Rip Hamilton vs. Aleksandar Pavlovic


mikhail1973

Rip has experience and savvy on his side. He has not been great in these playoffs, so I think this series may be where he shines. If he sticks to his best weapon - mid-range shot off the curls, Pavlovic who is a below average defender, won't be able to stay with him. Rip should be able to drive on Pavlovic as well, as long as he doesn't get carried away with driving the ball. On the offensive side Pavlovic is highly inconsistent and will struggle under pressure.

Advantage: Detroit


adpreston1988

Rip Hamilton is a completely different player than Pavlovic. Hamilton relies on his jump shooting game, while Pavlovic relies on driving to the basket and his 3-point ball. Hamilton definitely has more experience, but because of Pavlovic's size Rip might find him hard to guard.

Advantage: Push


Dumars4Ever

I think Pavlovic only became a starter for the Cavs late in the season. He's had a few good games in the playoffs, but also hasn't shot well from the floor (38%). Hughes plays a lot more than Pavlovic--42 minutes per game for Hughes vs. 29 for Pavlovic--so CB and Rip won't always be dealing with him. Unlike the Bulls' guards, Pavlovic is big enough to possibly get physical with Rip, which slowed him down some in the Orlando series, but I'm not sure if he's a good enough defender to make it work all that well.

Advantage: Detroit


linwood

Who? Do I even know this kid? Am I supposed to know who Alfred Pavolova is? Who is this guy?

Advantage: Rip Hamilton.

Advantage: Detroit


bezeach

This has been Pavlovic's best season in the NBA coming off career highs in almost every category. However, Hamilton still owns this matchup. Hamilton's offense and overall play will overpower Pavlovic's game. This matchup is a mismatch that the Pistons will have to exploit.

Advantage: Detroit


st8ofmind

Sasha is a nice player, and deceptively athletic ala Tayshaun, he is also a nice 3 point bomber, if a bit streaky. He is a year or two away from really harnessing his potential, but is a nice compliment to LBJ because he can stretch the D and make them pay.

Rip - A money player in $ situations (see game 6 vs Chicago 07', see game 4 vs Orlando 07', see game 7 vs MIA in 05', see game 5 vs LAL in 04', etc, etc)

I'd say Rip would have a better game than Sasha about 8 out of 10 Pistons Cavs meetings.

Significant Edge...

Advantage: Detroit


Dlev59

Rip will no longer be able to shoot over the 6`7" Pavlovic as he did Gordon and Hinrich in the last series. Pavlovic may match Rip in length, however, he is lacking in quickness and stamina. Rip will run him ragged through screens. Look for Gooden and perhaps Varejo to tray and slow Rip down running through screens (if they can get away with it).

Pavlovic is a scrappy defender and does the little things, like grabbing boards and has a nice jumper himself. Rip`s high in the four games played during the season was 21 in a win in April.

I look for him to have at least one 30 point night in this series.

Advantage: Detroit


Maverick

This is a potentially interesting matchup. Pavlovic can shoot the trey something awful. He is also very deadly in the half court. He is basically what we all hope Delfino turns into except without the defense and rebound Delf gives us.

That being said, I think Pavlovic is going to be EXHAUSTED chasing Rip around the perimeter. Consequently I don't think he'll get much except off of kickouts from LeTravel.

Look for a few decent games from Pavlo but nothing amazing... and Rip should average somewhere in the 23-24ppg range. So overall Rip will still be more then enough to nullify Pavlo's points.

Advantage: Detroit


dba

Pavlovic hasn't shot the ball well so far in the playoffs, isn't lighting it up on the boards, and is third high on the team in turnovers in only 29 minutes a game. He can't guard Rip, or CB for that matter - whoever he guards has to be ready to score. Rip had a much better series against the Bulls than against Orlando and looks to be on the mend from whatever angst had him shooting 39% in round one. This isn't even close. Pistons guards will score nearly half the team's points in most of the games.

Advantage: Detroit


BillLaimbeer

In about 10 minutes more of playing time, Rip puts up about twice the productivity in terms of points, rebounds, and assists. Pavlovic is an up-and-coming player, but at the age of 23, his lack of experience on the big stage will be the big question mark. Another big advantage goes to the Pistons.

Advantage: Detroit

Pavlovic will probably have at least one good game against Rip. He's really the Cavs X-Factor.

But he's also young and green, so Rip should be able to annoy the beejeezus out of him.

He may get a good game, but the name of the game in the playoffs is consistency, and Rip can do it while Pavlovic is yet to prove he can. That could be a big deciding factor in this matchup.

It was no contest tonight. Rip single handedly kept Pistons in the game with his scoring. Pavlovic kept chasing Rip around but most of the time ended catching air. For the most part Rip got everything he wanted against this guy.

Pavlovic doesn't stand a chance. Rip has the power of the N.O.P.

YouTube - David Blane on Rip Hamilton's Protective Mask