The Fan Voice: "A Preferable Problem"By Live or Die Magic | December 1st, 2009
The Orlando Magic’s roster depth will be a point of discussion all season long. We won’t know until the end of the season if the depth is of a quality to place us above the rest of the elite teams in the NBA. For the moment, it is sufficient to state that the depth of talent on the roster is what should allow the Magic to successfully weather the early stages of what is shaping up to be an even more interesting season than we anticipated.
The team has already seen plenty of injuries and illnesses (and suspensions!) throughout the roster. We lose Rashard Lewis for the first 10 games, then get him back, only to then lose Jameer Nelson for a minimum of 4 weeks, but likely for longer! Ryan Anderson and Vince Carter both tweaked ankles, while Mickael Pietrus and Marcin Gortat got the flu.
Despite all of this, the Magic have still been able to send out at least 8 players for each game who have meshed and performed well enough to achieve a 14-4 record. It has also left some of the bench players with some uncertainty. Brandon Bass can’t seem to get any playing time all of a sudden, Marcin Gortat is never sure how much he will play and JJ Redick is never sure if he will get 6 minutes or 20 minutes. My point isn’t to criticize, in fact, I don’t envy Coach Stan Van Gundy and his rotation decisions each game. But I’m sure he prefers this to the alternative: having to look beyond his own bench to find a piece to plug into the hole.
Sure on a night like the game against the Thunder, it meant that Brandon Bass and Matt Barnes didn’t see action until the fourth quarter. Considering how integral both players were to the Magic’s success so far, it was surprising to see them sitting so long. Of course, its not like the Magic didn’t have 9 other players more than capable of putting away an improved team like the OK Thunder! It is also a bench that has us with the Eastern Conference’s best record after 18 games.
Ultimately, Stan will have to tighten up his rotation. I don’t see him playing 11 players deep into April. But it will be almost impossible for him to get it down to the typical 8-man playoff rotation. In fact, depending on matchups, Stan may be hard pressed to avoid playing 10 players a night. With Nelson proving to be injury-prone, Stan will likely keep his minutes down once he returns. Considering how well Jason Williams has played in the starting role, he will likely continue to see at least 20 minutes a night.
Dwight Howard has shaken off his foul troubles the last three games, allowing him to play over 40 minutes each game (for the first time all season!) and get back to the kind of scoring, rebounding, and blocks numbers that we have come to expect from him. Should Howard continue to struggle with foul trouble all season (especially against opponents with all-star caliber post players), it will mean that Marcin Gortat will continue to be an important part of the mix. Seriously, how could GM Otis Smith even consider trading Gortat during the season if Howard continues to have issues with fouls?
As I’ve mentioned previously, I feel that JJ Redick will be in the rotation as long as he is in Magic pinstripes. Matt Barnes has shown his versatility, on the court and in the stat sheet, so he is likely to see time at multiple positions throughout the season.
Which bring us to our two back-up power forwards. Who would have thought that the energetic, rugged Brandon Bass, signed as a free agent out from under the Dallas Mavericks, would be the odd man out. It appears that Ryan Anderson, the “throw in,” is going to be the player getting the minutes behind Rashard Lewis. Granted, Stan did throw a curve ball the other night against Milwaukee when Bass suddenly played again after racking up 4 consecutive DNP-CDs. But then the very next night against the Knicks, it was Anderson getting the minutes again. It looks like Stan will attempt to keep both of these players from getting too rusty on the bench, but clearly, Anderson, with his long-range shooting ability, will be the favorite to get the most minutes. As much as I like Anderson, it is a shame that we can’t figure out how to use both players. I mean, it has been a while since we have seen a player like Bass on the roster. Even in limited minutes, he seems to deliver. But then, that is the whole point of this roster! A very talented player (or players) will be left sitting on the bench because we just have too much of a good thing. We managed to beat good teams with physical presences like Atlanta, Boston, and Toronto without Bass playing at all.
You know it has reached comical levels when Magic fans have taken to the message boards with their debates over whether Jason Williams should keep the starter’s job once Nelson returns. Who’d have expected that possibility a month ago? You think that’s preposterous? Try this one...someone posted a thread on the Magic message boards saying that Ryan Anderson should start at power forward, even after Rashard Lewis returns! Jubilant, hyper-intense fans of any team in any sport use the open access medium of the interwebs to voice their opinions, regardless of how outlandish they might sound. But it is a symptom of the make-up of the current roster that these types of outlandish claims are even possible. I say we just enjoy the ride. After all, we aren’t the ones having to scratch our heads and stroke our mustaches before each game, wondering how best to divvy up the minutes. Let’s leave the hard work to Stan and his staff.
Point To PonderIn researching some stats on the bench's minutes played for this piece, I couldn't help noticing Dwight Howard's stats over the last three games - all road wins. The last three games represent the first games of the season in which Dwight Howard has played 40 minutes or more. A direct correlation to this fact is his low number of fouls in those games. It needs to be stated that all three wins were close games, at least going into the fourth quarter, therefore the starters played more minutes. Howard also was not having to guard an all-star in the post in any of these games, making it easier to stay out of foul trouble. Still, it is nice to see that when Howard avoids foul trouble and gets bigger minutes, he can put up the numbers we expect. I think that Dwight's increased focus of late - especially on defense - has contributed to the better numbers. Stan has also made it a bigger priority to establish Howard in the post. The only knock is that he shot 50% from the stripe in those three games. Here are his numbers (averages) for the last three games: 40.7 mins; 71% FG; 3.3 Bpg; 17.7 rbpg; 23.7 ppg; 3 fouls per game. That, my friends, is straight-up stellar.
This message was not subject of approval by the NBA or the Orlando Magic. The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of the Orlando Magic or the NBA, but solely the writer.
"My life will go on, this much I know. Cars and games will come and go. But never once will I forgetta, the way we danced, dear Dick Bavetta." -
from "I Left My Heart In Dick Bavetta"
orlandomagiczone.com 
