opposing point of view

by Mike Fox on Dec 17, 2009 12:19 AM EST

hey guys I have always wondered whats the point of the magic playing Rashard Lewis at power forward

I see that he can make 3's and shots, but the Magic will not be able to beat the Lakers if they have have Rashard guarding Pau Gasol or KG.

He isn't strong enough and its a bad match up.

Why not start and this is when everybody is healthy

jameer

Vinsanity

Rashard Lewis

Bass/ Ryan Anderson

Dwight

this lineup allows Rashard to rebound easier, score easier, and is a better mismatch than him at pf.

ryan Anderson can spread the court and make threes. he also is an ok rebounder and an ok defender and he will not get pushed around as much as Rashard would and he would not get dominated in the post.

Bass is a good power forward and a better fit than Rashard as well. He rebounds, defends and can score. he does almost everything well. he can take the rebounding pressure off Dwight. He is great at boxing out with his 250 lb frame. He can box out and Rashard can use his height to grab rebounds and Dwight would still get 12. He makes the Magic an even better defensive team. Guys will not be able to dominate him in the block and he is a good help defender and can block guys driving in.

It would be hard to outrebound

6'11 265 lbs in Dwight

6'8 250+ lbs in bass

and 6'10 in Rashard.

My point is the average power forward is usually at least 240 lbs and that gives them a 10 lb advantage on Rashard. they easily push Rashard around and can score on him. Also if he gets on a switch someone like Bynum on him how does he defend that. Its a 50 lb advantage. Its a big weakness.

It helps both the offense and the defense.

on offense you have 4 consistent capable scorers in jameer, Vinsanity, rashard, and Dwight. If Dwight gets double teamed he has so many guys who can make an open jumper especially ifRyan is in. They would have a very tough time doubling Dwight if there are four 3 point shooters on the court.

On defense guys won't be able to push the power forwards around and rashard can use his height to contest oponents shots. The magic will be really hard to outrebound if they have Bass who can get 8 rebounds a night, Dwight who can get 12, and Rashard who can get 5-7 because he won't get pushed around as much and his taller than most 3s.if you have bass boxing out and Dwight and Rashard two 6'10+ guys crashing it is very hard to stop.

So look vs top teams

Jameer DFish Rondo

VC Kobe Ray Allen

Rashard Artest Paul Pierce

Bass Pau KG

Dwight Bynum Perkins

i don't know about you but I think this is a much better lineup. You have 2 really solid rebounders to combat Pau and Bynum. I like Bass's chances better than Rashard's. I also think this lineip could outrebound LA. LA is still better, but the size could be the difference maker. It would be really close, but Magic could win with the better rebounding, defense, and offense.

What do you think

This FanPost was made by a member of the Orlando Pinstriped Post community, and is to be treated as the opinions and views of its author, not that of the blogger or blog community as a whole.

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Comments

The way I see it is that

It’s not so much that Rashard isn’t strong enough to defend opposing 4s… it’s that he’s definitely not fast enough to defend opposing 3s.

In Gene We Trust.

by MoveThoseChains on Dec 17, 2009 1:31 AM EST reply actions

That's exactly it. He's much better defending the 4 than he is defending the 3.

Third Quarter Collapse: An Orlando Magic blog at SB Nation | Brandon Bass: "I just play hard."

by Evan Dunlap on Dec 17, 2009 3:06 AM EST up reply actions

Rashard is an above-average defender at PF (he's average, at best, defending other SF's).

- Not many players can defend Kevin Garnett or Pau Gasol. That’s not an indictment on Lewis.
- Rashard is a more potent offensive mismatch at PF.
- Bass is not a better fit than Lewis and doesn’t make the Orlando Magic better defensively.
- Brandon’s rebound percentage is worse than Rashard’s.

If the Magic did what you suggested, then the team would lose to the Celtics and Lakers worse than if Rashard played at power forward. There’s a reason why head coach Stan Van Gundy hasn’t played Lewis a lot at small forward and that’s because it’s not a good idea. Orlando is in the best position to win games when Rashard is starting at the 4, not the 3. SVG isn’t dumb; again, there’s a reason why Lewis is a 4 and not a 3.

I write for Third Quarter Collapse and have a Twitter account.

"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat

by erivera7 on Dec 17, 2009 4:03 AM EST reply actions

please remind me again of how we can benefit from brandon's talent

in OTIS we TRUST...

by Hbkid on Dec 17, 2009 7:14 AM EST reply actions

He matches up well with certain teams.

When he’s needed, he can spell ‘Shard at the 4 or even Dwight at the 5. Against a team like Boston, when a more physical presence is needed, that’s when Bass will be useful. While he might not have a solid spot in the rotation right now, that doesn’t mean he’s not useful in many situations. Honestly, as has been said before, it’s a tribute to the Magic’s depth that he’s been getting as few minutes during games as he has recently. Most other teams he would have a solid spot in the rotation.

by Frenchfried on Dec 17, 2009 9:01 AM EST up reply actions

In my opinion, Bass' talent is best utilized when he's playing at center.

It allows the Magic to continue to run its 4-out/1-in offensive sets and more.

I write for Orlando Pinstriped Post and have a Twitter account.

"The second unit is kind of crazy because the second unit is only white guys." - Marcin Gortat

by erivera7 on Dec 17, 2009 5:34 PM EST up reply actions

I do think Bass should get more time with Dwight. We haven’t seen enough of it to defintively say anything yet (esp. reg. season time). And Bass is 24, so you trade him and he can easily explode for the other team. I know Battie plays just like Bass and he had a rotation spot. The Magic play Gortat and Dwight together on rare occassions. I think there’s more room for Bass to get better and better than most other Magic players. The Magic are playing him way too little right now. They might not have the differential or defense in games to comfortably experiment with Bass and Dwight but it’s something they should clearly see more of to see the results. The Magic’s spacing is unparalleled but Bass playing well with the group would give a different dynamic. Bass could stand to rebound and defend better but he also just put up 3 blocks and good solid D in 9 minutes of play last night. He’s improving and the Magic could use him for the playoffs.

by derekk on Dec 17, 2009 4:12 PM EST via mobile reply actions

Bass' "solid defense"

Was 3 fouls and 1 rebound in 9 minutes. He does not yet have the defensive skills needed, just a JJ did not 3 years ago, but JJ is now the 2nd best perimeter defender on the team (according to Stan). If BB stays in Orlando (he probably will) he will become more of a defender and rotation player in the next year.

Likewise, Anderson is not yet the defender Lewis is, but appears to be a quick study. He is likely the Rashard of the future.

by NC Magic Fan on Dec 17, 2009 5:55 PM EST reply actions