# Who starts at the 4?



## WillFlight! (Jul 11, 2009)

I assume that Nelson and VC are the backcourt, Howard is the center and Lewis moves back to the 3 spot. Who starts between Bass and Anderson? Anderson stretches the defense bettter than Bass, but Bass is grittier than Anderson...thoughts?


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## Kidd (Jul 2, 2009)

Is Anderson really ready to take on a starting role?

If Shard does move back to the 3, Bass will most probably be the starting 4.


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## Adam (Jan 28, 2003)

Rashard Lewis is not a small forward


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## WillFlight! (Jul 11, 2009)

The '93 Heat said:


> Rashard Lewis is not a small forward


So what are you trying to say?


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## Kidd (Jul 2, 2009)

Hmm, that Rashard Lewis is not a small forward?


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## c_dog (Sep 15, 2002)

i think magic would be best sticking with shard at the 4 and start their best players. that means pietrus should start at the 3 and bass comes off the bench for shard. 5 is backed by gortat, 2/3 backed by barnes.


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## ScottVdub (Jul 9, 2002)

The '93 Heat said:


> Rashard Lewis is not a small forward


He looks and plays like a small forward to me.


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## Adam (Jan 28, 2003)

He only played 3% of his minutes at small forward last year. He is also 6' 10" and doesn't have the athleticism to play small forward.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

I figured the line-up was pretty set.

PG Jameer (seemingly healthy and ready to go)
SG VC
SF Barnes (has started 100 games in the last 3 years)
PF Rashard (playing his natural position)
C Dwight
--------------------------
PG AJ (unless Jason Williams is ready to take this role)
SG JJ (he showed a tenacity on the defense end in the playoffs that will get him minutes)
SF Pietrus (thrives in a 6th man role)
PF Bass (spot-starter at best with 5 total starts in his career)
C Gortat (back in his usual role)
--------------------------
11th Man will be Ryan Anderson.
12th Man will be the 3rd PG, either Williams, AJ, or Ty Lue.

It doesn't get much more set than that. I assume Bass will start the first 10 games during Lewis' suspension, but from then on the rotation will be consistent. If they go with a 9-man during the playoffs, Reddick would likely be the odd man out. In anyone gets hurt, they have good depth all around.


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## HB (May 1, 2004)

^That's the best lineup, but quite frankly if this team wanted to destroy teams on the offense, put Ryan Anderson in there. That guy is the best shooter on the team.


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## Blue (Jun 21, 2007)

The '93 Heat said:


> He only played 3% of his minutes at small forward last year. He is also 6' 10" and doesn't have the athleticism to play small forward.


He's definitely a small forward. He's played probably 75% of his career as a SF, so to say definitively that he's not is kind of odd. Only reason he gets away with being a full time 4 is because of who he plays next to(DHoward). He's definitely a combo forward tho, no question.


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## jericho (Jul 12, 2002)

The '93 Heat said:


> He only played 3% of his minutes at small forward last year. He is also 6' 10" and doesn't have the athleticism to play small forward.


He's played power forward the last couple seasons because the Magic didn't have a starter-quality legit power forward, and he worked better in that spot than Turkoglu. He played mostly SF in Seattle. I think they need to get him back to SF if at all possible. Honestly, he's a bit of a defensive liability at either forward spot, and it's fine to swing him between the two positions but they need to be hoping that Bass and/or Anderson can earn the starting nod. Ask the early '80s Nuggets what it's like to put two small forwards in the front court. You can score a lot of points, but so can your opponent.


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## Adam (Jan 28, 2003)

jericho said:


> He's played power forward the last couple seasons because the Magic didn't have a starter-quality legit power forward


They did. His name is Rashard Lewis and he made an all-star game playing that position.



> and he worked better in that spot than Turkoglu. He played mostly SF in Seattle.


He didn't play SF in Seattle better than he played PF in Orlando, so I would say your point is meaningless. He's a better PF than he ever was a SF and he only played that position because Radman (who easily could have been called the SF and is only arbitrarily called the PF of those teams) was less mobile. I would contend that Rashard was always the PF of those Seattle teams especially if you compare his role to the offense he plays in now for Orlando. Radman stayed out by the three point line and jacked up 3's while Rashard played on the block far more. Later personnel forced them to start Wilcox and Petro in order to get some value out of Petro and start the best 5 guys.



> I think they need to get him back to SF if at all possible.


That would be stupid. He's a disadvantage for every PF in the league and he's strong enough and mobile enough to guard every one of them. He was a +4.7 net PER at PF last year and he made the all-star game.



> Honestly, he's a bit of a defensive liability at either forward spot, and it's fine to swing him between the two positions but they need to be hoping that Bass and/or Anderson can earn the starting nod. Ask the early '80s Nuggets what it's like to put two small forwards in the front court. You can score a lot of points, but so can your opponent.


His opponents averaged a 14.2 PER (below 15) and had an eFG of 46.8% at a high percentage position! Your claims are not supported by any evidence whatsoever.

The Magic certainly do not need to start Rashard at the 3 and I was so loud in my first post because it's a joke to ask this question (who starts at the 4) when you have an all-star at that position! Not to mention that they have Matt Barnes and Pietrus to start at SF.


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## Blue (Jun 21, 2007)

Shard is a two time all-star, he's made the team at both spots. He has advantages and disadvantages playing at both positions it's hard to really say he cant do one or the other. If your of the philosophy not to tinker with works, then keeping shard at the 4 would be best. But if your of the philosophy of getting the best talent on the court as much as possible, then moving Shard to the 3 is a popular idea. It creates more time on the court for Ryan Anderson as opposed to JJ Redick, and theoretically should improve our rebounding and toughness. Only problem with starting Shard at the 3 is that his main advantage to post up smaller 3's, wont likely be practical with Dwight and Bass as well now, already getting alot of low post touches. I think I like him a litle better at the 4 too, but he'll probably see a good amount of time switching back and forth between the two this year imo.


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## Babir (Jan 10, 2005)

I hope Rashard plays most of his minutes at SF position this season with Bass at PF.


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