A brief thought: third-string center for next year!
by 3.3seconds on Mar 11, 2010 4:22 PM EST
43 comments
This isn't going to be an in-depth post, because there aren't a lot of stats... it's just an idea I've had.
I think we can all agree that one of the main things Dwight struggles with on offense is larger/stronger big men. (Let's say... 280 pounds or heavier.) If he can't overpower his opponent, he often has trouble in the lane. This is true not only of talented defenders like Kendrick Perkins, but also of lesser players. (Witness his difficutlies with Aaron Gray in the Hornets game.)
I guess the question is, how often does he get to face that kind of opposition? In games, obviously -- some games. Maybe once a week, if that? And sometimes the large opponent is a backup, so they don't even play each other that frequently. We're talking maybe 20-30 minutes of game time a week. He simply doesn't log a lot of time against the guys.
On our team, we have Gortat and Foyle, two skilled defenders... but neither is an especially large/strong man for a center. So Dwight doesn't get a lot of systematic practice in breaking down 280+ lb. defenders.
But if we had a guy of that size on the team, Dwight could get as much practice as he liked. He could get that 20-30 minutes of game time every day in training camp. Even if it was a twelfth-man type of guy -- an Aaron Gray/DeSagana Diop kind of player -- this might do wonders for Dwight's moves against heavier opponents. Thoughts?
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It's funny you mention this.
I was at practice every day and the question was asked to Gortat about what he does to help improve Howard as a player? Marcin said that he tries to give Dwight different looks and tries to defend him in different ways. That way, Howard is aptly prepared to play against different types of players that will defend him differently.
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
at practice yesterday*
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
That's good...
…though I’m not sure Gortat can accurately mimic a 300-pound guy. :)
Bass is a kind of fish.
what if he puts on one of those sumo outfits???
Never trust a fart
by AB's triple double on Mar 12, 2010 7:27 PM EST up reply actions
I'd be all for it.
I would prefer Aaron Gray over Diop. Younger and he rebounds at a better rate.
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Dwight seems to be a lot smarter about Perkins
as the Boston 4-game regular season series went on.
so the need for a 3rd-string center arises, if we presume that Foyle is retiring or going somewhere next season.
Dwight Howard will be fine with those guys.
Dwight will just you his quickness, We just need a center who could shoot the three to back up both Howard and Gortat ( if he stays) Howard would be a force to play those outside centers.
Orlando Magic NBA Champions 2010
There are very, very few NBA centers with three-point range.
And I think Dwight can handle them… I also think he could probably handle them better if he had some practice.
Bass is a kind of fish.
What if they just had him guard Ryan or Rashard?
Sure, they don’t have Center bodies, but all he has to do is practice playing D against them.
NBA's Present: Dwight, Lebron, D-Wade...
Future: KD, D-Rose, Tyreke...
Past: Shaq, The Boston Celtics, Greg Oden...
I think there's some confusion here.
I’m not talking about Dwight’s defense. I’m talking about his offense. I’m talking about the problems he sometimes has SCORING against heavy centers, not any problems he might have DEFENDING anyone.
Bass is a kind of fish.
Good thoughts. Thanks for starting the discussion.
I don’t know as we need a big guy for Dwight to practice against. Agree w/ d-baller23, Dwight is getting smarter and can use his quickness.
Rather see us pick up someone with vet experience who can teach Dwight….like Jermaine ONeal or Marcus Camby (though somebody will overpay him this summer). The idea of keeping Gortat continues to grow on me, too, despite his price tag (but it’s not my $$$).
"I've had people say, 'I don't need to check the [player statistics]. I've seen it with my eyes.' Well, I would also say your eyes lie to you sometimes, and some of the guys you may really like and think are really doing things, when you get deeper into it, aren't or vice versa." ~Stan Van Gundy
Gortat is clearly the more useful player for us.
I mean, even if we accept that Bass could be a good backup center, he’s not a rebounder. And given that we don’t have any very good rebounders at PF, we need a guy who can dominate the boards.
Bass is a kind of fish.
I'm assuming you mean Aaron Gray?
As in Aaron “I only got drafted because the Bulls have a history of drafting/acquiring untalented white centers” Gray?
After the game, the Suns announcers asked Lopez what he was going to do to celebrate and he said, "I'm going to kill Bart Simpson."
by Diosnomeama on Mar 12, 2010 11:28 AM EST up reply actions
No sir, I don't like it.
After the game, the Suns announcers asked Lopez what he was going to do to celebrate and he said, "I'm going to kill Bart Simpson."
by Diosnomeama on Mar 12, 2010 12:14 PM EST up reply actions
As a third-string center? He wouldn't play, regardless.
