fishercob wrote:I wonder if ORL knows this and is thus trying to build a superior defensive perimeter with Payton, VO and Gordon. I look forward to seeing that group grown together.
I think this was the impetus behind the Gordon pick. He was deserving of the slot he was taken, but so were other players. But Gordon comes in from college as a good defender and he has the potential to be a really excellent defensive player down the line. I think he'll be able to cover a lot of the ground that Vucevic can't, and he'll be able to help protect the rim.
Vuc has a huge body, he's a capable one on one defender against posting bigs because you can't back him down and he did get March to take a lot of fallaway shots because Gortat couldn't uproot him. He's a gifted rebounder too, I was impressed with how well he tipped the ball to himself and got those contested rebounds. We got a lot of tip ins, but I'm not sure that came against him.
I think with Vuc you get the size and rebounding you need and with Gordon you get the speed and athleticism. That's a nice front court. And like you said, Oladipo and Payton have the potential to be excellent perimeter defenders. Plus they do have Harris, who at least has some strength on him.
I like the long term core they've built. No obvious stars. But a lot of blue collar players with a good mix of size and each with a handful of go to offensive skills. And a couple spectacular athletes in Gordon and OIadipo. If they keep the core together long enough, I could see them growing into a Memphis Grizzlies style tough team that nobody enjoys playing against.
