Stoudemire won't be traded to the Cavs, but this thread is still very lulzworthy.

[FedEx227]

If you people think +/- means anything in the NBA, you are dumber than I thought. Keep in mind, the Cavs bench is basically another starting lineup, so of course they are gonna be + against other teams' benches.

......what?

[BUCK3YE5]

So you are saying Delonte West is a top 5 player in the NBA? Because last year he was in +/-

[DoubleDeuce]

Your an idiot. Shaq essentially cancels out or does better than every big man he faces. Including Dwight.

Oh yeah, because Brook Lopez going 23 and 14(8 offensive) is really cancelled out. Shaq went 7 and 8 that game.

Or David Lee getting 20 and 8 while Shaq got 19 and 1

Or DeAndre FUCKING Jordan outrebounding Shaq by 5.

Need I go on?

[FedEx227]

So you are saying Delonte West is a top 5 player in the NBA? Because last year he was in +/-

Yes because +/- means you're the best in the league. I never said that.

I didn't say it's the be-all, end-all. It's extremely dependent on your teammates. That's why I tend to look at the 5-man units one more so than straight +/- for 1 player. It still shows that when Delonte West was in the game, the Cavaliers as a team were pretty good. It doesn't mean Delonte is top 5 in the league (13.5 PER), nobody is saying that... you can't take +/- to be IT.

You can't ignore it and think it's retarded but you can't rank the NBA players by it.

[Sportsbuck]

Shaq isn't a dominant player anymore obviously, but his prescence on the floor is big for the Cavs in what it means for matchups. Last year we would've got torn up by the Lakers because all we had in terms of big men was Z, now with Shaq we can get them both on the floor at the same time and it lets Z play his game without worrying about guarding Dwight Howard.

Shaq isn't a dominating defender by any stretch of the imagination and he's not going to cancel out Dwight Howard, but he makes the other matchups on the court much better. Nothing was worse than watching AV try to guard Dwight last year when Z needed a breather. Dude tries hard, but my god.

[Woy]

In a couple year he'll be an all-star.


He said he was leaning towards re-signing


Your an idiot


Your an idiot. Shaq essentially cancels out or does better than every big man he faces. Including Dwight.

If you people think +/- means anything in the NBA, you are dumber than I thought. Keep in mind, the Cavs bench is basically another starting lineup, so of course they are gonna be + against other teams' benches.

You're*

[FedEx227]

The Cavs biggest problem last year wasn't Howard though, I think it was the Pietrus/Lewis/Hedo combo. They made it impossible for the Cavs to put a balanced lineup out there. If they went small to guard those guys Howard had his way, but if they went big you had Anderson trying to guard perimeter guys.

[Juggernaut]

The Cavs biggest problem last year wasn't Howard though, I think it was the Pietrus/Lewis/Hedo combo. They made it impossible for the Cavs to put a balanced lineup out there. If they went small to guard those guys Howard had his way, but if they went big you had Anderson trying to guard perimeter guys.

So...they got Amar'e to help...defensively?



Amar'e may be a bigger body yet he's a shit defender, maybe he'll decide to play defense with LeBron nagging his ass but otherwise Amar'e just helps LeBron since he'll be able to take some of LeBron's shots away and allow LeBron to focus on defense.

[ralaw]

Amare with Lebron? That is a scary combo....scary. While Amare might not be as explosive and dominant as he once was, he'll still instantly be the best player Lebron has ever had. His ability to play inside and out fits well with this team.
If you're the Cavs, you have to take the chance..... Hickson is a good young player, but in the end he's just not a player that you keep to pass on Amare.

[DJ Rhude]

^^^^ Agreed, and Stoudemire is not exactly over the hill so it's not like they're giving up a young player for an aging one in his twilight years.....they'll beast with Stoudemire for some years (I'm thinking Lebron is staying put)

[RainboUnicorn]

I thought the Suns tried the Amare/Shaq thing and it didn't work quite well if I'm not mistaken.

[DJ Rhude]

This would be more like the Lebron/Amare thing though.....Suns also ran a different offensive system than the Cavs do....Shaq will get in where he fits in....Cavs would be crazy not to make this deal

[BUCK3YE5]

The Cavs biggest problem last year wasn't Howard though, I think it was the Pietrus/Lewis/Hedo combo.

Somebody didnt watch Game 6 of the ECF...

[Argath]

Somebody didnt watch Game 6 of the ECF...

somebody didn't watch the entire ECF last year

[BUCK3YE5]

I thought the Suns tried the Amare/Shaq thing and it didn't work quite well if I'm not mistaken.

Lets review...Suns do a run n gun offense. Cleveland is mostly a half-court offense. Suns dont play defense...Cleveland is one of (if not THE) best defensive teams in the league. So what they did in Phoenix together has NOTHING to do with what they will do together in Cleveland. (I say will because it seems like this is gonna get done--whether its Phoenix getting Hickson or Philly getting Hickson and Phoenix getting Iggy.

Also I dont think Amare will be a liability on defense. Players (like Mo Williams) came to Cleveland to win a ring, so they stepped up their games (especially ondefense) I would be surprised if Amare was a problem defensively.