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
I'm willing to go along with that.
As long as we can use him as a scapegoat when Orlando loses, and pelt him with rotten veggies :)
After the game, the Suns announcers asked Lopez what he was going to do to celebrate and he said, "I'm going to kill Bart Simpson."
LOL
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
You saw how Dwight did against him.
The fact is, Dwight has a history of struggling more than he should on offense against large, immobile big men. Getting him a large, immobile big man to work with in practice might do him some good.
Bass is a kind of fish.
I like how you think
Bringing in a big immobile guy would be helpful for Dwight in having his way with Shaq, Perk, Bogut, etc. Gray would be perfect for that.
MMA fighters & Boxers bring in people to mimic their opponent as part of their training regimen for each fight. It would work in Dwight’s scenario too.
Life is a series of serious choices, theories are formed from experience, never mysterious forces. - stic.man
"I'm not impressed by your performance" - GSP
That's a good way of putting it.
A sparring partner kind of situation.
Bass is a kind of fish.
If it was an either, or proposition, give me Gortat. Play him w/ Dwight a little more to keep him satisfied and stop using Dwight in all the blowout wins.
by derekk on Mar 15, 2010 2:30 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Or we could just have Foyle eat himself too 300lbs
Never trust a fart
by AB's triple double on Mar 12, 2010 7:30 PM EST reply actions
Ewing.
Can’t Patrick Ewing effectively serve at the 300+ lbs. immobile center these days? Just wondering.
luv ya Chewing.
"I've had people say, 'I don't need to check the [player statistics]. I've seen it with my eyes.' Well, I would also say your eyes lie to you sometimes, and some of the guys you may really like and think are really doing things, when you get deeper into it, aren't or vice versa." ~Stan Van Gundy
He could possibly mimic Shaq
but I don’t think he quite has the foot speed/quickness to mimic Perkins & Bogut.
Ewing probably doesn’t want to get Courtney Lee’d either. A fractured Orbital wouldn’t look good on Chewing.
"It can be done, you can just crush somebody"
Yeah, but I bet he can still mimic Aaron Gray.
"I've had people say, 'I don't need to check the [player statistics]. I've seen it with my eyes.' Well, I would also say your eyes lie to you sometimes, and some of the guys you may really like and think are really doing things, when you get deeper into it, aren't or vice versa." ~Stan Van Gundy
by magicfaninTN on Mar 13, 2010 6:29 PM EST up reply actions
just put Patrick in a segway if you want him more mobile
as well as being even taller…practicing for Yao as well
Actually I think Foyle is Huge like Gray, Diop, Perkins type guys..
I just don’t know if he’s even practicing anymore, and I remember reading how Foyle gave Dwight some good practices. He seems like a Front Office/Player Union League Rep. type already thats still passable for a roster spot haha.
by derekk on Mar 15, 2010 2:34 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Foyle is the same mass as Gray, but about two inches shorter
He’s lighter than Diop or Perkins.
"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"
Are you using Gray's listed playing weight or actual playing weight? They cannot be equal.
"I've had people say, 'I don't need to check the [player statistics]. I've seen it with my eyes.' Well, I would also say your eyes lie to you sometimes, and some of the guys you may really like and think are really doing things, when you get deeper into it, aren't or vice versa." ~Stan Van Gundy
by magicfaninTN on Mar 15, 2010 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions
Foyle practices. I think. .
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
Unlikely
You’d have to take a few minutes from Gortat or Bass, both of whom need the playing time a lot more.
by eltharion_doa on Mar 16, 2010 11:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, those last 90 seconds of a blow out win sure were important.
Sorry for the snark. But SVG could have really built a little fan love by putting in Adonal.
"I've had people say, 'I don't need to check the [player statistics]. I've seen it with my eyes.' Well, I would also say your eyes lie to you sometimes, and some of the guys you may really like and think are really doing things, when you get deeper into it, aren't or vice versa." ~Stan Van Gundy
by magicfaninTN on Mar 17, 2010 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions
Someone said Foyle didn't want to go in.
But yeah everyone at the arena was pretty mad about the situation. I don’t see why he would have cared one way or the other. No one has seen him play in a long time, it would have been interesting.
More important for those two guys
Than for Foyle.
However marginal the effect, I’d take giving players who are going to be part of a potential playoff rotation garbage time minutes over a guy who’s not even going to suit up in the playoffs.
by eltharion_doa on Mar 18, 2010 4:06 AM EDT up reply actions
Kk, good stuff, hopefully Foyle is giving him a hard time in practice so he can get better. Thx Ben and E.
by derekk on Mar 15, 2010 9:48 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
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