Why? He is a great glue guy; he does all the little things. The other 4 starters can more than handle the offensive load, so complimenting that with a player that does not need to shoot to be effective is a nice fit.

The next most interesting option is moving Lewis to the 3 and starting Anderson. We would have 4 very accurate 3 point shooters around Dwight, and an Anderson/Lewis pairing would be a better rebounding pairing than a Barnes/Lewis pairing. The reason I say this is because with Lewis’ size he would be expected to have a rebounding advantage over most other 3s, and Anderson is a better rebounder at the 4 than is Lewis.

I worry about the defense of an Anderson/Lewis pairing though, so I go with Barnes/Lewis.

The most important thing you need off the bench, in my opinion, is scoring and that’s exactly what Ryan Anderson brings to the table. Stan Van Gundy needs someone in the second unit that can make plays when the first unit isn’t in the game. Plus, it allows the Magic to continue to play its style offensively (4-out/1-in) for the majority of the time. Likewise, the Magic need Rashard at the four to help get the defense to where it needs to be. Putting Lewis at the three would be a mistake, defensively, because he isn’t a good defender there.

In my opinion, either Barnes or Pietrus are best starting at small forward.

1. Nelson / Carter / Barnes / Lewis / Howard

Barnes has played very well these past 7 games, and shown his true strengths. He is a tweener, but this allows him to play and guard multiple positions. He is quick enough, and has good hands to guard 2/3’s, but is long enough to guard certain 4’s like Durant.

His best assets, however, are an undying energy, great hands, and a high IQ. In SVG’s system this allows him to be a good passer and really keep the offense moving without needing the ball himself. He also makes lots of hustle plays and tends to get his hands on a lot of loose balls. And he can still stretch the floor with his 3 shot. I think when you have 4 All-Stars who can score profusely, you need a good facilitator and someone who will do the dirty work on the defensive end… and that person is Matt.

Peaches is also a good defender and a better scorer, but his energy seems more limited and he needs the ball more. That’s why I think he’s better off the bench when 1 or more primary scorers take a breather.

2. Nelson / Redick / Carter / Lewis / Howard

This a stretch the floor type lineup that really messes with opposing defenses while still keeping Lewis at his best position at PF. Although Redick’s shot still hasn’t improved to Duke status, he’s much improved in this area. He’s also transformed his game so he’s not just a one-dimensional shooter (who missed shots) anymore. With his improved ball handling ability, persistent effort on defense, and better court vision (still wished he passed to bigs better), the team can be comfortable with him starting and playing big minutes. I’m also afraid that he’s the type of player where not playing him big minutes will cause him to be more a detriment. He needs to put up a few shots and drive around the perimeter to open his game up, and he needs minutes for that.

I’m not saying that his needs above the Magic’s. What I’m saying that playing him few minutes may be worse than not playing him at all, and playing him big minutes will net much better results than either of those. And whether or not he can make his shots, he’s sheer reputation and ability to do so forces opposing teams to guard him, which strengthens Orlando’s 4-out/1-in strategy.

There is some loss in shooting guard depth, but I’m fine with Peaches backing up the 2, with Barnes manning the backup 3.

3. Nelson / Carter / Lewis / Anderson / Howard

And finally, the most potent 4-out/1-in starting lineup in the NBA. Offensively, this lineup will strike fear into opposing defense, especially those with traditional 4’s. Ryan is a top 3 three-point shooter on this team, and that’s saying a lot considering the other 2 are Jameer and Lewis. Put them all together on the floor and you have the deadliest perimeter with Dwight having a field day of who he wants to pass to.

Even though 5.5 games we’ve seen opposing teams fail to close out on Ryan and he’s made them pay big time. If you start him along Rashard, it’ll open up the lanes even more for Meer and Carter and make defenders think 4 times before doubling Howard (which they still will have to do). As a plus, Ryan has shown he’s more than a spot up shooter. Although his finishing ability is weak off the drive, he CAN drive and draw fouls, and he’s also a great rebounder, especially on the offensive end, where he is a strong finisher. In this way, he brings an added dimension to the Orlando offense/defense that was not in place before.

