Off-Day Open Thread: Should the Orlando Magic Bench Matt Barnes and Move J.J. Redick to the Starting Lineup?
by Evan Dunlap on May 17, 2010 12:00 PM EDT
in Off-Day Open Thread
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PrintThe back spasms that began bothering Matt Barnes after his Orlando Magic's Game 3 against the Atlanta Hawks did not let up. He had to miss practice the day before Game 1 against the Boston Celtics to receive treatment, and though he tried to play through the pain yesterday, it's clear that the soreness is taking its toll. He didn't move well on either end of the floor, which is one reason why the Celtics' veteran wing duo of Paul Pierce and Ray Allen went off for 47 points in Boston's win. Howard the Dunk has more on Barnes:
"I didn’t get a chance to to get it real lose tonight," Barnes told reporters following the game.
Barnes was lifted in favor of Mickael Pietrus and eventually J.J. Redick.
"But it’s no excuse. I didn’t get it done tonight. Coach had to go with someone who was ready. I am going to continue to get treatment and I’ll be ready for Game 2."
Barnes is on the floor for his defense, rebounding, and, to a much lesser extent, his spot-up shooting. He didn't provide much of anything yesterday, which made him a liability at times. Eddy's gone so far as to suggest benching Barnes and and starting Redick, shifting Vince Carter to small forward.
Make no mistake, though, such a move would be just as much about what Redick can do as it would be about what Barnes can't. Redick played quite well yesterday, and works well with the other four starters; Orlando outscored the Celtics by 8 with that group on the floor yesterday.
So, what do you think? Is it already time for coach Stan Van Gundy to yank Barnes from the starting lineup?
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Redick vs Barnes
Ultimately, an injured Barnes is still going to do more to bother Allen/Pierce than Redick can. If Pietrus doesn’t find his stroke and Redick starts, there really is no “points off the bench” guy which is crucial in a 7 game series. Apologies to Gortat, of course.
I think Redick is better suited to guard Ray Allen than Matt Barnes
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by ben_gleicher on May 17, 2010 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I agree with Ben.
docfunk, don’t you recall what Redick did last year against Ray? Almost made him the worst starter on the floor for them.
I voted no, but with this caveat
Barnes shouldn’t start only if he cannot play at all and is in street clothes. I trust that the SVG, Barnes, & the Magic will make the best decision for the team on rather Barnes can play or not. With that said, I would absolutely have no problem with JJ starting if Barnes cannot go.
Even though the Hippopotamus lacks a stinger for a tail, a truly wise man would rather be sat on by a bee. ~ Banacek
I agree. Remember when VC was struggling, everyone had a thousant ideas about who should start.
Since the starters were “locked”, SVG was very clear that he won’t change that lineup. If Barnes doesn’t look OK, he can allways make his replacement a little earlier. What I really hope is that Barnes will be in better shape in Game 2 because even if JJ was great yesterday (and I’m sure he’ll be in the next one too), Matt is a key guy to the Magic
Time to get that finger bling-bling
Don't mind my spelling. I'm a Typo Master.
Barnes, Pietrus and Redick each bring something different
and generally play about the same amout of time. If Barnes cannot be effective then JJ and Mickael will each have to step up their time. The Barne’s advantage, though, is his rebounding. If Matt can’t play then Lewis will have to become more aggressive on the defensive boards.
"There are two ways to argue with a woman, and neither of them work."; Carlos Boozer
I'll tell ya about the Magic It'll free your soul but it's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock n roll
The only way to stop LeBron is Smith and Wesson, but even that's a double team.
by NC Magic Fan on May 17, 2010 12:26 PM EDT reply actions
JJ started all seven games in this series last year
and that worked out OK. Hey, the Magic have the deepest bench in the league – now’s the time to use it, when one of your starters can’t give 100%. Barnes’ back settles down? Put him back in. Till then, Redick can handle it.
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Yes.
but ONLY while Barnes is hurt. I’d like to see Barnes get more minutes overall. I think he sits for far too many minutes in the second half. I know it’s SVG’s philosophy to close with Redick or mainly MP lately.. but I feel like we are missing that extra piece not only on D, but on offense with the extra cutter.
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by magicbasketballonline on May 17, 2010 1:00 PM EDT reply actions
We’ll need a good dose of everybody in this series. I still want to see bass and baby go at it some so we can have more d12 and gortat together when they are big. We need barnes tough minutes as well as peeps and jj. We need to wear them out, run them, pick, pick, pick them until they are worn out. Old guys can win a sprint or 2 but we’ll close them in 6 games.
