I'm going to address what Cleveland fucking did because I'm getting tired of the same idiotic posts I see over and over again.
Last season, Cleveland has no post presence on offense. None. Zero whatsoever. Big Z took his tall lanky ass out to the free-throw line and shot jumpers all day. Nothing against him because that's what he's good at, but there was no offensive post players. Do you people not get how vital post offense is? It's at least 1/3 of the offense if not more. When you don't have that, it's harder to score.
What did Cleveland do about that problem? They added a top 3 center. A guy who can still get in there and bang around and score points down low. You people talk about Shaq as if he can't do a damn thing anymore. It's as if you think his value is no greater than Ben Wallace on offense. The guy can still put up 20 and 10 numbers and anchor the low post by himself. Cleveland was operating without 1/3 of a real offense, they basically just fixed that. How is that not a great signing?
And again, don't give me the "omgzzz Shaq will only play 60-70 games because he needs rest" because that doesn't matter. The Cavs will win 60 games regardless during the season, and Shaq will play the whole playoffs where he is needed the most. Cleveland now has a guy who can wrestle with Dwight Howard on defense who can also score points on offense.
Jamario Moon isn't the best role player, but he's an above average defender with athleticism and length. He can be that guy that the Cavs stick on Rashard Lewis because he's quick and long enough to follow him on the perimeter, and he's strong enough to wrestle with him in the post. Not that I'm denying the fact that Boston is a contender, in my eyes they are a stronger contender than the Cavs and Magic, I'm just putting this out there for the Magic fans that are so blinded by homerism.
And you guys say that Cleveland didn't pick up a second scoring option, well tell me how many teams have a guy capable of putting up 20 and 10 every night that they don't consider at least a first or second scoring option. Take your time, I'm in no hurry for an answer.
Add on Anthony Parker who is a more than capable scorer off the bench, without losing anything but old bodies that did nothing, and tell me how the Cavs didn't improve a lot?
Now we can take a look at the Magic and see what they did. Instead of sticking with the formula that wins them games, they decided to basically trade Hedo Turkoglu, who most of the time is their point guard and the whole thing that gets that offense rolling, for Vince Carter. Now they lose length, they lose versatility, and they lose a lot of key facets to their game. Not saying they are going to tumble down hill, but it's a move that's going to force them to move away from the things that led them to victories.
With the money they dished out to Bass and Gortat, do you guys not think they won't give them plenty of minutes. You'll see a more conventional team than the Orlando team you saw last year and the year before. Orlando tried to fix something that wasn't broke basically, and that's never a good thing.
