The Fan Voice: "Otis On A Howard/Gortat Pairing"

By Live or Die Magic | March 4th, 2009

Last week I received a request from Magic Message Board member “Killing In The Name Of:”

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“LoDM...I know I've requested this before, but if you have an opportunity to ask Otis & SVG if they envision Gortat & Dwight playing together I would be very interested in their response.”

I attended the Orlando Magic vs. Phoenix Suns game last night and in the tunnel just after the horn sounded, I asked Magic GM Otis Smith for a moment of his time to address this question. The way I worded it to him was under the scenario that Marcin Gortat remained with the team beyond this year. I asked him if he felt that playing Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat together for stretches of time might be the answer to countering physical teams (re: the Pistons!) that are able to effectively take us away from our usual style of play. His response was humorous and most likely tongue in cheek:

Otis: “So we can play two big stiffs on the court instead of one? That’s not how we play is it? How do we play?”

Live or Die Magic: “3 ball...inside out.”

Otis: [Nodding his head with a smile, his arms out to the side as he backed away down the O-Rena tunnel] “See, you answered your own question!”

As we’ve all learned, Otis plays it close to the vest. He was in a good mood after a good win and perhaps was just being playful. Perhaps he didn’t realize just who he was talking to, the man who sang his praises in this brilliant write up! But if you choose to take the comment at face value, and add it to an earlier quote from his “State of the Magic” address to season ticket holders in which he implied that any big man playing with Dwight would have to provide spacing to allow him room inside, then it is fair to assume that our current configuration of Dwight + four wing players will remain the norm so long as our current core players remain with the team.

Of course, the question remains, what happens when a team like the Pistons completely locks us down inside? If our inside-out game is nuetralized, isn’t countering with more inside muscle the only move to make? Although it would mean removing a essential player (take your pick from Hedo, Rashard, and Lee) from the court for stretches, I’d rather see that than see Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess completely frustrate Dwight during a seven game series.

Still, I am continually pleased by Otis Smith’s commitment to this current team. I think he genuinely wants to keep players like Marcin Gortat and Hedo Turkoglu here for the long term. Since so many of his moves have proven to be good ones, I am going to take his word that our style of play is good enough to overcome any matchup problems in the playoffs.

But just to be safe, let’s all hope and pray that the Pistons miss the playoffs entirely!

If you have a specific question that you'd like me to ask of any of the players, coaching staff, or Otis, please let me know in this space. I can't guarantee that I can get your question answered, but I will certainly try!

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.

I guess Otis still has the blinders on when it comes to the front court issue. Hey Otis, "how do we play" against Detroit? How many times do we have to lose the same way before he realizes Tony Battie isn't the answer?

Without versatility, you hamstring yourself in the playoffs.

In the post game someone asked Rashard about the rebounding night he had and he said something to the effect of, I knew the 2 big guys would be fighting for rebounds so I decided that I needed to up my rebounding intensity to help out.

Now that along with the comments by Otis after the Det loss tells me that he is putting the responsibility on the other guys to pick up their intensity rather than trying to alter how the team plays. I think more responsibility should be put on a guy like Rashard to help on the boards, so I guess we are going to have to wait and see whether he brings it like that every night.

I don't expect 12 boards a game but I don't think 8-9 is out of the question when he is at 6 now.

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I guess Otis still has the blinders on when it comes to the front court issue. Hey Otis, "how do we play" against Detroit? How many times do we have to lose the same way before he realizes Tony Battie isn't the answer?

Wasn't it the guard play that resulted in the loss to Detroit last week?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Rashard and Hedo are both 6'10"

I agree with Marc and will expand on his comments by adding that our guards need to grab those long rebounds better. I can't tell you how many times I've counted long rebounds being gobbled up by other team's guards and wing players. Rebounding is hustle more than any one other factor. If you want the rebound, you'll get it. Our other guys need to help Dwight out and I'm glad that Otis is expecting them to step up. There is no reason that we have 3 players at 6'10" or better and we get out rebounded by teams that are smaller than us. I understand that Hedo and Rashard aren't built to be in the paint, banging around with bigs, but that doesn't mean they can't show some hustle to run to the basket after a shot. The least it will do will make other teams account for another player in the paint and not focus on soley boxing out D12.

