We needed depth - specifically the frontcourt

[mhectorgato]

Just looking over the minutes played for our 2 Fs and C in this series:

Game 1 - they were pulled with 3:58 to go in the game.
H.Turkoglu - 37:27, R.Lewis - 37:50, D.Howard - 35:29

Game 2
H.Turkoglu - 40:24, R.Lewis - 40:38, D.Howard - 44:38

Game 3
H.Turkoglu - 35:58, R.Lewis - 42:42, D.Howard - 44:04

Game 4
H.Turkoglu - 44:01, R.Lewis - 41:41, D.Howard - 44:37

Game 5
H.Turkoglu - 41:46, R.Lewis - 43:23, D.Howard - 43:58

Compare this to the regular season:
R.Lewis - 38.0
D.Howard - 37.7
H.Turkoglu - 36.9

For both playoffs series:
D.Howard - 42.1 (+4.4)
R.Lewis - 41.7 (+3.7)
H.Turkoglu - 39.9 (+1.9)

I know it's normal to shorten the rotation when it comes to the playoffs. But seems as if they never really got a break. This has to do with our lack of depth.

Looking forward, Tony will help to give the C & PF spots some more breaks. Rashard matched up well with Toronto, but in Detroit he was going against Sheed or Dice alot - both much more physical than Bosh/Bargs. I think he will to average about 15 to 20 minutes. Doing this will also keep him fresher for the playoffs.

Cook will be able to come in also be able to give breaks for our SF/PF guys while still stretching the defense. He averaged 12 minutes and I imagine that it should be around 15 to 20 next season.

Also, Marcin looks to be used more next season and be able to give some breaks against the atypical PFs/Cs. Best case, I give him about 7 to 10 minutes a game.

I'm thinking that we'll pickup up Adonal's option. He's a good locker room presence, he's making (I think) the min. So unless there's another vet that comes along, I think he's back - mostly in a suit.

We're opening up a spot with the departure of Pat. I guess this spot will be used on a draftee or Fran.

We'll be better next season. This playoffs we missed 2 important bigs.

Tony would have been good to have for defense/offense substitutions, and times when we needed a rebound. Shard had a hard time effectively and constantly boxing out Detroit's big men, which Tony has done well in the past.

At end of games, which were close in score - we could have had a lineup like this:

Dwight
Tony
Shard
Hedo
Jameer

I'm not saying that our missing bigs would have played a lot of minutes and would have a tremendous impact, but they could have provided rests for Hedo/Rashard/Dwight to keep them fresher for end of game moments.

[theTHIEF]

depth first...our starting lineup is decent enough, we don't necessarily need another person that requires the ball, which is what 2 guards do...we need depth...we need rebounding...we need defense...

[mttingly2391]

Good analysis. I think we also need depth at the pg spot. Keyon is not a playmaking pg and neither is Jameer. I'm not sure why Carlos wasn't used more in the playoffs, but I have heard that he is more than likely gone anyway.

Please excuse the following rant....

Jameer was terrible last night. He consistently got beat by Stuckey in the 4th Q. It was really sad. Everytime Stuckey beat Jameer, the other guys had to help. Then the Pistons had open shots like crazy. Then Jameer carelessly turns the ball over and misses a terrible shot all down the stretch. Look I like Jameer. I think he can be very effective as a combo guard coming off the bench. But he is the worst or one of the worst defensive pg's in the league. The Magic lost last night as a team, but Jameer really looked bad down the stretch..against a rookie. We can't have that from our starting 1.

[damo[23]]

Definatly - I think Battie coming back will get us half way there - but I'd like to see a similar sort of guy come in ASWELL. For me that would give us the strength in depth at the 4 and 5 positions with guys like Gortat and maybe even Foyle.

[mhectorgato]

damo - were you the bloke that did the positional reviews in the past?

[Hairy Midget]

We need bigger guards and a FT coach for the entire team that stays with the team all year.

