http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/chris_ekstrand/12/04/most.improved.notes/1.html
Everyone around the league seems to be talking about how playing small ball is the best way to play right now. The way I see it, there are many teams that aren't so much going small as they are simply playing their five best players. If that combination turns out to be three guards, a small forward and a power forward, or two guards and three small forwards, they are playing that way because it is the best lineup for them. Simple.
Of course, the few teams lucky enough to have superstars who occupy the power forward or center positions aren't about to start playing small. But even teams without a Tim Duncan or Yao sometimes find their best option is to play their big guys. A couple of examples:
• Indiana started playing better immediately after coach Rick Carlisle replaced small forward Danny Granger in the starting lineup with Jeff Foster, a 6-11, 250-pound center. Foster, a physical, defensive-minded player, defends the other team's strongest big player, allowing the team's superstar, Jermaine O'Neal, to concentrate on carrying the team offensively. Foster recorded 18 rebounds Saturday night in Denver, and Granger has contributed in a bench role.
• In New York, the Knicks started to resemble a team with a pulse after coach Isiah Thomas made it clear the offense would run through the 6-11, 285-pound Eddy Curry, who responded with six straight games of 20 or more points. Though the Knicks were only 2-4 in those games, they hung tough against red-hot Detroit and beat Cleveland, mostly because of Curry.
• An overlooked part of Dallas' 12-game winning streak has been the play of 6-11, 265-pound Erick Dampier. The veteran center wasn't doing much when the season started and the Mavericks were struggling. But he's been averaging a double-double (11.4 ppg, 10.2 rpg) over the past 10 games, and that has helped balance the team's juggernaut perimeter game.
by Chris Ekstrand
Everyone around the league seems to be talking about how playing small ball is the best way to play right now. The way I see it, there are many teams that aren't so much going small as they are simply playing their five best players. If that combination turns out to be three guards, a small forward and a power forward, or two guards and three small forwards, they are playing that way because it is the best lineup for them. Simple.
Of course, the few teams lucky enough to have superstars who occupy the power forward or center positions aren't about to start playing small. But even teams without a Tim Duncan or Yao sometimes find their best option is to play their big guys. A couple of examples:
• Indiana started playing better immediately after coach Rick Carlisle replaced small forward Danny Granger in the starting lineup with Jeff Foster, a 6-11, 250-pound center. Foster, a physical, defensive-minded player, defends the other team's strongest big player, allowing the team's superstar, Jermaine O'Neal, to concentrate on carrying the team offensively. Foster recorded 18 rebounds Saturday night in Denver, and Granger has contributed in a bench role.
• In New York, the Knicks started to resemble a team with a pulse after coach Isiah Thomas made it clear the offense would run through the 6-11, 285-pound Eddy Curry, who responded with six straight games of 20 or more points. Though the Knicks were only 2-4 in those games, they hung tough against red-hot Detroit and beat Cleveland, mostly because of Curry.
• An overlooked part of Dallas' 12-game winning streak has been the play of 6-11, 265-pound Erick Dampier. The veteran center wasn't doing much when the season started and the Mavericks were struggling. But he's been averaging a double-double (11.4 ppg, 10.2 rpg) over the past 10 games, and that has helped balance the team's juggernaut perimeter game.
by Chris Ekstrand
