bullzman23 wrote:Also you saw the game. Without Deng on the floor our offense was really limited. If we couldn't get Gordon the ball we were usually in trouble. It just disrupted the flow of our offense. This should be evident with the Wallace, Noah, Griffin, Gordon, Duhon lineup we were forced to use. That's four guys that can't provide any offense. If you replace Griff for Deng it completely changes everything. Even if he's playing poorly, just having him on the floor is a threat that would cause your defense to react differently.
Yes and no. Deng is excellent at spacing the floor and is a terror to guard with his quickness and length; he would have broken out of that funk at some point so he would be missed. However, guys like Hinrich and Noah did not always step up when a third option behind Smith and Gordon was required, even though (as the Blazers have shown us on other nights) the production of many can make up that of a few.