Gortat wants to start at the 4, can it work ?

[craig01]

I also don't want to play Carter/Lewis more than 35 a game until the playoffs. I'd consider giving Pietrus/Bass/Gortat 25 a piece. .

Better tell that to SVG........

[Nemesis21]

If he can add a jumper to his arsenal.

I think he will eventually shoot well, as he's really pretty decent from the line and his mechanics are supportive.

I don't know why people think this, he has a good jumper that is also underrated. He just needs PT to be more consistent with it.

[Last Guardian]

Gortat won't start unless he can hit a mid-range jumper with consistency. Do you see him matching this?



I have my doubts. Bass is only behind Dirk, Gasol, and Mcydess at 2pt jump shots for powerforwards. You can't have a Center who doesn't know what a jump shot is and a PF who probably hit a grand total of 10 last season. Unless Gortat or Howard comes into training camp with a jump shot matching Bass', Gorat won't start with Howard and at best see limited minutes playing along side Howard. At this point Anderson is ahead of Gortat in the powerforward rotation.

Defense would be god awful with Bass at PF full time. 3 weak defenders on the perimeter and a 6'7 PF. Not good.

[Official]

I won't consider our perimeter defense weak but average as Jameer, Lee, and Hedo wasn't any better. A frontline of Dwight and Bass is elite defensively.

Ultimately, you can't have a Powerforward who can't hit jumpshots play with Howard for extended minutes.

[craig01]

If he can add a jumper to his arsenal.

I think he will eventually shoot well, as he's really pretty decent from the line and his mechanics are supportive.

I don't know why people think this, he has a good jumper that is also underrated. He just needs PT to be more consistent with it.

It's just that the few mid range that he actually took.....looked bad.

I think he will be better though, and soon.

[NickAnderson]

He won't start, since it'll be very hard to manage the minutes this way, since he's Orlandos backup center. However he could get somewhere between 20-30 minutes, backing up Dwight and Bass.

I agree with that. I dont think he would get mad at the 20-30 mins either...

But man oh man if he can hit a consistent jumper? im happy lol

[Last Guardian]

I won't consider our perimeter defense weak but average as Jameer, Lee, and Hedo wasn't any better. A frontline of Dwight and Bass is elite defensively.

Ultimately, you can't have a Powerforward who can't hit jumpshots play with Howard for extended minutes.

Alston and Lee are much better defenders than Nelson and Carter. Arguing otherwise would just be homerish. And Lewis at best will only slightly be better than Turk. Most probably the SF defense will be more of the same. So basically we will be getting blown by from 3 positions. Better to have two guys defending the basket than to play a PF just because he can shoot.

[eyriq]

I won't consider our perimeter defense weak but average as Jameer, Lee, and Hedo wasn't any better. A frontline of Dwight and Bass is elite defensively.

Ultimately, you can't have a Powerforward who can't hit jumpshots play with Howard for extended minutes.

Alston and Lee are much better defenders than Nelson and Carter. Arguing otherwise would just be homerish. And Lewis at best will only slightly be better than Turk. Most probably the SF defense will be more of the same. So basically we will be getting blown by from 3 positions. Better to have two guys defending the basket than to play a PF just because he can shoot.

This is very, very wrong. Nelson is was leagues better defensively last year than Alston and Carter won't be getting burned by the 2's he faces, I can guarantee.

[Official]

Alston and Lee are much better defenders than Nelson and Carter. Arguing otherwise would just be homerish. And Lewis at best will only slightly be better than Turk. Most probably the SF defense will be more of the same. So basically we will be getting blown by from 3 positions. Better to have two guys defending the basket than to play a PF just because he can shoot.

Oddly, Orlando's best defensive unit had Jameer not Alston. With Jameer in the lineup, we allowed less point per possession and a lower eFG%. The east's contenders are not exactly loaded with great scoring point guards. We are dealing with Rondo and Williams. And in the west we are most likely looking at Fisher. I have complete faith Jameer will outscore and outplay all three of them in a playoff matchup. Do we not remember how badly Jameer outplayed Ford and Calderon?

