I don't get what the big deal is. In the playoffs two years ago, TMac had the ball all the time. That's what we want. He's our best passer and playmaker. He's got a good post game, but the main post threat will obviously be Yao, and Wells can post as well. Even if TMac doesn't bring the ball up to save some energy, Alston can bring it up and hand it to him to start the offense. If his back is going to go, it's going to go whether he is playing 1 or 2 or 3 or 4.
If the game is about matchups why do we have to have a traditional shrimp at pg? Alot of teams have shrimps at center but have dictated the game with the versatility of their shorter center. Lets just wait and see how this pans out before we call it crazy, defensively Tmac will switch and if we can force pg's to take ill advised shots, then what is the harm. Its not like many of these guys can shoot consistently anyway.
The point is this...tmac is our unofficial point guard anyway. he is the primary ball handler, he doest have to bring the ball up the court, the point guard gives it to him when theyre set and he makes things happen. The only reason why JVG is officially calling him a point guard is for one of two reasons. a) he hates rafer alston b) hes trying to challenge rafer by publicly stating that he sucks
I possibly could see a lineup of Head Bonzi McGrady Battier Yao I doubt they mean he plays actual PG positon(like on a roster lineup they list T-MAC at PG). It's a bit too confusing. I think they mean a primary ball handler but'll still start at the 3. That lineup would be sick with shooters and defenders with slashers...
OFFENSE/DEFENSE *T-Mac as point foward/SF on D *Head/VSpan/JL3 at off guard/PG on D *Battier at SF/PF on D *Wells/Snyder at PF/SG on D *Yao at C Let her rip. I am far more positive about Howard being an important contributor than most around here, but we are much better with the extra shooter/quickness in for him in the above line-up. Having excellent rebounding swingmen like Tmac and Bonzi (or Snyder) allows us to get away with a non-traditional power forward. Around Tmac and Yao we want guys who can't hit the 3 and/or cut to the hole with great effectiveness versus over rotations. Anyone who excells at both (likely candidates for the dual threat are Battier, Snyder, Head, JL3) is extra valuable.
Rafer is going to get significant minutes this year (at least 25-35 per game). And when he is in, the only spot he can play is point so obviosly Tmac wont get a ton of minutes at point. But i do think playing him some at the 1 when Rafer is on the bench will help this team. He is steady with the ball, makes great decisions and passes, and of course can score if need be. Also with him at the 1 and bonzi at the 2, we have two great rebounding guards. That means maybe Novak can get some playing time with this unit at the 3, and his poor rebounding wont be a huge problem, and he gives Tmac the great shooter to kick it out to when he drives.
Tmac has played "point" a lot in the past for us already. The only thing that would be different, and make it more than a "double Tmac at the top of the key so he will harmlessly pass it off", is that we can have shooters on the floor to take advantage. We'll see.
Why don't we stop worrying about who "plays the 1," "plays the 2," etc., and start worrying about fielding a lineup of guys that can guard 3 positions apiece. That's what the Suns do. Draw all the friggin' lineups you want, but the fact is, you will get pick-and-rolled, and your best defense is to have guys out there who can switch from big to small or vice versa and still make the stop. McGrady can guard 4 positions. Battier can guard 3. Wells can guard 3. Snyder can guard 3. Now we're talking.
Did I see "Suns" and "defense" and "stops" in the same paragraph? I grant you the interachangable part switching formula defense has worked very well for Detroit over the last 3 years. You do need mobile bigs, and big 1s and 2s-we have a lot of the pieces now (Tmac, SB, Wells, maybe KS, CH, and LH & VS as 1s).
I think it's great that TMac would play the point. On offense, of course. Defense? No. With TMac as point forward, you make Yao the primary offensive weapon, as he should be. You give Luther Head a more solid role, because he can nominally play the "1" and be in there for 3 point shooting. You keep defenses guessing. TMac gets less wear and tear (fingers crossed). And we might have a better excuse to trade some of our excess. Don't know who might want Rafer (good point guard, bad shooter) or Juwan (more contract than game at this point). But we do have options.
LOL. Yeah, I should have cited the Pistons. Suns actually came to mind because those guys are almost completely interchangeable. Instead of Yao and 4 chameleons, they play Nash and 4 chameleons.
T-Mac at PG? I do not think it will work well. Swingman is the most suitable position for him. Many players can play at least two positions, including Battier, Wells, Hayes, Syner... Hope that JVG can make good arrangements. With so many good players, he will have no more excuses if the team cannot achieve sth.
I honestly think Tmac at PG is going to compromise his ability to score I think Rafer is good enough to distribute the ball when he is off maybe tmac should get more touches but thats the onlytime,
Assuming Rafer does a decent job on defense, I think he will still get a majority of the minutes at PG. I like that JVG is considering Tmac at 1 in certain situations. We will cause so many mismatches in that set, however I don't see anyone in that lineup being able to guard PG's although no one in the league can guard PG's effectively anyways.
V-Span is also slasher. That is my favorite style as well. I am excited to see him put his head down and drive to the hole a la Clyde!
this is not going to be anything dramatic, its just when rafer sits, in certain matchups, tmac will take PG duties on offense so we can utilize all of our new weapons while forcing teams to take a chance on letting tmac go one-on-one. T-mac playing PG will take LESS energy because he isn't there to score, he is there to attract defenses so everyone else can score when they double t-mac. We would force the other team to try to match up with us because I doubt they would leave a PG to cover tmac, if they do bring a big gaurd to cover tmac then it would obviously be a second stringer that tmac could abuse.
when i look at that list, the only PF's i see giving Battier absolute fits are Duncan (mostly a center now), Brand and a healthy Amare. okay, Dirk owns Battier, but didn't T-Mac specifically mention Dallas and Phoenix when describing Battier as a part-time 4? also, it looks like the PF position has weakened considerably in the last few years considering a large drop-off after Brand (number 4). i think Jermaine O'neal should be ranked higher though. anyway, all things considered, Juhow has no business starting. heck, i'd even rather have Wells as a starting PF.
Battier will be very good defending against Dirk this year, write it down. Van Gundy knows how to gameplan against Dirk. Van Gundy, just like Riley did in the playoffs, gets a defender up in Dirk's face out on the perimeter and forces him to put the ball on the floor. Then he brings over a second defender to force Dirk to pick the ball up and either shoot or pass. They weren't doing that in Memphis. The problem wasn't Battier, it was Memphis' scheme. Brand, Duncan, and Amare are the only serious defensive mismatches. And pray tell me who does match up with them??? Battier will defend all of those guys better than Juwan. BTW, this is why I am an advocate of a trade for a guy like Darius Miles (provided his knees checked out). IMO, Miles is the type of extremely long, agile athlete that you throw on the floor if you are looking to create defensive pressure. No, he won't be able to completely shut down Duncan, Garnett, and Brand but his skill set in combination with guys like Batt, TMac, Snyder, Bonzi, and Yao would give those teams fits.
