The Perfect PF for the Magic

[whocares]

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Not even if we got Garcia in the deal? I watched the Kings again last night against the Clips. The guy is very talented. I don't see much of a drop off from Hedo at all actually. And to get a good passing big man like Brad as well, Hedo's numbers wouldn't be missed at all. Brad is averaging almost 4 assists a game, from the center position, and Garcia got 17pts coming off the bench last night. As was already said, lets see what happens in the playoffs. If we sputter, we may very well have to trade Hedo to find pieces that fit better on this team.

1. it is no secret that hedo had been underrated for quite a while.
2. this year, he has finally made the breakthrough most had been expecting from him.
3. he is renowned league-wide.
4. many think that he is an all-star talent; especially in the eastern conference.
5. the bolded part, coming from a magic fan who should be assumed to reasonably gauge the talent of his/her team's players, is quite a surprise.
6. that is borderline hating.
7. garcia is one of the many bone-headed players around the league who would tease with you with a few good to great games all year long, never being capable of being consistent, especially when the opposing teams pay special attention.
8. and if brad was traded for hedo, that would be full circle for hedo.
9. however, it is very doubtful the kings would want to re-acquire hedo.

[TheRevTy]

whocares, everything you said to describe why we shouldn't add Garcia could've been said about Hedo before this year.

And yes, the Kings want Hedo. They proposed this trade, not the other way around.

[whocares]

1. no.
2. hedo has always been bb smart.
3. it was his consistency that was in question.
4. not the same for garcia.
5. garcia is inconsistent and bone-headed.

[TooNice00]

umm i'd said there is a pretty LARGE talent gap between hedo and garcia.

[eyriq]

Isn't Brad Miller a center? Is D12 a center? Trading for him would be as redundant as keeping Turk, except Turk is a better player and more important for this team.

[KoolMikeSkii]

I think the only realistic halfway decent PF we can get is Odom and thats gonna be tuff we would have to trade Hedo and Battie. Anyone else makes waaay too much money or is not that good. I think we have to draft a PF getting guards is a crap shoot in the draft where were going to be selecting and theyre easy to pick up in free agency.

[eyriq]

I think the Perfect PF for this team is Lewis. He allows even more shooting to be on the court with D12, spreading the floor and allowing D12 to wreak havoc down low. Another banger just gets in the way. Plus Lewis can defend the spot pretty good and usually causes the other coach to go small to counter his outside play, which is almost always in our advantage. We are the 4th best defensive rebounding team in the NBA and as for offensive boards we don't crash them nor do we miss that many shots in the first place, so what do you expect? Our rebounding differential is in our favor, which combined with our superior three point shooting and other offensive edges that having Lewis at the 4 presents, clearly makes him the perfect fit as our PF.

[spinedoc]

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1. it is no secret that hedo had been underrated for quite a while.
2. this year, he has finally made the breakthrough most had been expecting from him.
3. he is renowned league-wide.
4. many think that he is an all-star talent; especially in the eastern conference.
5. the bolded part, coming from a magic fan who should be assumed to reasonably gauge the talent of his/her team's players, is quite a surprise.
6. that is borderline hating.
7. garcia is one of the many bone-headed players around the league who would tease with you with a few good to great games all year long, never being capable of being consistent, especially when the opposing teams pay special attention.
8. and if brad was traded for hedo, that would be full circle for hedo.
9. however, it is very doubtful the kings would want to re-acquire hedo.

Borderline hating? whatever. I'm just giving my opinion based on my observation. You want to disagree thats fine, but I'm hardly a hater. Also, you bring up consistency. You do realize that this is only his third year in the league right? The only thing that has been inconsistent thus far has been his playing time. He's currently coming off the bench because they have Artest and Martin currently starting. He might not have Hedo's play making ability, but he seems to have everything else and with better defense with the ability to play sg. Thats something that a lot of us question regarding Hedo. I never said that he's better than Hedo, just that there isn't as much drop off as you may think, and to get an upgrade like that in our frontcourt, thats probably what its going to cost us. You obviously disagree, great.

[spinedoc]

Isn't Brad Miller a center? Is D12 a center? Trading for him would be as redundant as keeping Turk, except Turk is a better player and more important for this team.

Don't get hung up on labels. Brad plays more like a traditional pf. He takes his man away from the basket regularly. For a center he's shooting 31% from the three point line and over 46% from the field, plus averaging nearly 4 assists at the 5 spot. When looking for another big man, we either need to go for a stud rebounder or a guy that can pass and hit the outside shot, doubtful we get both in the same package. Its only a thought, and one based on substantiated rumor. There are other deals that I can come up with that I like better, but I decided to revisit this one that has been previously reported. At first I didn't like it, but now I believe that I would do it. I believe that it gives us the balance that we need and better fitting pieces.

