I prefer to chose my descent point then leave it 1-2 minutes later. That way I'm pretty sure I'll be at VNE when I either overfly at 1,500ft or join cross-wind at 1,000ft.
There's nothing quite like an overfly at 1,500ft at 200+ knots, then a quick tight! turn onto crosswind. I love to nail the crosswind threshold join at 1,000ft. Looks good at fly-ins!