[eyriq]

depth first...our starting lineup is decent enough, we don't necessarily need another person that requires the ball, which is what 2 guards do...we need depth...we need rebounding...we need defense...

What he said minus the sg analysis

[Optimus_Steel]

We do need more frontcourt depth, its no surprise there. Heck i thought we needed more depth even before Battie went down. But Battie returning, Cook coming back and with Gortat playing well in the playoffs and showing that he is a legit NBA player will help. I think Gortat will be huge next year for the bench. I still would like to add another big body for insurance.

[mttingly2391]

Hairy Midget: You said it man. We need a FT coach big time. I don't understand why more teams don't hire shooting coaches like Dalls. They have been ranked at the top or near the top on FT shooting since they hired their man.

[Magicfn1]

We could've used Battie and Cook in that series but we still beat ourselves even without them.

[theTHIEF]

why minus the SG analysis? SG are scorers for the most part...you have to have the basketball to score...there are not very many starting 2 guards in this league that are known primarily as niche guys...

[eyriq]

why minus the SG analysis? SG are scorers for the most part...you have to have the basketball to score...there are not very many starting 2 guards in this league that are known primarily as niche guys...

It is that I hope the Magic use the MLE to upgrade there. Childress would be perfect. I just don't think that Mogans can cut it again and it is the most obvious hole in the starting 5, imo.

[theTHIEF]

agh...well we do need to upgrade, but in all honesty, Evans is not that bad at what he does for us, he can score around the basket, he is open all the time and he can usually play up with his man and he doesn't require the ball...so if we can upgrade with depth at that position and bring in a strong 2 guard defender off the bench, i think it would be better than losing Evans for a starter who needs the ball more and has Bogans backing him up...

we're in a sticky area right now quite honestly, and we can work it out if we spend wisely and make the right deals...think about it, we COULD lose 7 guys this off season in expiring deals and options...IMO Bogans loses out if he choses to exercise his option, but Foyle could easily split, obviously Evans, Dooling, Arroyo, Augustine and Garrity are all gone...we only have 1 PG under contract and one guarantee at the 2 spot with JJ, who is more than likely going to be getting shipped out...

[mhectorgato]

agh...well we do need to upgrade, but in all honesty, Evans is not that bad at what he does for us, he can score around the basket, he is open all the time and he can usually play up with his man and he doesn't require the ball...so if we can upgrade with depth at that position and bring in a strong 2 guard defender off the bench, i think it would be better than losing Evans for a starter who needs the ball more and has Bogans backing him up...

I like Evans as well and I think he likes it here. My biggest issue is that he doesn't attack the basket. He's great for finding the holes in the defense underneath the basket, but he's not a driver.

we're in a sticky area right now quite honestly, and we can work it out if we spend wisely and make the right deals...think about it, we COULD lose 7 guys this off season in expiring deals and options...IMO Bogans loses out if he choses to exercise his option, but Foyle could easily split, obviously Evans, Dooling, Arroyo, Augustine and Garrity are all gone...we only have 1 PG under contract and one guarantee at the 2 spot with JJ, who is more than likely going to be getting shipped out...

Which goes back to our frustration with the inactivity at the deadline.

[theTHIEF]

-= original quote snipped =-



Which goes back to our frustration with the inactivity at the deadline.

as for Evans, if we retain him, I think the off season goal will be to work him into the plans a little more, obviously the season started out as a 2 man show, and when Hedo emerged it transformed into a 3 man deal and Nelson started to find a little game along the way...

however, we could completely wipe out that spot and buy a starter and and trade for backup at the same slot...

yea the deadline sucked...but, maybe there really wasnt anything available that would have helped us at a decent price?? IDK...im just glad we DIDNT pull the trigger on that Thomas deal, that was just so overpriced, I cant honestly see how anyone would be mad at Otis for that...

[Pancho_Pantera]

Less Jameer. We need depth in most areas, not just the front court.