[magictreat]

Agreed. I don't like him as a starter, but he'd be a great big man for us off the bench.

He is better than the stiff Battie, imo.

[ProfX]

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Don't get hung up on labels. Brad plays more like a traditional pf. He takes his man away from the basket regularly. For a center he's shooting 31% from the three point line and over 46% from the field, plus averaging nearly 4 assists at the 5 spot. When looking for another big man, we either need to go for a stud rebounder or a guy that can pass and hit the outside shot, doubtful we get both in the same package. Its only a thought, and one based on substantiated rumor. There are other deals that I can come up with that I like better, but I decided to revisit this one that has been previously reported. At first I didn't like it, but now I believe that I would do it. I believe that it gives us the balance that we need and better fitting pieces.

I'm on the fence on pulling the trigger..I think it is a good deal if we need to do it. I am curious how the game will flow once Battie is back in the mix ..It might not be needed and we could just allow the team to mature

[spinedoc]

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I'm on the fence on pulling the trigger..I think it is a good deal if we need to do it. I am curious how the game will flow once Battie is back in the mix ..It might not be needed and we could just allow the team to mature

Me too, but what about long term? Do we just get another backup pf to come in for Lewis at the four to replace Battie as he ages and exits, or do we eventually get Dwight's complement? I've never envisioned that to be Lewis when we had endless threads about this topic. I would prefer to go the route that the Spurs did with Duncan and Robinson. We can see the strain that its putting on Dwight without having another big man. Lewis isn't big enough to provide him the help he needs. To get maximum value from our max guy, we really need to play him at the position that he's best suited for anyway. Its a nice bonus that he can play at the pf spot, but we shouldn't force it.

So then if Lewis goes back to sf, what do we do with Hedo? I don't think he can play major minutes at sg. His defense won't hold up, and can we get lucky enough to get Dwight's complement without using a player the caliber of Hedo? Its not that likely that we do it through the draft, and the mle probably isn't enough to get us a lot of quality down low. It will get us a very good sg, but decent big men are expensive. I'm not saying I have the answers, but I got a lot of questions. The playoffs are going to be very instructive. If we fail, are we going to blame it all on the fact that we were missing some backup pf's, or will it mean something else, like are we poorly constructed? I don't mind putting Shard at pf short term, like over the next two years, until we finally get our starting sg and pf for this team. But, it should really be just a short term plan. I would love to have Hedo come off the bench and fill in for everyone, since he's so versatile and he can play so many positions, but we may not be able to afford to do that. We shall see I guess.

[TheRevTy]

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Me too, but what about long term? Do we just get another backup pf to come in for Lewis at the four to replace Battie as he ages and exits, or do we eventually get Dwight's complement? I've never envisioned that to be Lewis when we had endless threads about this topic. I would prefer to go the route that the Spurs did with Duncan and Robinson. We can see the strain that its putting on Dwight without having another big man. Lewis isn't big enough to provide him the help he needs. To get maximum value from our max guy, we really need to play him at the position that he's best suited for anyway. Its a nice bonus that he can play at the pf spot, but we shouldn't force it.

So then if Lewis goes back to sf, what do we do with Hedo? I don't think he can play major minutes at sg. His defense won't hold up, and can we get lucky enough to get Dwight's complement without using a player the caliber of Hedo? Its not that likely that we do it through the draft, and the mle probably isn't enough to get us a lot of quality down low. It will get us a very good sg, but decent big men are expensive. I'm not saying I have the answers, but I got a lot of questions. The playoffs are going to be very instructive. If we fail, are we going to blame it all on the fact that we were missing some backup pf's, or will it mean something else, like are we poorly constructed? I don't mind putting Shard at pf short term, like over the next two years, until we finally get our starting sg and pf for this team. But, it should really be just a short term plan. I would love to have Hedo come off the bench and fill in for everyone, since he's so versatile and he can play so many positions, but we may not be able to afford to do that. We shall see I guess.

Very well said.

I just hope Otis doesn't take the easy wy out and simply stick with status quo. Our current setup does not maximize talents in regards to team winnings. I maximizes the statistical output of Dwight and Hedo, but not overall balance which leads to wins.

And before someone gets their panties in a bunch, our current setup does milk every stat out of Dwight. He gets tons of rebounds and blocks because he HAS TO. We would be a much better team if Dwight had a big man partner that took some rebounds and blocks away from Dwight and allowed him to focus more on the offensive end. Shaq was never required to shoulder the ENTIRE defensive load in the lane, and thus could expend more energy rumbling through people for dunks.

[TooNice00]

I don't see why everyone is obsessed in finding dwight howard a "buddy" in the frontline. I think rashard is doing a great job. He has made us one of the better offensive and 3 point shooting teams in the league. The current team does maximize our talents which are 3 point shooting and giving dwight room to operate. Like i have said leave the defense and rebounding to the bench. Be able to switch into a team with a solid defensive and rebounding frontline. Get a lengthy sg who can crash the boards and play defense..for example pietrus or azubuike. No need to get sucked into peoples constant reshuffling of our lineup every freakin offseason. Let the team grow together.

