With the additions of Keyon Dooling and Fran Vazquez this offseason, I think we are going to have a very productive bench this year. I think we are a very deep team and this is important incase someone gets hurt. We will have a good backup for them who can fill in temporarily or for a long period of time since most players on our bench have started for some parts of their career or are perfectly capable of starting. Having depth is something succesful playoff teams need and the Magic are making moves this offseason to stregthen their bench which will help us if we do make a playoff run. Here is our bench and the role that each player fills. [IMGL]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/keyon_dooling.jpg[/IMGL] PG- Keyon Dooling - 5.2 PPG, 1.2 RPG, 1.8 APG, 16 MPG Keyon Dooling never got tons of playing time in Miami like he may get here in Orlando. With Jameer Nelson most likely getting the nod as the starter, Dooling could see big minutes from the bench to backup the second year guard. When Dooling enters the game he brings energy and instant offense to the court. He is a solid backup and could become a very important role player for the Magic this season. [IMGL]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/deshawn_stevenson.jpg[/IMGL] SG- Deshawn Stevenson- 7.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.3 APG, 19.8 MPG Deshawn Steveson never played big minutes and would often find himself riding the end of the bench when coach Johnny Davis was in town. Then as we all know, Davis was fired and Chris Jent gave the 6'5" shooting guard a chance and Deshawn played well. In the last 14 games of the season, Stevenson scored at least 11 points in every game and dropped 20+ points five times. In the past he has been criticized for his shot selection and sometimes rushing on offense but didn't show those signs towards the end of last year. He was contributing on offense and expect him to get playing time off the bench this year after his breakout end of the season. [IMGL]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/hidayet_turkoglu.jpg[/IMGL] SF- Hedo Turkoglu- 14 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 2.3 APG, 26.2 MPG Hedo Turkoglu is probably the best offensive player on the Magic bench because he can run the fast break and has a deadly shot from the perimeter. He started several games in the absence of Doug Christie last year and will probably play a similar role this year because Christie wants out of Orlando and is going to serve as trade bait for many teams. Dooling and Hedo will both be able to put up good offensive numbers against opponents since both are very explosive and will be running a fast break offense this year in Orlando. As long as Hedo continues to knock down perimeter shots he will be one of the key threats from the Magic bench this year. [IMGL]http://www.nba.com/media/draft2005/fran_vazquez.jpg[/IMGL] PF- Fran Vazquez- 11.1 PPG, 6.03 RPG, 62 FG%, 1.2 BPG, 24.2 MPG* The 11th pick in the draft should bounce from the starting lineup to the bench througout his rookie campaign. With him and Kelvin Cato coming off the bench together, I think the interior defense will be great and we won't let many teams score in the paint. Several sources say that Fran Vazquez is ready to make an impact now and is a great shot blocking power forward who is long and atheltic. The more I read about Vazquez the more comfortable I feel about selecting him and I think he will bring a boost to our team from the bench this year and then move onto the starting lineup once he develops some NBA experience. *European Stats [IMGL]http://www.nba.com/media/playerfile/kelvin_cato.jpg[/IMGL] C- Kelvin Cato- 7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 54 FG%, 1.32 BPG, 24.6 MPG Kelvin Cato provides excellent interior defense and was very effective at clogging up the paint last year before he went down with an injury that moved him out of the starting lineup. Since then, Tony Battie has had success as the starter and Cato never reclaimed his position when he healed. He is an older guy but can still be productive from the bench. He is in the last year of his contract so he might be used as trade bait to several teams looking to grab an expiring contract before the season ends. If he does get shipped out of Orlando, expect Tony Battie to move to the bench and Dwight Howard to make the switch to center while Fran Vazquez grabs the starting power forward spot. If Cato can stay healthy and if we don't trade him, he could be a productive player in our bench rotation. I realize I left Doug Christie out but I really don't think he will be on our roster for long because of all his whining. Otis Smith says he doesn't plan on moving Christie but this is the same guy who said we didn't offer Keyon Dooling a contract. You can't believe everything a general manager says and I think they have plans on shipping him to another team before the trade deadline. All in all, our bench looks pretty good and we have a few new players that will be interesting to watch. With the way our starting lineup and bench looks now, I don't think were to far from the playoffs and we might even be able to grab a high seed this year. Bench players are sometimes as important as the starters especially in the playoffs and I think our depth gives us an advantage over some teams who won't be able to keep up with our backups.
Yea I like our bench but you cant really tell whos gonna start yet BHill hasnt yet put them in place to start. He might reserve Nelson to a Armstrong type of roll when he was here. Are we siging Deiner I hope we do but I havent heard anything about him and what about Augmen I heard somewhere I think HoopsHype.com that he took his player option.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting FlaBoy:</div><div class="quote_post">Yea I like our bench but you cant really tell whos gonna start yet BHill hasnt yet put them in place to start. He might reserve Nelson to a Armstrong type of roll when he was here. Are we siging Deiner I hope we do but I havent heard anything about him and what about Augmen I heard somewhere I think HoopsHype.com that he took his player option.</div> Yeah I pretty much just said the backups and not the third stringers like Diener, Garrity and Augmon. When we have third stringers that might be top bench players on another team that just shows how much depth we have at every position.
Yea so...If Vazquez and Cato are on the bench, who's playing along side Dwight in the frontcourt? Battie? I figure that Vazquez will get the starting spot in training camp or early in the season.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Banks:</div><div class="quote_post">Yea so...If Vazquez and Cato are on the bench, who's playing along side Dwight in the frontcourt? Battie? I figure that Vazquez will get the starting spot in training camp or early in the season.</div> I think we will switch off with Dwight and Battie and Fran and Dwight throughout the season so I just assumed it would be Dwight and Battie starting since they were the starters last season. Either way works because Battie and Cato could play next to each other on the bench giving us another strong defensive duo.
From the looks of it, if Cato is not healthy at the start of the season I see Battie going in as starter. Unless fran can pick up the system quickly and learn that english. I see fran coming off the bench for atleast the first month or two of the season. Just so he can adapt to the NBA. I would have mentioned Kasun on your list. I see some potential in that kid. Another 7 footer on the team. He is a big body we can throw in and he has the offensive rebounding capabilities and will def earn from minutes.
so def no barrett? does anyone else feel we lost something juast letting him go, the kid is better than a lotta backups i've seen (i think probly better han dooling and cheaper, albeit shorter) but the nba is obsessed with height unless you are considered some sort of star or novelty, no one would ever take AI out of a starting lineup, and every team in the league would love having boykins, i guess we don;t need barrett but the kid has skills and is worth having
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheGreatK-Bob:</div><div class="quote_post">so def no barrett? does anyone else feel we lost something juast letting him go, the kid is better than a lotta backups i've seen (i think probly better han dooling and cheaper, albeit shorter) but the nba is obsessed with height unless you are considered some sort of star or novelty, no one would ever take AI out of a starting lineup, and every team in the league would love having boykins, i guess we don;t need barrett but the kid has skills and is worth having</div> Yeah he was an unrestricted free agent and I have not heard anything about resigning him. We still have plenty of time but with the additions of Diener and Dooling things aren't looking good for Barrett. I doubt we will see him back next year but I hope some team gives him a chance because he is a solid player.
