Who are the best LeBron and Pierce stoppers?

Post #1 » by **theBigLip** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 11:31 pm

Piston fan here, and as much as I like Prince, I'd like to have another SF on our roster that might slow down LeBron and Pierce in the playoffs. Who do you think is the best stoppers for these strong SFs, and then who do you think is an okay stopper that actually might be available?

celticfan42487 · Post #2 » by **celticfan42487** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 11:40 pm

I only know about Pierce.

Artest is the only player that I've seen slow him down in the playoffs.

Deng seems to do a good job within the team offense of stoping him, haven't seen a real game with him health isoing Deng.

Tashaun Prince and Bowen should theoretically be good based off Deng's success but seem to not really be effective.

You may already have the best available.

Post #3 » by **theBigLip** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 11:55 pm

Thanks for the input. I've proposed getting Artest on the pistons board and for the most part everyone said HELL NO!, but I think he would be a great fit for a half season rental. He is going to opt out, so he'll be a free agent, so what a better way to get a good deal this summer by being on the best behavior and going on a long playoff run with the Pistons. He would sure help a lot slowing down Pierce and LeBron. Pistons have the expiring deals to match, but I think the Kings will want to get rid of Kenny Thomas too or get a crapload of draft picks. Still, if it means getting a championship, it would be worth it.

Post #4 » by **wetsthebed** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:03 am

Yeah, for Pierce it's Artest and Deng. Iggy's done a decent job in the past if I remember right. Pierce destroyed Bowen the other night.

Craig McDermott · Post #5 » by **Craig McDermott** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:06 am

Knives for PP, the Cavs franchise itself for LJ.

The Rondo Show · Post #6 » by **The Rondo Show** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:08 am

I find Luol Deng to be the best Pierce stopper out there, with Artest being #2.

No one else really jumps out as doing a great job shutting Pierce down, he's hung 30+ on Bowen their last 2 meetings and Prince hasn't done as well as you'd expect except in the 1st meeting this year.

Haven't seen enough Cavs games, maybe Bowen for LeBron though?

boogydown · Post #7 » by **boogydown** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:13 am

Pierce has a hard time against Deng.

lukeridenour · Post #8 » by **lukeridenour** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:21 am

lbj i would say udoka or bowen. bowen because of the finals (although lbj is considerably better this year) and udoka cause lebron publicly said he gave him trouble. pierce is tough, prince does a great job cause of his length, havent seen deng against pierce so im not sure about that one.

Gordon Bombay · Post #9 » by **Gordon Bombay** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:22 am

i dont know about pierce, but for lebron, it has to be team defense. make him give up the ball and make our collection of idiots make shots. if they make shots, theres not really a way to stop lebron from getting to the basket. if they dont make shots, clog up the lane and make lebron shoot long jumpers and three pointers

prekazi · Post #10 » by **prekazi** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:39 am

This season it's almost impossible to stop LeBron. Because he is so determined to attack the rim especially late in the game. We saw him hitting game winner layups against five men so don't know what to do. Don't have to mention that one on one defense is almost impossible, you gotta play a great team defense on him and turn him into a passer. He's a great passer as all we know but his teammates are not much of a good shooters. Plus letting Cavs to shoot outside jumpers is always better than a lay-up by LeBron. Doesn't matter if it's wide open or shooter is Boobie-Damon you have to live with those 3's.

pwayknicks · Post #11 » by **pwayknicks** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:54 am

Quentin Richardson does a solid job on both....and would be had with a bag of chips....

Now hes not a stopper by any means, but he does a good job on both of them....especially Lebron

Ballings7 · Post #12 » by **Ballings7** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:57 am

Artest has only played agaisnt LeBron once in the last two seasons, but over-time he's defended him well and the best. Winning most of the individual match-ups.

The one time he's faced LeBron since 05-06 was last season, and LBJ had a big game and Ron was playing with soreness in his back/knees. Also LeBron just hit a bunch of jumpers on him in the 2nd half, with Ron doing all he could. Also didn't help the Kings interior defense wasn't too good.

But, with LeBron getting better in the last year or two, I'd say it'll be more even between the two in the future.

The Rondo Show · Post #13 » by **The Rondo Show** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 1:18 am

pwayknicks wrote:Quentin Richardson does a solid job on both....and would be had with a bag of chips....

Q-Rich really doesn't do that good of a job against Pierce. The only thing he's done resembling a solid job on Pierce was when they both got thrown out of the game this year, an exchange the Knicks obviously were happy with.

I don't really watch many Cavs/Knicks games, but LeBron's numbers against the Knicks the last 3 years don't really backup your statement either. LeBron has tore them apart since Q-Rich has been there.