[eyriq]

agh...well we do need to upgrade, but in all honesty, Evans is not that bad at what he does for us, he can score around the basket, he is open all the time and he can usually play up with his man and he doesn't require the ball...so if we can upgrade with depth at that position and bring in a strong 2 guard defender off the bench, i think it would be better than losing Evans for a starter who needs the ball more and has Bogans backing him up...

we're in a sticky area right now quite honestly, and we can work it out if we spend wisely and make the right deals...think about it, we COULD lose 7 guys this off season in expiring deals and options...IMO Bogans loses out if he choses to exercise his option, but Foyle could easily split, obviously Evans, Dooling, Arroyo, Augustine and Garrity are all gone...we only have 1 PG under contract and one guarantee at the 2 spot with JJ, who is more than likely going to be getting shipped out...

Well that is all true. The good news is we have a core locked up that can compete for title if the proper pieces are put around them. Thats Howard/Shard/Nelson. The only real asset of any value outside of those three is Hedo. Since all the rest are expendable and most are looking for new deals, I think this gives Otis the chance to re-tool to the teams specific strengths and weaknesses. This re-tooling is best done in the off season, which is why I did not mind Otis not making a trade at the break. Is Evans the right fit as a starter? There are not many out there that are worse as a starter than he is, so if we can improve than I just hope we do.

[spinedoc]

I can see the problem with getting another scorer at the 2 where the movement of the ball stops, but that doesn't mean that we can't use an upgrade at the position. If not a decent scorer, at least get a defender at the spot, preferably one that can handle the ball to help Jameer. Just like we need an eventual complement to Dwight down low, we need one in the back court as well to complement Jameer. I like Evans a lot, and hope we keep him, but he really needs to come off the bench. If he doesn't like that and can find a starting job somewhere else ala Deshawn, then bye bye Mo.

I do think that getting the likes of Battie, Cook, possibly Fran, and Gortat developing will give us a big boost next year. We still need to get our fixture at the position within the next two years as Battie ages and his contract expires, and possibly Cook leaving for greener pastures with his contract expiring too. Hopefully Fran or Gortat can turn into that piece, but that isn't likely. We don't have to have that guy next year, but we best start thinking about it soon enough.

[Jackattaq]

How will Battie fit in next year?

Will he be rejuvenated from an entire year of rest for his legs? Or will he not fit with the Magic's new style of play?

I personally think he will play well in this offense. He will take one more 3pt shooter off the floor, but his big body will help Dwight on the boards A LOT. I see Battie helping quite a bit, but I still think the Magic need more than just Battie. Why isn't Gortat used more? He seems pretty decent with good size and some shotblocking and rebounding. Why not play 2 bruising bigs inside with he and Dwight? I'm a sucker for big lineups and I think that's been one of the Piston's keys over the past few years. Almost every Piston can go against their matchup and post them up with either size or moves inside.

[Typhoon20]

Well....our first goal should be resigning Evans.

He could add depth to the bench, then go and try to lure an MLE, a la Childress, even better, someone like Maggette. We need to add a starting SG and possibly Evans as his backup, so we're cool at that spot. Up next is a backup PG. I don't really think we need or should look for a backup frontcourt player, we have 2 SF's, one of which can play the PF if needed, the other who can play different positions. We have Dwight, Battie will return, Gortat is slowly becoming a great guy off the bench, we still have Cook...IMO that's a nice little depth. Sure another PF wouldn't hurt, but the way it's shaping up, it'll be enough.

Dooling, Arroyo, Bogans and a couple other guards could very well be gone if we don't resign them. That means we NEED to focus on some guards, we won't have a backup PG for Nelson, so that's a must. We'll also be thin at the SG, so if we can spend the MLE on a nice all-around SG who can start, we'll be fine with Evans coming off the bench.

All in all, it doesn't look that bad. If we can make the right deals, we should be able to do a bit better come next year. If we don't make the right deals, this could be it as far as we can go.