popper wrote:Don't want to cry over past mistakes but had we taken Zeller over Porter we would be a very tough team with sufficient front court depth to survive inevitable injuries to Nene or Okafor. As it is now, when a starting big goes down then it's Seraphon, Vesely, Booker and Singleton ..... Ugh
On the flip side, with Porter our target, why sign Webster? We could have signed Hickson for the MLE and had a heck of a front court rotation. EG always leaves us with some glaring defect because he doesn't know how to balance a roster. Last year it was point guard and power forward (we got lucky with Okafor's health). This year it's power forward and center. This doesn't have to continue to happen every season.
They are two deep at center the way I see it. Nene and Okafor. But Nene can also play PF.
If no other additions or trades are made, I think they play more small ball this year with Trevor A and Webster so as to free up some minutes for Otto at SF. So they can survive better if one of Nene and Okafor misses time because whoever remains will get 30 plus minutes to cover center. Kevin can handle the rest.
And if Booker stay healthy.. I think he will this year.. they have a 3rd pretty reliable player to play PF.
Keep in mind. Most the offense this year is going to come from Wall and Beal with Webster a solid 3rd wheel. So even as is, they are not as thin as they were last year when Wall and Beal hardly played together and Nene was injured going into the season. And Wall hadn't showed his improved jumper until later in the year. He will star the year with much more confidence in his jumper.
Not saying its idea losing one of Nene or Okafor, but they can get by much better then they did last year with Wall not starting the year...pre breakout, Beal a rookie with a slow start, Webster not establish after injuries, and Trevor A and Okafor new to the team.
So even though they haven't added to the front court, they are better positioned to deal with some missed games from Nene and Okafor. They team is much more established this year then last. Heck, Randy was even in his first year and they were learning to be a defensive team.
So even with lots of the same players, I don't see it as the same team.