Let me begin by saying I'm already on record in support of Small Ball.
Having the second unit commit to fast-break basketball is a creative and likely fruit-bearing idea.
But the more we see of Darko, the more one thing becomes clear.
The dude is huge, absolutely HUGE.
Even before his torso grew to its current gargantuan state, DraftExpress had Darko listed as taller with his shoes off than Dwight Howard with his shoes on. You know Dwight Howard, the guy who uses his impressive physique to push people around to get better position for layups, dunks and rebounds. Dwight also once described Darko as a "beast" of a player, and that was probably 50 pounds ago for Darko (and lookie here where the Laker legion is a wee bit concerned about Howard's stature when standing next to Gasol).
Let me make this easy.
If we like how Darko measures up against Dwight Howard, is there a reason we wouldn't let him go out there and push around the league's other traditional bigs(Bynum, Chandler, etc)? While Doc is clearly a tinkerer when it comes to playing around with his line-up, I can't think of a single instance in the Garnett Era when he's platooned a position, starting a bench player ahead of a starter for tactical reasons and not due to injury.
Might he make an exception this year, given KG's well-know reluctance to mix it up with muscle-bound centers in the post (especially if Doc, like KG, sees the risk of injury to Garnett rising with such match-ups)?
6 comments:
I think the chances are slim but I wouldn't say none. It would depend on how Darko plays. If he wows everyone, then yes I can see him starting against the mammoth centers.
And you are right. The guy is huge.
http://www.celticsblog.com/2012/10/4/3454490/celtics-beat-celtics-team-scrimmages-in-instanbul-darko-playing-with
Very interesting. Darko played with first team today as enforcer. Hmmmmmm
I'm in favor of Doc sitting Garnett out in one or the other of half the back-to-back's. Those starts are up for grabs. It would actually surprise me if Darko didn't rise above Collins and Melo in the pecking order at Center. I think Darko and Wilcox will split most of the center minutes in those games. Who starts, and who gets the 20-25 vs. the 25-30 minutes might depend upon the opposition. With four B2B in the first 12 days of the season, we might get some pretty immediate feedback on this.
Hmmm, make that four B2B's in the first 11 games (first 19 days).
Nov 2&3 Bucks, Wizards
9&10 76ers, Bucks
14&15 Jazz, Nets
17&18 Raptors, Pistons
Those last three sets are part of 7 games in 10 days.
Thanks, Lee.
Outstanding observations!
I had forgotten about all of the B2Bs we had this year
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