More comments from SVG. He thinks the potential of Smith/Monroe/Drummond trio is sky high. We won’t know what the starting lineup is definitely until a few games into the season IMO, but it sounds like the odds that we start the trio are very high.
“That lineup could be really, really good if you’re got two guards in the game who can both penetrate and make plays,” he said. “We’re playing with one guard, a small forward, a power forward and two centers. That's not the ideal lineup to play the big lineup with. I think it would look a lot different if it were Caldwell-Pope playing with one of the point guards and those three guys up front.”
Van Gundy is devoted not to any particular scheme but to finding ones that maximize the individual strengths of his players. So when Monroe is at center he’ll use him differently than at power forward. When Smith is at power forward, the offense will look just different enough than when Monroe is at that spot. “He’s got advantages at each position,” Van Gundy said of Monroe. “We use him a little bit differently at each spot. ... Greg’s a very good passer, but you’re not going to spread Greg out on the run and have him driving the ball from 18 to 20 feet. If you have him at the five, now he has the ability to drive the ball. He’s a tough guy, because he’s too big and strong for most fours and he’s got too good a first step for most fives.”
When Smith is at the four, he won’t be in post-up situations quite as often as Monroe. Van Gundy wants to use him there, too, and especially in certain matchups. But he wants to ensure that Smith gets a chance to attack and use his playmaking skills by stationing him a little farther from the basket than Monroe would stray. “Greg we pretty much exclusively post when he’s at the four, whereas Josh we’re really trying to move him around. He’s really good in the post, but we want to try to create situations where he can attack fours off the dribble and make plays. He’s as good a playmaker, creator as we have on this team, including our point guards. You look at how many assists he’s had – 17 in the last three games, not even playing much more than half a game. He can really make plays, so we try to put him in situations to make plays.”
And when they’re all in the same lineup, look for Drummond on one side of the block, and nearest the rim, Monroe on the other, probably closer to the foul line, with Smith running the baseline or playing off the elbow opposite Monroe. With Drummond’s growing comfort level with his back to the basket and Van Gundy’s creativity, the possibilities for success appear much better for the trio this season.[/b]
It certainly sounds like SVG has a much better plan than Cheeks/Loyer did but still I am not enthused by this possibility. I hope it works though. And, if this works will we stop vilifying Joe D?
