Ryan the Magic Fan 253 Report post Posted February 12, 2011 I think J Rich should be given more credit. He's so much faster than Carter in transition and does so much more. Both suck defensively equally. He most definitely is faster in transition and he does get a lot more fast break buckets. Which makes the fact that he is shooting worse then Carter and averaging less points while taking even more shots from 3 even more disturbing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Hi-Top 791 Report post Posted February 12, 2011 Everyone *****ed about Carter, but he was an efficient scorer. He just seemed to struggle in big games. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KillingInTheNameOf 63 Report post Posted February 12, 2011 I think you need to get your eyes checked big time. Here are the last 7 games production by opponents starting 4's, and then their normal production. Zach Randolph- 10 pts 9 rbs on 36% FG. He averages: 20 pts 13 rbs on 48% Shooting. Chris Bosh- 13 pts 6 rbs on 25% FG. He averages: 18 pts 8 rbs on 49% shooting. Rashard Lewis- 14 pts 8 rbs on 60% FG. He averages 12 pts 5 rbs on 44% shooting. Kevin Garnett- 16 pts 9 rbs on 62% FG. He averages 15 pts 9 rbs on 52% shooting. Blake Griffin- 10 pts 12 rbs on 33% FG. He averages 22 pts 12 rbs on 51% shooting. Elton Brand- 12 pts 5 rbs on 38% FG. He averages 15 pts 9 rbs on 52% shooting. David West- 17 pts 17 rbs on 46% FG. He averages 19 pts 8 rbs on 50% shooting. Now lets also remember that everyone on that list is either a former or current all star, and all but two of them are still putting up all star capable numbers (3 if you count KG but he is a current all star as well). With the exception of a good game by Rashard, none of them out performed their season average. Only shard and kg were able too actually shoot better from the field then there average, and only Shard and West beat there rebounding average. Lets also keep in mind that Brandon Bass, the starting power forward and best individual defender the Magic have at that position was gone for 6 out of 7 of those games and was hurt for most of the one he did play in. Long story short? The 4 position is just fine and dandy. Right I think you could make a pretty sound argument no position is a bigger liability on the defensive end for the Magic and that's saying a mouthful. The consistent need to double opposing 4's completely compromises the integrity of the Magic's D and it only goes downhill from there. Did you watch any of the games with the stats you just referenced? Dwight has been shading every player you just referenced minus Lewis and doubles the second an entry passer even looks to enter the ball into the post virtually the entire game and SVG's been sending wings on occassion to mix it up. If the defense at the 4 was fine and dandy, there would be no need to double, and surrender wide open looks all night long like Willie Green benefited from last night. Had Eric Gordon played in the LAC game, Magic probably would have gotten scorched in that game as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThisIsTheYear 241 Report post Posted February 12, 2011 It's a shame we can't combine Ryan's team defense with Bass' man-to-man defense. *sigh*... The crux of our problem is our perimeter defense, bar-none. When you're a liability defensively against the likes of Willie Green and Jarrett Jack, you've got problems. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Butterfly 3 Report post Posted February 12, 2011 I have read in different posts that Larry Brown is a bad coach; Pat Riley sucks, and Doc Rivers is a bad coach, and that Van Gundy is a great coach, and yet Brown, Riley and Rivers have rings. How many rings does SVG have? I don't know much at all about Jerry Sloan but he might be a good option- I don't know. Anyway the point is really moot- after hearing about his press conference last night, I wouldn't be suprised, if wil be spending more time with his family. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThisIsTheYear 241 Report post Posted February 12, 2011 I have read in different posts that Larry Brown is a bad coach; Pat Riley sucks, and Doc Rivers is a bad coach, and that Van Gundy is a great coach, and yet Brown, Riley and Rivers have rings. How many rings does SVG have? Are you aware of what context is? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Norman 49 Report post Posted February 13, 2011 Arenas-I mean are you kidding me!? If he's hurt then sit him the hell on the bench for a whole month so he's ready for the playoffs instead of playing him in the last minutes of a blow out loss. If he's not hurt then hell I say put Duhon the freak in. At least Duhon attempts to play defense on people. Our offense really cant get any worse and Arenas is providing nothing for the Magic right now currently. I was actually thinking the same thing yesterday. Money aside if he looks like he is hurt then rest him till he gets better and make sure he will get better. He might not need surgery or anything else but physical therapy and work with the muscles around the knee could do wonders. We have 3 pg's so there is no need to play arenas every single game if he is not healthy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BMP 424 Report post Posted February 13, 2011 Ryan, not sure if I agree with you at all about Howard. . . yes, he hasn't gotten many blocks because he's trying to avoid foul trouble and making sure we get to see Malik Allen for as little as possible, but to say he hasn't been even a top 5 defender? He has been great on the perimeter and has had to cover the paint like he normally covers as well as worked even harder doubling, getting back to his man, rebounding, etc, etc. I think he has done a great job changing shots for the most part, as well as teams game planning to keep the ball away from him. While he has been less aggressive blocking shots, I think he has made up for it rebounding the ball. He averaged 14.2 rbs a game in December (36 minutes a game), 14.7rbs in January (38 minutes) and has so far averaged 16.3 rbs in the 6 games of February (41.3mpg). 