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Lewis, Turkoglu, Ariza to play lots of PF
Topic Started: Oct 4 2007, 10:06 PM (210 Views)
MAGICMANEVAN
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http://forums.floridatoday.com/viewtopic.p...ecc7757dcff2ed4
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ORLANDO – For some insight into just how the Orlando Magic will compensate for their lack of size along the front line all you needed to see was this scene from Thursday’s morning practice:

Rashard Lewis, Hedo Turkoglu and Trevor Ariza – all of them small forwards by trade – were taking turns covering Dwight Howard, Adonal Foyle and Marcin Gortat in the low post.

Because the Magic are especially thin at the power forward position following Tony Battie’s season-ending shoulder injury, Lewis, Turkoglu and Ariza will spend time playing out of position for major chunks of the season.

And to get them ready for the defensive challenges they will undoubtedly face, Van Gundy had his small forwards working against the 6-foot-11, 268-pound Howard on Thursday. The thinking is that if they can stand up to Howard, they can guard just about anybody in the league.

Magic GM Otis Smith isn’t nearly as worried as some Magic fans seem to be about the team’s lack of a backup power forward. As Smith pointed out, there aren’t three teams in the league with dominant players at both the center and power forward positions. And in the Eastern Conference especially, the talent at the power forward position isn’t particularly deep. Therefore, the Magic can get away with Lewis or Turkoglu at power forward alongside of Howard.

Personally, I think the Magic will be just fine with Lewis and Turkoglu at power forward. Other than Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O’Neal, Chris Bosh and Zach Randolph, there isn’t a dominant power forward in the East, and Howard will be guarding those stars in crunch time.

And remember, those players have to guard Lewis on the other end of the floor, too.
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Black and Blue
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I'm optimistic with most things, but this is a serious concern for me. I have no doubt that those guys can guard big men if given the shot and the drive, but guarding them night in and night out spells injuries in my mind.

I just hope our 100 billion dollar investment in Lewis isn't blown by throwing him out to the wolves.
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