a Matt Barnes type could do almost as good a job.