# SVG on Shard suspension: 'There's always a silver lining'



## Blue (Jun 21, 2007)

> Even before this suspension was announced, Van Gundy said he would consider starting free-agent signee Brandon Bass at power forward and moving Lewis to the starting small-forward spot.
> 
> *Now, with Lewis out, the Magic almost certainly will start Bass at the 4 and either Mickael Pietrus or Matt Barnes at the 3. That means the Magic could have as many as three players -- Bass, Barnes and shooting guard Vince Carter -- in the starting lineup on opening night who weren't a part of the team that reached the NBA Finals.*
> 
> ...


It should be interesting to see how this will play out. I dont know if the writer is just speculating on who _HE_ thinks will start when he says, 'it will almost certainly' be Bass, but I definitely hope he is right.... Either way, whoever starts, this situation will at least be a good look at what some of these new guys can do when the spotlight is on them and when what kind of roles they can handle. I think VC can pick up some of the scoring slack for the 1st few games, and when Shard comes back things should only get easier for him. Guy's like Barnes and Pietrus are capable starters of holding down the other wing spot and they can fill it up too. 

Even w/o Shard, we're still a good team so the main thing here will be who stands out between Gortat/Bass/Anderson at the PF position next to Dwight. I think those 3 will really have a chance to develop and potentially earn alot of future PT from this.


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