The reason why I have this below the lineup with Redick at the 2, is my reservations of Lewis playing the 3. It’s been shown on this blog many times that Lewis plays best at the 4, offensively and defensively. Although successful at the 3 in Seattle, he loses a lot of his danger from the perimeter with opposing SFs guarding him.

Also, Ryan’s defensively ability still needs some work, even guarding the 4 position. Combining that with Lewis’s diminishing defense against SFs, and it becomes a problem. Still, I wouldn’t mind seeing this lineup when SVG really wants to punish teams that have trouble defending the perimeter.

We need defense badly and MP is the best defender. His 3pnt % is 38 and he doesn’t shoot too much when with the starters. Although I maybe would like MP as a 6th Man and I do think Barnes makes a great fit as the glue guy in the starting unit, SVG will want to put the pedal to the metal in the defensive departments playing the starters a consistent 32+ mins at first and focus on defense. MP is his best wing defender.

will carter be in it tonight?

I think if Barnes started he would be at 8 rpg we need rebounders out there, Pietrus cat hit FT is a poor rebounder, doesn’t pass the ball yet he’s a turnover machine, I wouldn’t put Pietrus in the game unless we are having trouble stopping someone.

Putting Anderson in the starting lineup leaves Williams, Redick, Pietrus, Bass, and Gortat. That’s streaky shooter, streaky shooter, streaky shooter, reasonably consistent shooter w/ limited range, and a garbageman. Barnes’d be somewhere in there too. That offense would be ugly.

Move Anderson to the bench, start Barnes, and at least you have Anderson’s shooting in your back pocket.

Don’t shoot me!

Hear me out on this. While JJ may be one of the weaker options of the fifth man options offensively, his ball handling and defense are much improved. We simply don’t NEED to have another hot scorer on the floor when the starting four are out there, its almost a waste.

Anderson and Bass would both be good options for sure – and I imagine we’ll see that lineup on the floor at times with Lewis at the 3… but Lewis hasn’t shown that he can defend the 3 nearly as well as he can defend the 4, and thats a problem. Add that to the fact that Anderson’s defense is somewhat weak, and you have a lineup that just isn’t viable, no matter how fantastic it looks offensively. Going back to Bass, running with him as a starter may well be viable against the more physical teams, but we haven’t seen it yet, so I just don’t see it happening.

Barnes – I don’t trust his decision making. Maybe putting him in the starting lineup could mask that to a degree… but the fact is, he tries to do too much in my opinion. He takes tough shots when he shouldnt, stuff like that.

The same can be said for MP, to a lesser extent. And he just seems like a 6th man type, especially after what he was able to do late last season, and the playoffs.

Back to JJ. One thing we’ve learned about him is that he seems to be a player that really needs to get into the rhythm of a game to be at his best. Can’t really do that from the bench. If we want to make the most of him, he has to start.

So thats my pick. ;)

I’m voting for Barnes at SF.

Lewis has to stay at PF where he has an advantage on most nights. Barnes does all the hustle plays and helps our rebounding while having the ability to hit the 3 ball.

Pietrus, Anderson, Redick give the second team firepower.

Lewis at SF only when we can force a mismatch there.

Bass is the odd man out but I am sure SVG will find ways to use him.

It all depends on matchups. If the opposing team has a dominate SF, you would much rather have Pietrus in for majority of minutes. If the team has a slow 3 and 4 who can’t guard the outside, then I would prefer to see Anderson and Lewis. On most days, I do think Barnes should be starting based on most of the reasons stated above.

JJ is capable of starting, but moving Vince to the 3 would be awful for the team. I think Bass starting would also be awful, as he is best used in a change of pace/defense role.

Ever notice when Anderson scores? It always seems to be in the first half of the first quarter. He then gets benched, then later comes back in but with lesser results. I don’t know if that’s just due to the limited number of games he’s played, but I say that if he’s our top player at the start of the game, that he should be in at the start of the game.