What are we doing at SF?

[2short]

Scal isn't as bad as a lot of guys make him out to be, I'm not saying he can start but 10 minutes a game sure.
Tony Allen can play some sf in situations and Leon Powe can also, add in some rookie time no problem.
If paul is injured and can't play then we have a REAL problem.

[gar]

Reportedly Walker is taking shots and rehabbing his knee. Anyone know how serious his surgery was or what  % of recovery one could expect by the beginning of the season. He is an amazing athlete; who plays with emotion. Some have questioned his ability to play under pressure or make sound decisions. Everyone is concerned about the SF position except Danny. What does he know that we don't?

a. Is it that Scal has been improving his game while playing behind posey?
b. Does he really think that Tony can guard 3's?
c. Is Walker's surgery and history of knee problems not an issue for the next season?

My sense is that he is comfortable that one of the options above (or all three) will pan out and that we will be able to manage. He has said as much (not looking to replace posey with one player; but using a number of players to cover) and I guess we have to take him at his word.

[CelticBalla32]

If we don't sign another free agent to fill this void (which I doubt will happen, I can't see Danny letting nearly $3 million of the MLE go to waste), I see TA, Scal, and Giddens taking those minutes. Don't sleep on J.R. Giddens' length, freak athleticism, and defensive activity. He's just a rookie, but I believe he can be a serviceable 8-12 mpg option if needed.

[Champzilla]

Lets make a small trade, we have too many 2s and 4s, we need 5s and 3s.

[lon3lytoaster]

Personally, I'm ok with a slimmed down, healthy Bill Walker as the second string SF. Barring injury, this kid can still be a stud. He wasn't projected as a top-five pick for no reason at all.

[BudweiserCeltic]

If we don't sign another free agent to fill this void (which I doubt will happen, I can't see Danny letting nearly $3 million of the MLE go to waste), I see TA, Scal, and Giddens taking those minutes. Don't sleep on J.R. Giddens' length, freak athleticism, and defensive activity. He's just a rookie, but I believe he can be a serviceable 8-12 mpg option if needed.

Giddens plays bigger than he is... I'm positive he can play some SF. He's 6'5, with very long arms... just one inch shorter of Pierce. Good rebounder for his size, he should be able to fill in for some minutes there for some minutes. Whether he performs well or not, is a different matter, but he has the tools to play the position.

I think the SF/PF role will go to Scal though. I think Walker can play that role, and I'm hoping that during the season he plays Scal out of the 12-man roster. With that said, I think Scal can be useful in this role... hopefully he will get short minutes. I actually preffer him only playing the PF position when we need perimeter defense out of the PF. Otherwise, we should go with Giddens or Tony or whomever. I don't see Walker making the 12-man roster in the beginning of the season. If for whatever reason he isn't signed this year, I surely hope so Danny gives careful consideration to adding depth to the SF position.

I'm very comfortable with our current roster situation. I just want to see them in action and see how they play with each other to better evaluate what our biggest need is... I'm quite certain that the weaknesses that will be shown during the season are not as obvious as we think our weaknesses currently are. We have too many unknowns to really know.

[billysan]

Dont get me wrong, I like Tony Allen. I am glad we resigned him. He is a very effective perimeter defender. He is able to stay with most SG's and PG's defensively, but SF? Keep in mind he is 6'4" in shoes at best.

I made a list of guys who play the wing/SF full or part time every nite that Tony may be matched up against at any given time. Some nites he may have to play 30+ minutes if Paul Pierce is hurting or we have foul problems. These are guys he will be expected to guard on the wing as well as SG's etc. Feel free to add a few names, I am sure I forgot some.

Lebron James
Kevin Durant
Lamar Odom
Shawn Marion
Josh Howard
Gerald Wallace
Richard Jefferson
Shane Battier
Tracy McGrady
Peja Stoyakovich
Rudy Gay
Josh Smith
Tayshawn Prince
Ron Artest

[Shaqzilla]

Sign Darius Miles if he's healthy for the minumum. He's actaully a good one on one defender I saw him with the CLippers and he was pretty good back in the day on defense. He's 6'9 and can guard multiple postions I saw him do it 6 7 years ago

[BudweiserCeltic]

Dont get me wrong, I like Tony Allen. I am glad we resigned him. He is a very effective perimeter defender. He is able to stay with most SG's and PG's defensively, but SF? Keep in mind he is 6'4" in shoes at best.

