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Would it work offensively or is there too little ball handling and outside shooting? Would it work defensively with Gafford guarding 4's and Hachimura 3's?

Can they, sure, would they successfully, no.

queridiculo wrote:Can they, sure, would they successfully, no.

I don't get this fascination with trying to play huge lineups. The reason you never see it is because it doesn't work in today's game. The only teams that can make it work at all are the ones with MVP caliber PF's who are 7-feet tall but have the agility of small forwards (Giannis and A.Davis)

queridiculo wrote:Can they, sure, would they successfully, no.

Yep. I am afraid so.

A different discussion would be if a Rui-Wood-Gafford line up could work...The issue is that both Bryant and Gafford are strictly 5s. Bryant in particular has very poor lateral mobility so he can not play the 4, period.

You mean all at once? If so, the answer is no.

I love rui at the 3 but I honestly think Bryant's place is off the bench feasting on slower less skilled bigs. Where he can be less exposed on D and beat other teams back ups down off the bench .

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Frichuela wrote:

queridiculo wrote:Can they, sure, would they successfully, no.

Yep. I am afraid so.

A different discussion would be if a Rui-Wood-Gafford line up could work...The issue is that both Bryant and Gafford are strictly 5s. Bryant in particular has very poor lateral mobility so he can not play the 4, period.

Agreed. But a Gafford/Bryant duo could be quite effective at C.

And yes to the PF that pushes Rui to SF. But I am overly enamored with Wood or a like PF ... so there is that.

Both Nate and PIF disabused me of the notion that a PF needs to be an outstanding defensive rebounder. But they haven't (yet) disabused me of the notion that they need to be a weakside rim protector (either through blocks or charges or a combination of the two).

Unfortunately, we're seeing in the playoffs that it's easy to force switches where the center gets stuck covering a guard. Phoenix brutalized Milwuakee's BroLo. Gafford has enough problems doing it, but add in Bryant, and that would be 2 potential switches that'd hurt us defensively. I'd have no problem offensively playing them all 3 together, but I don't think the defense works.

On the offensive side, it would pose an interesting dynamic. On the defensive side, they would be a switch off from a calamitous end.
That said, I wouldn’t mind seeing this experiment against weaker opponents just to see if our suppositions are correct.

Frichuela wrote:...A different discussion would be if a Rui-Wood-Gafford line up could work...The issue is that both Bryant and Gafford are strictly 5s. Bryant in particular has very poor lateral mobility so he can not play the 4, period.

& Gafford hasn't yet shown that he can play starter minutes at the 5, so we'd be in the market for a backup Center. In fact, although I do think Wood can play the 4, he played the 5 pretty much exclusively this season.

What's a trade that would get us Wood but not cost us Bryant? I.e. so that we could start a Rui-Wood-Bryant front line with Gafford coming off the bench.

I'll raise this question in the trade thread....

Not a chance. That would be the worst combined lateral quickness of any lineup in the NBA. Gafford/Bryant will split the C minutes and it will work out just fine. Rui has to figure out how to be a good player, regardless of position.

That's what I thought but I kept hearing raves here about Gafford's quickness and athleticism and that Rui could play the 3 so wanted to take the board's temperature about it.

penbeast0 wrote:That's what I thought but I kept hearing raves here about Gafford's quickness and athleticism and that Rui could play the 3 so wanted to take the board's temperature about it.

It's Bryant at the 4 that doesn't work. I think Rui can play the 3 if he's willing to take more 3s.

Ruzious wrote:Unfortunately, we're seeing in the playoffs that it's easy to force switches where the center gets stuck covering a guard. Phoenix brutalized Milwuakee's BroLo. Gafford has enough problems doing it, but add in Bryant, and that would be 2 potential switches that'd hurt us defensively. I'd have no problem offensively playing them all 3 together, but I don't think the defense works.

Thats why I'm so big on have a switchable big and why drafting a guy like Sengun is something I wouldn't do despite the excellent production at 18.

Dat2U wrote:It's Bryant at the 4 that doesn't work. I think Rui can play the 3 if he's willing to take more 3s.

I was assuming Bryant at the 5 and Gafford at the 4 if you read the OP. Why would you ever have Bryant guarding forwards?

penbeast0 wrote:

Dat2U wrote:It's Bryant at the 4 that doesn't work. I think Rui can play the 3 if he's willing to take more 3s.

I was assuming Bryant at the 5 and Gafford at the 4 if you read the OP. Why would you ever have Bryant guarding forwards?

The same questions can be posed for you. Why would you ever have Gafford guarding PFs? Why would you have the weaker rim protector at C and pull your best rim protector away from the rim? Why are we even discussing playing to pure Cs together in 2021?

Not a worry, I thought people were a bit over the top with their opinion of Gafford's quickness and of Hachimura's ability to play the 3. I see them as a 5 and a 4 but I don't watch the Wizards as much as many of you so I wanted the board's feedback.

bump

YES! I think so and I hope to see it at least TRIED OUT. They probably don't move their feet as well defensively as some other alternatives; but, I would LOVE to see Rui at the three and Thomas at the four.

Counter what the popular trend is and go big (or go home)!

penbeast0 wrote:Not a worry, I thought people were a bit over the top with their opinion of Gafford's quickness and of Hachimura's ability to play the 3. I see them as a 5 and a 4 but I don't watch the Wizards as much as many of you so I wanted the board's feedback.

Most people agree with you.

I'm open to experimenting.

Get them all oversized and then trade for Ben Simmons at the 1.

Dat2U wrote:

penbeast0 wrote:

Dat2U wrote:It's Bryant at the 4 that doesn't work. I think Rui can play the 3 if he's willing to take more 3s.

I was assuming Bryant at the 5 and Gafford at the 4 if you read the OP. Why would you ever have Bryant guarding forwards?

The same questions can be posed for you. Why would you ever have Gafford guarding PFs? Why would you have the weaker rim protector at C and pull your best rim protector away from the rim? Why are we even discussing playing to pure Cs together in 2021?

Because Gafford seems to be significantly quicker though he's certainly a better rim protector as well as being a better man coverage guy.

AS for getting Simmons, you know I'm on board for it, though not even up for Beal.