Preseason Game 4: Detroit v. Charlotte

[Maker_84]

im ready for the regular season to start, too bad Meeks is out for a long time or this team could make a big impact. Not really saying but when i look at the rosters this team could give the Cavs some serious matchup problems.

[Invictus88]

I'm excited to see our big 3 in the starting line-up again. If played correctly I always thought it could work.

Now that our 2-guard position is thin, I wonder if SVG would have any interest in Jordan Crawford.

What is your definition of them being played correctly?

My definition is Smith playing around 15 minutes at the 3, then he shifts to the 4 for the majority of the game. Playing our big 3 correctly would be to limit Smith's minutes at the 3, but start Smith at the 3 for rebounds, fast-breaks, and defense purposes.

I'm at work so I couldn't watch the game, but taking a look at the stats it seems as if SVG played our big 3 correctly.

I'm still not following that it's the correct usage of Smith to play any time at the 3 at all under normal circumstances.

I also don't get how starting Smith at the 3 is somehow better for rebounding, defense, and fast-breaks.

I guess I don't see how when or how much he plays the 3 has any bearing on performance. He's bad at it. He's bad at it for one minute. He's bad at it for 30.

This isn't a case where Smith magically forgets how to play after 10 minutes of basketball. It's also not a situation where the game of basketball changes in a fundamental way from quarter 1 to quarter 4.

So the TLDR is I see any minute that Smith is playing the 3 to be poor usage. For that not to occur you can't have the big three playing together.

[Kilo]

Smith playing some three with Jerebko playing the four with either Dre or Moose at Ce isn't terrible because Jonas has the range to space the floor, bringing his defender out with him, and then allowing Smith to potentially bully a smaller opposition SF in the low post. It all depends on the match-ups.

Monroe-Drummond-Smith should be used very sparingly but would still be better suited than last season as we could have two shooters on the floor with them at the guard spots - something we didn't have last season. Have the Big Three with Augustin-Meeks or Augustin-KCP and they will keep their defenders out on the perimeter with them.

[DetroitPistons]

I didn't watch the game, but just looking at the box score, the thing I might be most impressed with is Brandon Jennings' game. His shot was terrible tonight (1-7) BUT he held himself to 7 FGA.

He was spectacular running the offense and he held his own defensively. His shot was off but he didn't kill us with his chucking. Despite his cold shooting I was quite pleased with him. He was definitely a net positive.

[tmorgan]

If you guys want a confidence boost, try this on:

SVG isn't stupid. He took this job for a bunch of reasons -- the money, the control, and because he saw a talent base he was extremely confident he could make into a winner. SVG knows what he's doing, and if he thinks this roster has potential, then it definitely does. Maybe not this year, but soon.