Dwight- wide base, catch and chin, pump fake, power step, pump fake, shoot, slam or go to the line to finish 3 point play. You are so much quicker than them that you’re on your 3rd move while they are still reacting to your first move. Slow down and pump fake these guys down to the 5th string defender or burn them on weak side all day.
by shaq O'flopapanick on May 17, 2010 1:01 PM EDT reply actions
Side note:
Can we petition to outlaw the posting of pictures of Matt Barnes in wifebeaters?
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by magicbasketballonline on May 17, 2010 1:09 PM EDT reply actions
awe his back give me a break.
man up. imo i think the change of matt on ray and vince on paul was the problem.stick with what won 3 out of 4 games in the regular season. it worked. i still think the magic will win it in 6.
I assume you've never had back spasms.
Matt played with injuries all year. Sharp pains in your back limit everything you’ll do on the court.
I love LeBron. No really, I love Jameer.
I said "Not sure"
Because I’m not the team doctor. But, I’d rather have Barnes run through a physical practice instead of have him sit out so Stan can really see if it will continue to be an issue tomorrow. If it is, then yes, Redick should get the nod. If not, then Barnes is still valuable. But if he can’t move, he’ll prove to be a liability again (can’t take another -14 in 19 minutes played).
The less publicized issue was Pietrus had a stinker as well, at least offensively.
I love LeBron. No really, I love Jameer.
What?
I know Allen got where he wanted, and if he continues to do so, an active Redick might be a good idea, but I am more concerned with Pierce scoring 22 points on 8 shots rather than Allen scoring 25 points on 16 shots, but that is just me. Besides that, the fact that Howard and Lewis basically called into work meant we were losing this game.
If Barnes can play, he should start
He’s been our starter since January and he shouldn’t be demoted because of one bad game. Benching him would only hurt his confidence.
That said, we should have Barnes on a short leash, because Redick seems to be the better defender against Allen (for now).
by gift of the magi on May 17, 2010 1:21 PM EDT reply actions
O
"It's all part of the plan." Jeff Moorad and The Joker in the Dark Knight.
"Just because you went to the Finals last year, you can’t go out on the floor and expect teams to lay down. We got no heart. You can only make so many excuses. Everybody has to come and play hard, not just one or two guys."-Matt Barnes
I hit the wrong button, my bad.
But I’m not sure about Barnes. Changing the starting lineup this late in the season could mess things up. I would actually keep Barnes in the lineup and give him a few minutes and if Allen blows by him, then put in JJ. He would be on a “short leash”.
"It's all part of the plan." Jeff Moorad and The Joker in the Dark Knight.
"Just because you went to the Finals last year, you can’t go out on the floor and expect teams to lay down. We got no heart. You can only make so many excuses. Everybody has to come and play hard, not just one or two guys."-Matt Barnes
We are STILL a CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM!!!!!( no need for a knee-jerk reaction) to the A. 1st loss since April 3rd. B. The first loss of the 2010 playoffs..C. A pretty bad shooting night for most of the TEAM not named Vince. This actually might have been just what the doctor ordered…..an early loss, it might have awaken the TRUE … Orlando Magic. Regardless, we are still the same TEAM we were b4 the loss, it’s OK , this will surely be an eyeopener…GO MAGIC!!!!!
It's not a knee jerk reaction, Barnes isn't close to 100% and Redick matches up well with Allen.
The real "Masters of Panic" are commenting on this blog.
by ben_gleicher on May 17, 2010 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions
No
Even though JJ does play well against the Cs.
"Where do you go from here, Dion?" "I go to Toronto."
Spreading that Calgary Flames, Montreal Expos, The U, and Orlando Magic love.
I don't see a a huge issue with resting Barnes all together until his back is good to go.
Against Boston, there is no dropoff going with Vince/Redick/Pietrus instead of Vince/Matt/Pietrus. No one is better at running around screens on this team than Redick, and no one runs around more screens than Ray Allen.
I’d rather take my chances with Barnes resting and J.J. picking up the slack. Pierce is going to get his no matter what. I rather have Barnes good to go next series against Kobe or Jason Richardson.
The real "Masters of Panic" are commenting on this blog.
