Last year I can think of some times that we were abused by large guards - particularly in one game vs. Orlando. This year, even in all of our losses, I can't think of a time where the issue of size in the backcourt caused us problems. I'm not saying that we haven't been outplayed in the backcourt at times, just that guard post-ups haven't been the culprit. This brings me to the question of why not start Cuttino, Francis and Anderson like has been suggested quite a few times. If size doesn't matter (I'm sure there are some of us who can agree on that) then why not.
I know, it sounds good but without picking up Mack or someone, wouldn't we have no bench as far as guards?
Our Bench is weak. I think when Massenburg gets back we should let him start and let barkley come off the bench with Mobley.
I guess my own "The Visionaries" reply to my stream of consciousness post is: Why would we start a lineup that isn't going to be our best possible lineup in the future. If there is ONE team out there that we could never beat because of serious size-matchup problems then why should our players be practicing in a system that won't ultimately work. I guess my revised post is: Can Anderson match up with the best SF's in the league defensively and can Cuttino match up with the best two guards in the league defensively. I have my opinions about Cuttino which I don't think matter at this time, but I really don't know about Anderson and how he would fair against some big guys.
I've wondered about Shandon and the bigger small forwards, as well as Mobley and the bigger guards. As far as Shandon is concerned, I think we have to look at it this way: Even if Shandon is undersized going up against some small forwards, he probably will still do a better job defensively than Walt. Shandon does a better job than Mobley on shooting guards, but I think Mobley/Anderson is still better defensively than Anderson/Williams. If we signed Mack then I say move Shandon over to small forward and start Mobley at shooting guard. Mack would give us a legitimate guard to come off the bench, without which I don't think we can afford to move Mobley into the starting five. When we face the teams with the bigger forwards, play Carlos Rogers a little more at small forward (I think that might be a good idea tonight as the Rockets play the Clippers). Odom will definately give Williams trouble, he will probably give Anderson trouble because of size, so why not give Carlos a shot at guarding him?