As for Lee, lets face it, he is undersized. I don't want to sound like I am hating on the guy but an undersized shooting guard to be your defensive ace is not exactly a recipe for success. Lebron and Kobe are too big for Lee. Allen basically outsmarted him. Vince has a great track record of defending Kobe, holding him to 30% shooting for the last 15 matchups or so. Definitely not expecting this trend to continue but I am definitely not worried about Kobe destroying Carter in the post.

And as dumb as it might sound, a good offense can be a good defense. You here it all the time. Who did Allen, Lebron, and Kobe have to guard? No more rest guarding Alston or Lee. If your Allen you'll get tired running around screens on offense and then defending Vince who outweighs him. Kobe will have to worry about scoring the bulk of the Lakers points and defending Vince on the perimeter or aggressively denying Rashard the ball in the post all game. Lebron initiating all of Cleveland's offense, staying glued to Rashard at the 3 point line, and somehow be the catalyst to Cleveland's defense? If they can do it then great but I have my doubts. You saw Lebron get tired vs us doing less.

And lets not diminish Bass by labeling him as 6'7. The guy is 250 pounds, atheltic, and aggressive. He also has a large wing span for his height. Just check out this quote by the DallasNews

Shaq had his way with his old buddy Erick(a) Dampier in the first quarter. The best big man of our generation didn't do much once his fellow LSU alum Bass got off the bench, scoring only eight points in the final three quarters.

Bass had 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, but his defense against Shaq was a big reason the Mavs were plus-31 in Bass' 27 minutes

Not trying to suggest he is a lock down defender but he isn't some soft undersized PF. Give him his credit.

I am under the belief Gortat can't hit a jumper, if he can start him, but if not hell no. The last thing you want is Howard with PF who can't hit a jump shot.

[Nemesis21]

Alston and Lee are much better defenders than Nelson and Carter. Arguing otherwise would just be homerish. And Lewis at best will only slightly be better than Turk. Most probably the SF defense will be more of the same. So basically we will be getting blown by from 3 positions. Better to have two guys defending the basket than to play a PF just because he can shoot.

Oddly, Orlando's best defensive unit had Jameer not Alston. With Jameer in the lineup, we allowed less point per possession and a lower eFG%. The east's contenders are not exactly loaded with great scoring point guards. We are dealing with Rondo and Williams. And in the west we are most likely looking at Fisher. I have complete faith Jameer will outscore and outplay all three of them in a playoff matchup. Do we not remember how badly Jameer outplayed Ford and Calderon?

As for Lee, lets face it, he is undersized. I don't want to sound like I am hating on the guy but an undersized shooting guard to be your defensive ace is not exactly a recipe for success. Lebron and Kobe are too big for Lee. Allen basically outsmarted him. Vince has a great track record of defending Kobe, holding him to 30% shooting for the last 15 matchups or so. Definitely not expecting this trend to continue but I am definitely not worried about Kobe destroying Carter in the post.

And as dumb as it might sound, a good offense can be a good defense. You here it all the time. Who did Allen, Lebron, and Kobe have to guard? No more rest guarding Alston or Lee. If your Allen you'll get tired running around screens on offense and then defending Vince who outweighs him. Kobe will have to worry about scoring the bulk of the Lakers points and defending Vince on the perimeter or aggressively denying Rashard the ball in the post all game. Lebron initiating all of Cleveland's offense, staying glued to Rashard at the 3 point line, and somehow be the catalyst to Cleveland's defense? If they can do it then great but I have my doubts. You saw Lebron get tired vs us doing less.

And lets not diminish Bass by labeling him as 6'7. The guy is 250 pounds, atheltic, and aggressive. He also has a large wing span for his height. Just check out this quote by the DallasNews

Shaq had his way with his old buddy Erick(a) Dampier in the first quarter. The best big man of our generation didn't do much once his fellow LSU alum Bass got off the bench, scoring only eight points in the final three quarters.

* Bass had 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, but his defense against Shaq was a big reason the Mavs were plus-31 in Bass' 27 minutes *

Not trying to suggest he is a lock down defender but he isn't some soft undersized PF. Give him his credit.

Nice find.

[Official]

Rick Carlisle made sure the Mavs-watching world knew as much. Without prompting, he raved about the second-half defensive performance of Ryan Hollins and Bass, who combined to shut out Yao after the first few minutes of the third quarter while Erick Dampier watched from the bench.