[TheRevTy]

Ok, wait, leave the defense and rebound to the bench? So we're only a solid defensive team when we don't have our starters in...? I'm sure Stan will love that.

You can spread the floor without sacrificing muscle. See Horace Grant next to Shaq, Udonis Haslem next to Shaq, heck, even Amare spreads the floor. Even though our center works solely around the basket, that doesn't mean leave him to the wolves on defense. Dwight is making this team roll. He alone is the reason we aren't giving up 120 per game. Rashard Lewis wouldn't intimidate Muggsy Flippin' Bogues down low defensively. However, he has proven to be very adept at jumping into passing lanes and stealing the ball. That is a defensive skill a SF uses.

I am not saying our team isn't great, just not maximizing win potential.

[TooNice00]

Ok, wait, leave the defense and rebound to the bench? So we're only a solid defensive team when we don't have our starters in...? I'm sure Stan will love that..

I kind of said that wrong. All explain it. We are above average team on defense and rebounding right now. Our defense and rebounding suffers the most when the present bench comes in and even more when dwight comes out for around 10 mintues. Garrity, cook, and foyle are worse at rebounding than rashard and hedo. Give me someone like battie or say MLE possible signing brandon bass(a shooting powerforward with good defense and rebounding) to come off the bench for 20-25 minutes per game. He gets to be dwights "buddy" on the frontline for 15-20 minutes per game and provide some type of defense and rebounding force so when dwight comes out things don't literally "fall apart."

You can spread the floor without sacrificing muscle. See Horace Grant next to Shaq, Udonis Haslem next to Shaq, heck, even Amare spreads the floor. Even though our center works solely around the basket, that doesn't mean leave him to the wolves on defense. Dwight is making this team roll. He alone is the reason we aren't giving up 120 per game. Rashard Lewis wouldn't intimidate Muggsy Flippin' Bogues down low defensively. However, he has proven to be very adept at jumping into passing lanes and stealing the ball. That is a defensive skill a SF uses.
I am not saying our team isn't great, just not maximizing win potential.

Again, the current team is maximizing win potential because hedo and rashard are our best options. We can speculate but we don't even know what the feeling is of having a decent big man come off the bench. I think the impact would be tremendous. It gives us the ability to go big every game for 20 minutes and the ability to switch it up when need be. We actually have a positive rebounding differential. We do struggle against good rebounding teams but then again we can't do anything to combat it. Dwight will always make this team roll and we will always be worse without him and we will always complain when he is off the floor during his breaks. Thats what good players do. Give dwight those 15-20 minutes with a good rebounding big and he will be fine.

[lovehoops01]

Well, I think Stan explained a lot about what he is thinking long term on his radio show last night, and I don't think he intends on keeping Rashard at the 4 long term.

Asked who on the team had most impressed him this season, he was very complimentary of the all the players -- especially Dwight and Hedo. He said Dwight grew more than he expected him to this season, really responded to coaching and that the sky is the limit for him as long as he continues to work as hard on his game as he did this season for the next four or five seasons. He said that they put so much on Dwight -- and that they keep asking him to do more.

He praised Jameer for his play and on expanding his game and Bogans and Evans for the improvement in their games and Keyon for doing a lot of the little things the team needs.

But he said the player he thought accomplished the most this season was Rashard because he had to adjust to so many changes. He said that Rashard had to adapt to a new team, a new city, new teammates and a new position, emphasizing that he played out of position all season -- and that he did a great job of sacrificing to help the team.

Talking about the problems with rebounding and Battie returning, which as mamma said he sounded skeptical about for the playoffs, Van Gundy also said that getting Battie back next year will help the team tremendously because Tony is really good at blocking out and that will help free up Dwight for more blocks and offensive rebounds because Howard he won't be responsible for pretty much everyone right under the basket.

Combine that with the fact that there were three reports about them looking to obtain bigs at the deadline, and that would seem to indicate to me that they are looking to add a power forward or, less likely, another center. It's not a knock on Tony, either. It's just that, long term, they will need another power player.

About Hedo going back to the bench....the local ESPN station here asked Denton about that during its weekly talk with him. He said that there's no way you can put Hedo back on the bench. He said he's shown he's just too valuable and can do too many things.

[TheRevTy]

As a side note, I think Jameer is really starting to turn a corner. If he can keep his jaw away from Dwight's elbows o' death, and grab some consistent minutes, he is on the right path. If he can just watch footage of Darrell and learn to be a pesky defender despite physical disadvantages, we may have something there.

[TooNice00]

nvm the magic have to have a starting powerforward to ever win a championship