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan the Magic Fan 253 Report post Posted February 13, 2011 Ryan, not sure if I agree with you at all about Howard. . . yes, he hasn't gotten many blocks because he's trying to avoid foul trouble and making sure we get to see Malik Allen for as little as possible, but to say he hasn't been even a top 5 defender? He has been great on the perimeter and has had to cover the paint like he normally covers as well as worked even harder doubling, getting back to his man, rebounding, etc, etc. I think he has done a great job changing shots for the most part, as well as teams game planning to keep the ball away from him. While he has been less aggressive blocking shots, I think he has made up for it rebounding the ball. He averaged 14.2 rbs a game in December (36 minutes a game), 14.7rbs in January (38 minutes) and has so far averaged 16.3 rbs in the 6 games of February (41.3mpg). Saying not top-5 is overboard. He's definitely still a top 5 defensive player so I spoke a little to quickly so far. But the intimidation factor that he provided is now gone. People are attacking more then ever and he is letting them go by. Sure it's nice cause he's now getting more minutes and we need him too with Gortat gone, but those more minutes mean nothing if were not getting Howards most important contribution to this team, which is his fantastic help d. For that reason I'd say he is not the DPOY unless things change. I'd hand it to Bogut first. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Norman 49 Report post Posted February 13, 2011 Saying not top-5 is overboard. He's definitely still a top 5 defensive player so I spoke a little to quickly so far. But the intimidation factor that he provided is now gone. People are attacking more then ever and he is letting them go by. Sure it's nice cause he's now getting more minutes and we need him too with Gortat gone, but those more minutes mean nothing if were not getting Howards most important contribution to this team, which is his fantastic help d. For that reason I'd say he is not the DPOY unless things change. I'd hand it to Bogut first. The reason lies in in the other players, as everyone know we are slow on rotations atm so Howard has had to go help on situations he didn't have to before and that opens lines because howard is not in optimal position anymore. I would guess there is lack of trust in defence right now. Howard cant trust his teammates as much as he would like to. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThisIsTheYear 241 Report post Posted February 13, 2011 Dwight's DPOY-level defense doesn't look as apparent because of how much worse our perimeter defense has become. Before, our guys would funnel their guy into Dwight, who would send the ball into the rafters. Now, with little to no resistance, the opponent is able to either get a much cleaner look at the rim or feed the ball to another teammate once he breaks the defense down. If not for Dwight, we're likely dead last in the league in points allowed. If that's not DPOY-level defense, I don't know what is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan the Magic Fan 253 Report post Posted February 13, 2011 Right I think you could make a pretty sound argument no position is a bigger liability on the defensive end for the Magic and that's saying a mouthful. The consistent need to double opposing 4's completely compromises the integrity of the Magic's D and it only goes downhill from there. Did you watch any of the games with the stats you just referenced? Dwight has been shading every player you just referenced minus Lewis and doubles the second an entry passer even looks to enter the ball into the post virtually the entire game and SVG's been sending wings on occassion to mix it up. If the defense at the 4 was fine and dandy, there would be no need to double, and surrender wide open looks all night long like Willie Green benefited from last night. Had Eric Gordon played in the LAC game, Magic probably would have gotten scorched in that game as well. Watched every single one of them. My question is how many Magic games have you watched in the past 3 years. Dwight shades Everyone on the court to cover up for the entire teams defense. Not just 4's, but 1's, 2's, and 3's as well. Whoever on the opposing team has the ball Dwight automatically shifts to that side of the court. It only looks more obvious with powerforwards because they play closer to the basket. To say that the 4 position is the biggest liability on defense on the Magic is laughable at best and insanity at worst, especially when you look at what perimeter players have done off the dribble to us in recent games. Take a look at what perimeter players have done to the Magic in the last 7 games. Grizzlies Mike Conely: 26 pts on 64% // Sam Young: 10 pts on 55% Heat Lebron James: 51 pts on 68% // Dwayne Wade: 14 pts on 41% Wizards John Wall: 14 pts on 41% // Nick Young: 20 pts on 35% Celtics Rajon Rondo: 26 pts on 60% // Ray Allen: 11 pts on 44% Clippers Baron Davis: 25 pts on 50% // Randy Foye: 7 pts on 13% Sixers Jodie Meeks: 17 pts on 38% // Iggy: 21 pts on 53% Hornets Chris Paul: 15 pts on 36% // Green: 24 pts on 50 % Now you can try to say that all of those perimeter players (with the exception of Randy Foye) having strong double digit scoring nights on solid shooting is really all the powerforwards fault but then your pretty much showing how little you know about basketball. Dwight has to shade those players too and yet they are still scoring. So I repeat what I said. The power forward is fine and dandy. The perimeter is the problem. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