It was Bass who played every second of the fourth quarter, when Yao only managed to get one shot attempt.

"He's a foot shorter than Yao," Carlisle said of the generously listed at 6-8 Bass, "but he did it with his legs and his body and his heart. He really, really worked out there, and he made Yao work."

http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives ... again.html

Just another quote on a DallasNews blog. So lets not act like Gortat is somehow >>>>>>>>>>>>> than Bass on defense.

[jayrehme]

ooh, please start gortat, it would be perfect... he could go out early and have bass come in and then dwight leaves he could fill in for dwight too. Then all we need is a 3rd string PG and we're set! Come on 2 of the best shotblockers in the league in at once? Think of how good our defense will be. Gortat is also a good passer. We have so many options for next year. The only thing I don't like about Gortat starting is less minutes for Pietrus. I either want Gortat or Pietrus starting, please not Bass

PG Nelson, AJ, ?
SG Carter, Redick, Pietrus
SF Rashard, Pietrus, Anderson
PF Gortat, Bass, Anderson
C Dwight, Gortat, Bass

or

PG Nelson, AJ, ?
SG Carter, Redick
SF Pietrus, Rashard, Anderson
PF Rashard, Bass, Gortat, Anderson
C Howard, Gortat

[NEM]

I won't consider our perimeter defense weak but average as Jameer, Lee, and Hedo wasn't any better. A frontline of Dwight and Bass is elite defensively.

Ultimately, you can't have a Powerforward who can't hit jumpshots play with Howard for extended minutes.

Alston and Lee are much better defenders than Nelson and Carter. Arguing otherwise would just be homerish. And Lewis at best will only slightly be better than Turk. Most probably the SF defense will be more of the same. So basically we will be getting blown by from 3 positions. Better to have two guys defending the basket than to play a PF just because he can shoot.

at least dwight will get more blocks

[Last Guardian]

I won't consider our perimeter defense weak but average as Jameer, Lee, and Hedo wasn't any better. A frontline of Dwight and Bass is elite defensively.

Ultimately, you can't have a Powerforward who can't hit jumpshots play with Howard for extended minutes.

Alston and Lee are much better defenders than Nelson and Carter. Arguing otherwise would just be homerish. And Lewis at best will only slightly be better than Turk. Most probably the SF defense will be more of the same. So basically we will be getting blown by from 3 positions. Better to have two guys defending the basket than to play a PF just because he can shoot.

This is very, very wrong. Nelson is was leagues better defensively last year than Alston and Carter won't be getting burned by the 2's he faces, I can guarantee.

Not even close. Alston is clearly a better defender than Nelson. He is 6'2, has long arms and was just peskier than Nelson. Alstons hands on defense were excellent and far better than what Nelson has shown.

I am glad you can guarantee that Carter won't be getting burned. But I'll just have to see it to believe it since he has NEVER been known for defense.

Alston and Lee are much better defenders than Nelson and Carter. Arguing otherwise would just be homerish. And Lewis at best will only slightly be better than Turk. Most probably the SF defense will be more of the same. So basically we will be getting blown by from 3 positions. Better to have two guys defending the basket than to play a PF just because he can shoot.

Oddly, Orlando's best defensive unit had Jameer not Alston. With Jameer in the lineup, we allowed less point per possession and a lower eFG%. The east's contenders are not exactly loaded with great scoring point guards. We are dealing with Rondo and Williams. And in the west we are most likely looking at Fisher. I have complete faith Jameer will outscore and outplay all three of them in a playoff matchup. Do we not remember how badly Jameer outplayed Ford and Calderon?

As for Lee, lets face it, he is undersized. I don't want to sound like I am hating on the guy but an undersized shooting guard to be your defensive ace is not exactly a recipe for success. Lebron and Kobe are too big for Lee. Allen basically outsmarted him. Vince has a great track record of defending Kobe, holding him to 30% shooting for the last 15 matchups or so. Definitely not expecting this trend to continue but I am definitely not worried about Kobe destroying Carter in the post.