The only issue I see to sitting Barnes completely is you're down to 3 wing players
Carter, JJ, and Peaches become the only SG/SF players, unless we want to do a Twin Midgets backcourt of Jameer and J-Will or move Rashard back to the 3 for the first time in years. Any of those decisions (3 wings, twin midgets, or Rashard) will bring their own problems.
Honor is no substitute for victory.
Those three guys
Should be able to take the wing minutes between them. Start Redick and Carter, bring Pietrus off the bench for one of them, then the rested one off the bench for the other. Carter can play 40 minutes and Redick and Pietrus can split the other 56 between them – say 30 for Redick and 26 for Pietrus.
by eltharion_doa on May 17, 2010 3:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, but I’m also thinking about potential foul issues – that’s only 4 fouls in the first before you start worrying (2 on player A and 1 on B and C), 7 in the first half (3, 2, and 2)…I know we’re not usually a high fouling team, but I’d feel more comfortable with 4 players (3 SG/SF and 1 SF) than 3 (all SG/SF).
I guess I’d be willing to go along with benching Barnes, but still have him dressed in case of foul problems. I’m just not sure what effect it would have mentally, if Barnes would be able to come off the bench when he wasn’t expecting to play at all.
Honor is no substitute for victory.
If Stan is up-front with him and Barnes is willing to accept that, it should be fine.
I love LeBron. No really, I love Jameer.
Well
Hopefully his back isn’t so bad that he has to park it completely, and he can play ten or fifteen in relief off the bench.
by eltharion_doa on May 18, 2010 2:57 AM EDT up reply actions
Can I have....
A start Barnes but bench MP button? Guy was awful yesterday and Barnes just said on the SVP show on ESPN radio that his back is fine, but b/c he hasn’t really ran since game 4, he felt a little winded. I think him with fresher legs and JJ would be a better combo than Barnes/MP and JJ or even JJ starting. I also do like the Twin Towers line up at times, mainly because when we need stops or boards, it makes it a more formidable front line, and it isn’t like KG has the foot speed to blow by Dwight or even The Hammer. Hell, Shard can take KG off the dribble.
All in all, the C’s played 1 of their best games thus far defensively, and the Magic played really bad in 3 major categories for them. They shot poorly from 3, Dwight shot poorly from the field, and they turned the ball over a TON. Throw in that they weren’t attacking the rim consistently until they started to make their run in the 4th, and you get a losing outcome when you play a tough Defensive minded team. and they still had a chance to win it if Shard could have knocked in 1 of those late treys.
Don't kid yourself, man
There was absolutely nothing unusual about that game for the Celtics defensively. 85-95 points is about what we can expect in this series from our offense.
by eltharion_doa on May 17, 2010 3:05 PM EDT up reply actions
I had to put that here too but : What about that amazing play by Jameer and VC with that free throw !!!!!!!!!
nobody talked about that !
Time to get that finger bling-bling
Don't mind my spelling. I'm a Typo Master.
Highlight of the game!
How the he double hockey sticks to you think of, design, plan and perfectly execute that play.
"There are two ways to argue with a woman, and neither of them work."; Carlos Boozer
I'll tell ya about the Magic It'll free your soul but it's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock n roll
The only way to stop LeBron is Smith and Wesson, but even that's a double team.
by NC Magic Fan on May 17, 2010 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions
Give Marcin his due as well
If Gortat didn’t drag Rasheed to the other side of the lane, that play wouldn’t be possible.
Even though the Hippopotamus lacks a stinger for a tail, a truly wise man would rather be sat on by a bee. ~ Banacek
Hello from a Celtics fan.
If I were you, this is a no brainer. Redick was great yesterday.
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by bestbostonsports on May 17, 2010 3:10 PM EDT reply actions
I would start Barnes on Pierce instead, he will physically bother him, and if he’s inefficient again, you go to JJ/MP even sooner and longer.
by derekk on May 17, 2010 4:01 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I'd Start JJ
He played sound defense yesterday, and made plays all over the court in the second half. I’d reward his play with a start on tuesday. Even if he doesn’t perform the same, I think he’d play at the same level as Barnes anyway.
Can’t hurt. All I’m sayin
If hip hop is dead, then it happened the day that Dilla died.
-Akrobatik
Redick Interview with Bill Simmons
Did everyone see the JJ interview on B.S. Report? 30’ of solid JJ-ness. Some good basketball content here.
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/player?rd=1#/podcenter/?id=5195538&autoplay=1&callsign=ESPNRADIO
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