Don't know what to think on this matter.
From one side, playing only one style and not being able to adapt when it's necessary, is a weakness IMO.
From the other, I really like Marcin effort, a lot, but I'm not sure he could play PF. What if, for example, Sheed (or any other PF that could shoot the 3's) stay in the three point line and attack him from this position, shooting if he's given space, or using his speed for penetrate if Gortat stay near him?

IMO, a pairing of Dwight and Marcin could have worked very well 10/20 years ago, when the bigs weren't shooting 3's like hook shots (Duncan-Robinson anyone???)... but in the way the game is played today, it would work only with certainly matchups (the first that comes in my mind: against Yao-Scola, two real bigs playing together)

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Originally posted by WPMagic:

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I guess Otis still has the blinders on when it comes to the front court issue. Hey Otis, "how do we play" against Detroit? How many times do we have to lose the same way before he realizes Tony Battie isn't the answer?

Wasn't it the guard play that resulted in the loss to Detroit last week?

So Orlando doesn't need frontcourt help than?

Good stuff LOD! While I would love to see the Warlock get more minutes, until either he or Dwight can down a 15-18 ft jumpshot in the high post it is going to bog down our offense.

I think you hit it on the head Marc, our frontcourt is actully bigger than Detroit's but we just allow ourselves to get out hustled and muscled for rebounds everytime. We let them intimidate us and get in our heads like no other team in this league.

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Originally posted by fansince89':
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Rashard and Hedo are both 6'10"

I agree with Marc and will expand on his comments by adding that our guards need to grab those long rebounds better. I can't tell you how many times I've counted long rebounds being gobbled up by other team's guards and wing players. Rebounding is hustle more than any one other factor. If you want the rebound, you'll get it. Our other guys need to help Dwight out and I'm glad that Otis is expecting them to step up. There is no reason that we have 3 players at 6'10" or better and we get out rebounded by teams that are smaller than us. I understand that Hedo and Rashard aren't built to be in the paint, banging around with bigs, but that doesn't mean they can't show some hustle to run to the basket after a shot. The least it will do will make other teams account for another player in the paint and not focus on soley boxing out D12.

Smack touched on this in another thread, our guards don't get many boards because they (along with everyone not named Dwight) are running back on D or on the break. That is fine in games where we have control or where we are not playing teams that have a long painful history of grabbing every loose ball (see Det). Extra attention needs to be paid to rebounding in those games.

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Originally posted by Kberto:

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Originally posted by WPMagic:

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I guess Otis still has the blinders on when it comes to the front court issue. Hey Otis, "how do we play" against Detroit? How many times do we have to lose the same way before he realizes Tony Battie isn't the answer?

Wasn't it the guard play that resulted in the loss to Detroit last week?

So Orlando doesn't need frontcourt help than?

Not enough to jeopardize the spacing Dwight needs as well as the ability to resign Hedo.

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Originally posted by WPMagic:

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Originally posted by Kberto:

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Originally posted by WPMagic:

quote:

I guess Otis still has the blinders on when it comes to the front court issue. Hey Otis, "how do we play" against Detroit? How many times do we have to lose the same way before he realizes Tony Battie isn't the answer?

Wasn't it the guard play that resulted in the loss to Detroit last week?

So Orlando doesn't need frontcourt help than?

Not enough to jeopardize the spacing Dwight needs as well as the ability to resign Hedo.

So having three 3-point shooters on the floor instead of four would jeopardize are spacing? I'll never understand this argument. There's nothing wrong with being able to play big and small. Every team should be versatile in the way they play. There are just certian teams out there that push the Magic around and it would be nice to throw a bigger line up at them from time to time.

Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkolgu aren't going to magically get tougher. They're small forwards/guards who just happen to be 6'10.

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Originally posted by Kberto:

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Originally posted by WPMagic:

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Originally posted by Kberto:

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Originally posted by WPMagic:

quote:

I guess Otis still has the blinders on when it comes to the front court issue. Hey Otis, "how do we play" against Detroit? How many times do we have to lose the same way before he realizes Tony Battie isn't the answer?

Wasn't it the guard play that resulted in the loss to Detroit last week?

So Orlando doesn't need frontcourt help than?

Not enough to jeopardize the spacing Dwight needs as well as the ability to resign Hedo.

So having three 3-point shooters on the floor instead of four would jeopardize are spacing? I'll never understand this argument. There's nothing wrong with being able to play big and small. Every team should be versatile in the way they play. There's just certian teams out there that push the Magic around and it would be nice to throw a bigger line up at them from time to time.

Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkolgu aren't going to magically get tougher. They're small forwards/guards who just happen to be 6'10.

I don't disagree with you. I'm just saying that, going off what Otis told LOD, he's not going to go crazy and throw a wrench in what is working pretty dang good (great with Jameer healthy) just to help in one area.

Why does evaluating a situation and improving upon certain practices always result in the assessment that it would "throw a wrench" in what is working? Can't changing a situation ever result in bettering that situation?

We're not talking massive overhaul here. We're talking about tweaking, and only when necessary (like against Det & Bos).

It is beyond stubborn and worse than idiotic for Otis to think that improvements can't be made through simple alterations. Yes, we know that spacing works against 95% of the NBA. But we don't know what works against the other 5% because we never try anything different. What if we moved to an alternative system agasint the other 5% and figured out how to be successful against 100%???

LoDM, appreciate you asking the ?...even if I'm not pleased with the answer!

For starters, wasn't it Otis making excuses for Lewis playing out of position & our small ball lineup all last year because Battie was injured? Now we don't believe we should even have the flexibility to play bigger? Somebody predicted that...

Second, I don't see how we justify re-signing Gortat this offseason if a larger role isn't in his future. I would be shocked if at least a handful of teams don't target Gortat for a 3/4+ mill contract this summer & a full MLE certainly isn't out of question given his production when given extended run. I'll state again that it was a big mistake not tying him up with a cheap extension this past summer.

I think a championship team needs to be versatile/multiple and Otis simply believing our finesse style will eventually overcome the style that consistently wins titles & we consistently struggle against has a certain D'Antoniesque stubbornness to it.

During the Duncan era, SA has always had the versatility to play big and small. When they were at their best, they had Nesterovich, Rose, & Horry to "compliment" Duncan in the front court. I'm not with Otis in believing we can overcome physical teams with an Horry option alone.

quote:

Originally posted by KillingInTheNameOf:
LoDM, appreciate you asking the ?...even if I'm not pleased with the answer!

For starters, wasn't it Otis making excuses for Lewis playing out of position & our small ball lineup all last year because Battie was injured? Now we don't believe we should even have the flexibility to play bigger? Somebody predicted that...

Second, I don't see how we justify re-signing Gortat this offseason if a larger role isn't in his future. I would be shocked if at least a handful of teams don't target Gortat for a 3/4+ mill contract this summer & a full MLE certainly isn't out of question given his production when given extended run. I'll state again that it was a big mistake not tying him up with a cheap extension this past summer.

I think a championship team needs to be versatile/multiple and Otis simply believing our finesse style will eventually overcome the style that consistently wins titles & we consistently struggle against has a certain D'Antoniesque stubbornness to it.

During the Duncan era, SA has always had the versatility to play big and small. When they were at their best, they had Nesterovich, Rose, & Horry to "compliment" Duncan in the front court. I'm not with Otis in believing we can overcome physical teams with an Horry option alone.

Amen brutha!