I made a list of guys who play the wing/SF full or part time every nite that Tony may be matched up against at any given time. Some nites he may have to play 30+ minutes if Paul Pierce is hurting or we have foul problems. These are guys he will be expected to guard on the wing as well as SG's etc. Feel free to add a few names, I am sure I forgot some.

Lebron James
Kevin Durant
Lamar Odom
Shawn Marion
Josh Howard
Gerald Wallace
Richard Jefferson
Shane Battier
Tracy McGrady
Peja Stoyakovich
Rudy Gay
Josh Smith
Tayshawn Prince
Ron Artest

Out of all of those, this are the ones that should give him trouble....

LeBron James
Lamar Odom (he's been playing mostly PF though, but with Bynum coming he might get the SF nod)
Shawn Marion (an athletic freak)
Josh Howard (can have a nice post up game against shorter players)
Rudy Gay (tall and athletic, can give him trouble penetrating... he plays quite a bit of a perimeter game, so that plays in Tony's favor)
Tayshawn Prince (very long and can post him up easily)

The rest:
Josh Smith (He plays VERY little SF to be considered a problem)
Tracy McGrady (he plays mostly as a big SG, so I don't think it's relevant to this discussion)
Gerald Wallace (I'm pretty sure he won't play SF much after his latest concusion, I think he expressed as much)
Kevin Durant (still hasn't polished his game enough for me to worry about him at the moment. If he develops a better post up game, then he can give Tony trouble... else, his success will have little to do with Tony's deficiency guarding him)
Richard Jefferson (great at drawing the foul, that'll be his advantage. Can get 3's happy, and if Tony can close his driving lanes, he won't be an issue.)
Shane Battier (not enough on an offensive arsenal to really take advantage of a smaller defender)
Peja Stoyakovich (too much of a perimeter player to worry about him)
Ron Artest (his offensive game won't take advantage of a smaller defender, I'm not worried about him... Tony should be capable of guarding him).

That's my look at things. No doubt that Tony will have to work hard, but I can see him defending himself quite a bit against the great majority of the bunch.

With all that said, I think Giddens will get the SF nod over Tony. He's lengthier and taller. I'm pretty sure he's also stronger.

[billysan]

Dont get me wrong, I like Tony Allen. I am glad we resigned him. He is a very effective perimeter defender. He is able to stay with most SG's and PG's defensively, but SF? Keep in mind he is 6'4" in shoes at best.

I made a list of guys who play the wing/SF full or part time every nite that Tony may be matched up against at any given time. Some nites he may have to play 30+ minutes if Paul Pierce is hurting or we have foul problems. These are guys he will be expected to guard on the wing as well as SG's etc. Feel free to add a few names, I am sure I forgot some.

Lebron James
Kevin Durant
Lamar Odom
Shawn Marion
Josh Howard
Gerald Wallace
Richard Jefferson
Shane Battier
Tracy McGrady
Peja Stoyakovich
Rudy Gay
Josh Smith
Tayshawn Prince
Ron Artest

Out of all of those, this are the ones that should give him trouble....

LeBron James
Lamar Odom (he's been playing mostly PF though, but with Bynum coming he might get the SF nod)
Shawn Marion (an athletic freak)
Josh Howard (can have a nice post up game against shorter players)
Rudy Gay (tall and athletic, can give him trouble penetrating... he plays quite a bit of a perimeter game, so that plays in Tony's favor)
Tayshawn Prince (very long and can post him up easily)

The rest:
Josh Smith (He plays VERY little SF to be considered a problem)
Tracy McGrady (he plays mostly as a big SG, so I don't think it's relevant to this discussion)
Gerald Wallace (I'm pretty sure he won't play SF much after his latest concusion, I think he expressed as much)
Kevin Durant (still hasn't polished his game enough for me to worry about him at the moment. If he develops a better post up game, then he can give Tony trouble... else, his success will have little to do with Tony's deficiency guarding him)
Richard Jefferson (great at drawing the foul, that'll be his advantage. Can get 3's happy, and if Tony can close his driving lanes, he won't be an issue.)
Shane Battier (not enough on an offensive arsenal to really take advantage of a smaller defender)
Peja Stoyakovich (too much of a perimeter player to worry about him)
Ron Artest (his offensive game won't take advantage of a smaller defender, I'm not worried about him... Tony should be capable of guarding him).

That's my look at things. No doubt that Tony will have to work hard, but I can see him defending himself quite a bit against the great majority of the bunch.

With all that said, I think Giddens will get the SF nod over Tony. He's lengthier and taller. I'm pretty sure he's also stronger.