And as dumb as it might sound, a good offense can be a good defense. You here it all the time. Who did Allen, Lebron, and Kobe have to guard? No more rest guarding Alston or Lee. If your Allen you'll get tired running around screens on offense and then defending Vince who outweighs him. Kobe will have to worry about scoring the bulk of the Lakers points and defending Vince on the perimeter or aggressively denying Rashard the ball in the post all game. Lebron initiating all of Cleveland's offense, staying glued to Rashard at the 3 point line, and somehow be the catalyst to Cleveland's defense? If they can do it then great but I have my doubts. You saw Lebron get tired vs us doing less.

And lets not diminish Bass by labeling him as 6'7. The guy is 250 pounds, atheltic, and aggressive. He also has a large wing span for his height. Just check out this quote by the DallasNews

Shaq had his way with his old buddy Erick(a) Dampier in the first quarter. The best big man of our generation didn't do much once his fellow LSU alum Bass got off the bench, scoring only eight points in the final three quarters.

Bass had 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting, but his defense against Shaq was a big reason the Mavs were plus-31 in Bass' 27 minutes

Not trying to suggest he is a lock down defender but he isn't some soft undersized PF. Give him his credit.

I am under the belief Gortat can't hit a jumper, if he can start him, but if not hell no. The last thing you want is Howard with PF who can't hit a jump shot.

I am talking about defense. Jameer outscoring the competetion is mostly a given. He is an excellent scorer and I would not ever take Alston over him. But clearly there is a defensive downgrade with Nelson and Carter, and Bass does nothing to help the situation.

As for Bass, he obviously isn't soft. Guarding Shaq is nothing like guarding quick PFs who can shoot. Bass is short and very strong and that is basically what you need to guard a guy like Shaq. And his 1-on-1 defense is not even the concern. At 6'7 he is not scaring anybody at the basket, and thats what we need more of when Carter, Nelson and Lewis are weak-average defenders at their position. Dwight can't do it all alone. That was proven time and time again in the finals and even before that when he kept getting in foul trouble because he was the only one to guard the basket.

Doesn't matter if Lee is undersized. He is a better defender than Carter.....any day of the week. Sure Carter is bigger and we don't have to worry about ONE guard posting him up, but tell me he has the lateral quickness to stay in front of athletic two guards. He never had it before and he certainly doesn't have it now at 32.

The real last thing we want is a bad defensive team and Dwight getting in foul trouble constantly trying to cover up mistakes at the basket. Gortat can help him with that, and he has the size/height to guard KG, Gasol, Bosh. Basically he can guard the best post player, center or PF, so Dwight doesn't have to.

[jayrehme]

I won't consider our perimeter defense weak but average as Jameer, Lee, and Hedo wasn't any better. A frontline of Dwight and Bass is elite defensively.

Ultimately, you can't have a Powerforward who can't hit jumpshots play with Howard for extended minutes.

Alston and Lee are much better defenders than Nelson and Carter. Arguing otherwise would just be homerish. And Lewis at best will only slightly be better than Turk. Most probably the SF defense will be more of the same. So basically we will be getting blown by from 3 positions. Better to have two guys defending the basket than to play a PF just because he can shoot.

at least dwight will get more blocks

Dwight and gortat could have little competitions to see who could get the most blocks each game

[Horcy]

Sure it can definitely work. But I think the most possible thing is he'll share some time playing PF and backup C. He deserves more minutes.

[NickAnderson]

I think this could work for him and the team..

Him backing up the PF and C position with Bass starting at PF.

We get a solid back up for 2 postions and Gortat gets the playing time he wants...

[DHoward4Mvp]

I wouldnt mind it at all.... just means Gortat is going to stay hungry and work even harder to improve his game this offseason.. thus raising his trade value...

[craig01]

Sure, the Magic may give up some of the "pesky-ness" on defense.

But they gain in rebounding, interior defense, and balance in scoring.

I am a proponent of defensive intensity, however, our back court last season was a joke.

Off season moves have legitimized the back court, added beef to the front court, and improved depth up to this point.

[craig01]

Sure, the Magic may give up some of the "pesky-ness" on defense.

But they gain in rebounding, interior defense, and balance in scoring.

I am a proponent of defensive intensity, however, our back court last season was a joke.

Off season moves have legitimized the back court, added beef to the front court, and improved depth up to this point.