Krocket, I agree with you. T-Mac can play either the 2 or 3 on OFFENSE, but when it comes to D, I want him guarding the SF...meaning we need to get a taller 2 guard/SF. There is no rule that McGrady would have to guard whoever is covering him so therefor he could play the 2 or 3, then guard the SF on D. Whether he plays the 2 or 3 it really doesnt matter. The positions are basically the same, except the SF is "supposed" to be taller. He is going to light it up next year, whatever position he plays.
Unfortunately, they were handcuffed with how much defensive flexibility they had. The traded to get more defensive flexibility by acquiring Wesley. He can cover 1's, 2's, or 3's (he guarded LeBron). You just didn't have the talent defensively outside of TMac and arguably Wesley to match up with the quickness of a Dallas. Team defense saved us in that respect. Also, all this talk about 2's and 3's and how we cover them is moot. TMac has guarded at least 4 positions on the court. JVG said that he doesn't believe there's much difference between 2's and 3's, and that he can use them interchangeably. Our problem wasn't we didn't have the right defense in the right position - it was that we flat out didn't have the defensive studs. This gets me kind of excited thinking what JVG could do with more athletic, defensive-minded players.
Like many of you, I feel Tmac is best if he is the 3, having 2 others that can handle the ball and take the pressure off Tmac to bring it up court is huge. And defensively it is more advantageous for Tmac to guard the slower 3s and not chase around quicker 2s so he does expend so much energy and is fresher at the end of games. Ideally we need to upgrade Wesley's 2 guard position with someone that is taller, quicker. Darius Miles and Sprewell have been mentioned and they both fit the bill. Both can handle the ball well and both are quick defensively and both have solid height, especially Miles. If you could move Wesley for a S&T Sprewell or Wesley + 2006 1st rounder for Miles I would probably do it.
Since this is still going, I'll chime in again. I don't think it is so much the other teams giving us trouble matching up as it is us giving other team trouble matching up with us. BBall is mostly a game of matchups and the team we match up to the worst has always been Dallas because of their SF's and of course, Dirk. Anyway everyone was talking about picking a SG, "Cat" or others. I just thought I would think outside the box and consider some alternatives. ARTEST would be my ideal, that is a pipe dream.
krocket, It doesn't matter whether Tracy is listed as a 2 or a 3 b/c he is the primary ballhandler. We aren't going to get much out of a traditional PG unless T-Mac plays a little more without the ball. I'd like to see more of that...T-Mac coming off some screens, moving without the ball and rolling toward the basket, etc. But if it ain't broke don't fix it. All we really need at PG is a guy that looks to defer to Yao and T-Mac, and a devotee of he JVG defensive school of thought. Not much else. -P1st, S2nd
T-Mac will be our starting PF before he is our starting SG again, at least on permanent basis. Sure, he can be our SG if the need arises: injuries, matchups, etc. Otherwise, forget it. I say with the new-found range of Yao Ming, T-Mac and Yao should switch positions. I wouldn't mind seeing McGrady dishing out a pass to Yao for three.
I think you're right. The only difference might be the type of player(s) we are looking for to fill the left over spot. There are some big, fast SF's in the West, and we need to match up with them. If DW is faced with guarding a 6'6" plus SG then he is at a disadvantage. Anyway, it's just for talking purposes, I doubt very seriously that CD and JVG read this board to find who to draft or trade for and how to organize the Rox. When the only tool you have is a Hammer then every problem becomes a nail. We need more, different tools in order to solve different match-ups.
T-Mac is a natural 3....if you move him back to SG he will be playing out of position. That was one of the main reasons we made the trades to dump JJ and Boki so T-Mac could slide over and we pick up a few more guards.
Let's get it straight - T-Mac doesn't play PG, SF, or SG... He plays the TM. Great Players defy traditional categorization and can do everything. Hakeem could play like a guard at times, Jordon could play like a forward, Magic played center at times... If you could make 4 clones of TM, then you'd have your starting five.
This thread wasn't about which position TMac will play, well sort of. It is about which positions we try to fill this summer. We already have several 2's: JB, DW(our best trade bait), BS even, but we don't have any 3's behind TMac. To get a good one to come here they would probably want to start. If we could land a real long, quick, agile, fast, 3-shooting, passing, hopping, boarding 3, then should we pass him up just because TMac is the 3? That is the question. Answer: Hell, NO! TMac has been a 2 his whole carreer and can be a great one again. And the Rox are a better team.
That being said Mc Grady is a natural three when he plays perimeter defense he's very good but when he plays the three you see more steals shot blocking and help at the boards. We look for a two who is athletic but we may take another three as well whose athletic and make him play against two guards. Ex Shandon Anderson
Francisco Garcia would be nearly interchangable with TMac then. 6'7" - 190 Swingman with a great 3-point through the draft. Bobby Simmons 6'6" 228; Vladimir Radmanovic 6'10" 234; James Jones 6'8" 215; Luke Walton 6'8" 235; Gerald Wallace 6'7" 215 would all be able bodies, but they are forwards not shooting guards.
