Our two worst mismatches in the league are Spoon vs. Marion and Spoon vs. Dirk. I know JVg wouldn't do it, but I would love to see Padgett or Bowan start the last two games at the 4. I think they will have to come up big against Dirk. I can't see Spoon even being able to do anything unless he gets quick double help.
JVG won't start Padget or Bowen just to get them minutes. JVG will play to win the games. If that means playing Spoon, then thats what he'll do.
Ultimately, I think Juwon Howard's injury will be what kills us this season. I think with him, we would have a legitimate shot at the Finals. Without him, we're playing 4 on 5. If Bowen is in the game, it's 4 on 5 on offense. If Padgett is in the game, it's 4 on 5 on defense. And if it's Spoon, it's 4 on 5 on both ends of the court.
And that is the addition that will likely take us to the finals next year. But for now, miracles still happen. But, admittedly, Spoon against Dirk, well that is just wrong.
I don't think you guys are giving Spoon enough credit. The man can move his feet deceptively quick. I still remember seeing him stepping out against guards last year, and on Saturday he stepped out against Boykins. He has also done pretty well against other quick forwards like KG and Duncan. I think Spoon can at least do as well as Padgett or Bowen.
JVG might start Bowen at 4. Nobody can guard Dirk. You put Juwan there, it's still a mismatch. Bowen might be our best bet against Dirk anyways. If we can slow down Dirk, we solve 50% of the Mavs.
ill say this.. i dont mind him playing and trying to defend as best as he can..but please dont shoot the ball!
JVG started Bowen against Marion the last time the Rockets played the Suns. From what I remember, Bowen made some very positive plays. Bowen is no Robert Horry, or Chucky Brown for that matter, but the move would be reminiscent of those playoff series against the Suns and Spurs during the 95 campaign. Not a bad move at that.
maybe we should bring back Chucky Brown to stop all the big name PF in the playoffs.... Lets have a little faith in the playoffs for our unknown and hardly used PF's since they have nothing to loose and probably have everyone making fun of them they are going to step up and show us that they can defend them and not to be made fun of. We didn't think Chucky could hold Barkley back then but it worked =) At least we are all hoping and all.
Spoon has to hit wide-open midrange shots and that's been a problem. Dirk is going to score big, but both Spoon and Padgett are going to need to score to off-set him somewhat. Spoon has been missing and passing up shots since Howard went down and I've been wondering what is wrong with him - he's made those shots throughout his career. I don't have a problem with his hustle or effort, but him starting seems to bog our offense down and that's more of a worry than what Dirk will do to anyone we put on him. This is tough. I, like everyone else, was happy to get rid of MoT's contract but the looks Spoon is getting from 12-15 feet are ridiculous. MoT or Kenny Thomas would be in heaven with the way teams are defending us. Padgett, to me is generally on or off, but I like the offensive flow seems better when he's in the game. Our problems at the 4 are both defensive and offensive. We all know our guards neet to hit, but offensive production at the 4 needs to be steady. If we get past Dallas, I expect to see Deke and Yao on the court for significant minutes unless Spoon really picks it up. Because as bad as our PF situation has been for awhile, right now I see it as rock bottom.
Bowen has actually shown an ability to make an open jumper, especially from the baseline. He's one of the better guys at getting the ball to Ming, and has been know to cut to the basket and get a layup off a Yao feed. So I wouldn't say it's 4 on 5. Maybe 4 and 2/3 on 5. Most importantly he plays positional defense on the perimeter better than anyone on the team. You heard me. Even better than T-mac who reaches in too much for steals. Granted Bowen doesn't have the lateral movement to guard the guys that Wes usually takes, but Rybo's technique is absolutely perfect. Bowen doesn't look like he has much lateral quickness, but he does seem to stay in front of the guys that he's guarding. He never falls for pump-fakes and he always hounds the offensive player with a darting hand in his face. Bowen will be able to hang with Dirk on the outside about as well as anybody. But Dirk has developed a postup game in the past couple seasons, and he'd be a handful for RB in the pivot. But I expect that if Bowen can contain Dirk's perimeter game, so that Dirk will adjust to playing in the post, JVG will adjust by sending constant double-teams. Needless to say, if we end up playing the Mavs, it'll be an interesting series.
I agree. In the games that I saw of Dallas this year, the smaller, quicker defenders actually gave him the worst time because they would force him to put the ball on the floor and take it inside. Wilkens was giving him fits when he was matched up with him against Seattle. I would much rather see Dirk having to dribble and take contested shots in the paint where Deke and Yao are there as a deterrant than to have wide open looks from outside where he is just murder. Bowen is the kind of defender who will force Dirk to dribble and at least move in to the free throw line or further and help negate his deadly outside shooting. Dirk is just not as good in the paint as he is from outside. He's not as good a passer and he loses body control if he has to dribble and move a lot. It's the only possible chance we have to contain him. Funnel him to Deke and Yao and make him throw it to Damp or Bradley.
Now you've gone waaaaaaay too far. If Braggs were such a defensive beast, we wouldn't have cut him last year, and we would have picked him up sooner this year. He showed some rebounding skills in his short stint with us, but there is no way anyone can make the statement that he is better defensively than Spoon. First of all, we haven't even seen him play enough to make that claim. Secondly, at least Spoon is a veteran who will get away with more contact than some unknown journeyman barely struggling to stay in the NBA. I don't know where all this Spoon hate came from. Yes, he's short and fat. Yes, he doesn't have a consistent shot. But if there's anything he can still do, it's rebound, and play defense. I'm not saying that we should play him 35 minutes a game. I just think he is the best option against Dirk. As soon as we put Bowen or Padgett on Dirk, he will start posting up all day long. He'll probably wildly dropstep past his man, only to get BS fouls called on our centers. At least Spoon will be able to force him to play a more perimeter oriented game.
Spoon is too slow to keep up with Nowitzki. Maybe Weatherspoon can play decent defense when the person he is guarding is trying to post him up since he has a big body but Dirk moves alot and shoots alot of outside shots. I dont think that Spoon would be able to follow him for a long time.
