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I recall reading something several years ago about Rashard’s knees being sore from the banging he had to do as a power forward. As you may know, he ended his career with knee arthritis. Rashard was slimmer than Gordon, but he was ten pounds heavier at 230 lbs. Now, Khem Birch is also 220 pounds and he’s a big, but most PF’s are in the 240-250 pound range. Draymond Green is 230 pounds, but not only is that ten pounds heavier than Gordon’s 220, Green has a strong base. So, does anyone have an idea of how risky playing power forward is for Gordon’s health?

yes its an issue for any player in the NBA but what you wanna do about it? make him a PG?

Not as much banging at the 4 position now as there was back then.

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Don't think it'll be much different than playing the 3. There aren't many physical power forwards these days and the ones that still are around are drifting further and further from the hoop (Aldridge, Blake, Davis).

Jameerthefear wrote:Not as much banging at the 4 position now as there was back then.

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Exactly - not even close to what used to be a 4...”Power” Forward meant something entirely different. Rashard was one of the first undersized long-range bombers at 4...he was a tall 3 his whole career before SVG created the new look 4...I could be wrong, but I really don’t remember anybody else doing it at the time

I don't recall Lewis being much of a banger in Orlando. Maybe it was more the excessive minutes (38 mpg over 8 years) and taking so many jumpers in his 20s that did his weak knees in? With Gordon we probably have to worry more about him breaking his foot or tearing his knee in an awkward fall...

Also, surely Khem Birch weighs more than 220 now...

OrlandO wrote:I don't recall Lewis being much of a banger in Orlando. Maybe it was more the excessive minutes (38 mpg over 8 years) and taking so many jumpers in his 20s that did his weak knees in? With Gordon we probably have to worry more about him breaking his foot or tearing his knee in an awkward fall...

Also, surely Khem Birch weighs more than 220 now...

I dunno - I certainly remember Kevin Garnett punching Rashard in the forearm repeatedly infront of a referee before he was eventually called for an offensive foul in the 2010 ECF. One of many favourable calls for the Celtics but let bygones be bygones I suppose.

Before, the PF were all about banging down low so as to restrict/hinder movement for your C to help with the block. That, sadly is a disadvantage for Shard with his slim frame and all. However, nowadays PF/C are taking shots at the 3point line and the only bangers are playing the C position. So AG is fine as the PF.

Skybox wrote:

Jameerthefear wrote:Not as much banging at the 4 position now as there was back then.

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Exactly - not even close to what used to be a 4...”Power” Forward meant something entirely different. Rashard was one of the first undersized long-range bombers at 4...he was a tall 3 his whole career before SVG created the new look 4...I could be wrong, but I really don’t remember anybody else doing it at the time

Robert Horry. AK47, Laimbeer, Okur, Dirk. all before Lewis at the 4

npiper17 wrote:

OrlandO wrote:I don't recall Lewis being much of a banger in Orlando. Maybe it was more the excessive minutes (38 mpg over 8 years) and taking so many jumpers in his 20s that did his weak knees in? With Gordon we probably have to worry more about him breaking his foot or tearing his knee in an awkward fall...

Also, surely Khem Birch weighs more than 220 now...

I dunno - I certainly remember Kevin Garnett punching Rashard in the forearm repeatedly infront of a referee before he was eventually called for an offensive foul in the 2010 ECF. One of many favourable calls for the Celtics but let bygones be bygones I suppose.

that was Dwight.

tiderulz wrote:

npiper17 wrote:

OrlandO wrote:I don't recall Lewis being much of a banger in Orlando. Maybe it was more the excessive minutes (38 mpg over 8 years) and taking so many jumpers in his 20s that did his weak knees in? With Gordon we probably have to worry more about him breaking his foot or tearing his knee in an awkward fall...

Also, surely Khem Birch weighs more than 220 now...

I dunno - I certainly remember Kevin Garnett punching Rashard in the forearm repeatedly infront of a referee before he was eventually called for an offensive foul in the 2010 ECF. One of many favourable calls for the Celtics but let bygones be bygones I suppose.

that was Dwight.

Watch on YouTube

Oh yeah - it was Rashard who complained to the ref at the lack of a call.

In my attempts to erase the memory of that series I’ve gotten confused.

We shouldnt let him play ball then. Be a librarian or something.

The NBA has changed.

A player like Gordon plays the 4 today and I think he will be fine health wise.

What was very unhealthy is seeing him at the 3 last year.

i guess he gonna make it or break it

Gordon's main concerns are how he jumps and lands. This is a general issue with high-fliers, and Gordon has worked on his landing mechanics for this reason.

I think the connection between Rashard's injury and playing PF is rather thin. Penny was a PG and suffered catastrophic knee problems at a younger age. T-Mac was a wing and had back problems at a younger age. As Tide noted above, Dirk and Horry had builds similar to Shard's and had long careers as PFs.

It's not really that weird for a player to start to break down in his 30s like Shard did. If you are looking for an explanation for his injury, it's possible that the ice water in his veins did a poor job of circulating nutrients even as it helped him hit dagger 3s against Lebron.

And I say this not because I am motivated by a desire to see Gordon play PF. I'm literally the only person left on the planet who thinks Gordon is a SF (**ducks**), and I think his improved play after the allstar break are primarily a function of 1) removing the Ibaka cancer and 2) two-SF lineups working better in today's NBA, while his even more improved play this preseason is primarily a function of him becoming a better shooter and finisher.

None.

Catledge wrote: I'm literally the only person left on the planet who thinks Gordon is a SF ....

Yes you are literally the only person who can envisage Gordon at SF.



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drsd wrote:

Catledge wrote: I'm literally the only person left on the planet who thinks Gordon is a SF ....

Yes you are literally the only person who can envisage Gordon at SF.



..

I'm aware. That's why I rarely bring it up.

Worth noting that most people on here were also convinced at some point that Shard couldn't play PF, that you couldn't win a championship by relying on the 3-ball, that Hedo was nothing more than a spot-up shooter, and that Henny was a genius.

Holding a minority opinion on this board is not proof that I'm wrong.

Catledge wrote:

drsd wrote:

Catledge wrote: I'm literally the only person left on the planet who thinks Gordon is a SF ....

Yes you are literally the only person who can envisage Gordon at SF.



..

I'm aware. That's why I rarely bring it up.

Worth noting that most people on here were also convinced at some point that Shard couldn't play PF, that you couldn't win a championship by relying on the 3-ball, that Hedo was nothing more than a spot-up shooter, and that Henny was a genius.

Holding a minority opinion on this board is not proof that I'm wrong.

We tried it last year for some reason. The problem is that his game has really no benefits to being at the 3 and several benefits to being at the 4. Being a big 3 really helps you shoot 3s over guys, but AG is not a knockdown shooter and certainly not a guy we'd want shooting with a hand in his face. He's fast for a big guy, but not significantly faster than most 3s in the league. Plus SFs tend to stay further out, meaning he's often not in position for rebounds. The only benefit to him playing the 3 would be to post up smaller 3s, but he's not a guy with great touch. Now, at 4, he can use his speed to get around people and his athleticism to outjump guys for rebounds. Plus he'll be in position to help at the basket on the defensive end. The great thing about Isaac is that those two guys can be used nearly interchangeably at the 3/4 so I do think the label is less important.