Notice I said "full or part time at the wing/SF". It really doesnt matter what position a guy starts the game at, McGrady slides to the SF position frequently (depending on matchups) as you know. Do you really think an NBA team that sees a mismatch at the SF of Shane Battier vs Tony Allen for instance is not going to exploit it in the post?

I would also love to see JR Giddens play the SF or even Bill Walker for that matter. The problem is that they are still rookies, still unproven and biggest of all, still unsigned draft picks as of this date. They will not be stepping into that role for a while yet, likely not for at least 1/2 the season or more. We need someone now or just settle for Scalabrine.

Sorry for the rant, but I am just trying to make the point that as much as we may like Tony Allen, he is not the answer at SF by any stretch of the imagination IMO.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Dont get me wrong, I like Tony Allen. I am glad we resigned him. He is a very effective perimeter defender. He is able to stay with most SG's and PG's defensively, but SF? Keep in mind he is 6'4" in shoes at best.

I made a list of guys who play the wing/SF full or part time every nite that Tony may be matched up against at any given time. Some nites he may have to play 30+ minutes if Paul Pierce is hurting or we have foul problems. These are guys he will be expected to guard on the wing as well as SG's etc. Feel free to add a few names, I am sure I forgot some.

Lebron James
Kevin Durant
Lamar Odom
Shawn Marion
Josh Howard
Gerald Wallace
Richard Jefferson
Shane Battier
Tracy McGrady
Peja Stoyakovich
Rudy Gay
Josh Smith
Tayshawn Prince
Ron Artest

Out of all of those, this are the ones that should give him trouble....

LeBron James
Lamar Odom (he's been playing mostly PF though, but with Bynum coming he might get the SF nod)
Shawn Marion (an athletic freak)
Josh Howard (can have a nice post up game against shorter players)
Rudy Gay (tall and athletic, can give him trouble penetrating... he plays quite a bit of a perimeter game, so that plays in Tony's favor)
Tayshawn Prince (very long and can post him up easily)

The rest:
Josh Smith (He plays VERY little SF to be considered a problem)
Tracy McGrady (he plays mostly as a big SG, so I don't think it's relevant to this discussion)
Gerald Wallace (I'm pretty sure he won't play SF much after his latest concusion, I think he expressed as much)
Kevin Durant (still hasn't polished his game enough for me to worry about him at the moment. If he develops a better post up game, then he can give Tony trouble... else, his success will have little to do with Tony's deficiency guarding him)
Richard Jefferson (great at drawing the foul, that'll be his advantage. Can get 3's happy, and if Tony can close his driving lanes, he won't be an issue.)
Shane Battier (not enough on an offensive arsenal to really take advantage of a smaller defender)
Peja Stoyakovich (too much of a perimeter player to worry about him)
Ron Artest (his offensive game won't take advantage of a smaller defender, I'm not worried about him... Tony should be capable of guarding him).

That's my look at things. No doubt that Tony will have to work hard, but I can see him defending himself quite a bit against the great majority of the bunch.

With all that said, I think Giddens will get the SF nod over Tony. He's lengthier and taller. I'm pretty sure he's also stronger.

Notice I said "full or part time at the wing/SF". It really doesnt matter what position a guy starts the game at, McGrady slides to the SF position frequently (depending on matchups) as you know. Do you really think an NBA team that sees a mismatch at the SF of Shane Battier vs Tony Allen for instance is not going to exploit it in the post?

I would also love to see JR Giddens play the SF or even Bill Walker for that matter. The problem is that they are still rookies, still unproven and biggest of all, still unsigned draft picks as of this date. They will not be stepping into that role for a while yet, likely not for at least 1/2 the season or more. We need someone now or just settle for Scalabrine.

Sorry for the rant, but I am just trying to make the point that as much as we may like Tony Allen, he is not the answer at SF by any stretch of the imagination IMO.

About McGrady, I excluded him because he mostly plays as a big SG. The reason is that he already has the advantage over Tony Allen there anyways, so it's irrelevant to me in the SF situation. No doubt that McGrady might give Tony Allen trouble, but it won't be because of playing SF. They'll be mainly matched up as SG's.

Also, I based my opinion not on how they start the game, but the amount of time they spent at a position according to 82games.com. So unless they have their figures wrong, I stand by my assesment.

Josh Smith spent 0% of the teams' minutes as a SF. Odom spent 4% at the position (and there's no chance in hell Tony will play him there, I still included him in the guys that will give him trouble). The other is Gerald Wallace, that even though I think he will give Tony some trouble... he has expressed he won't play SF any longer. So unless that's untrue, he'll stay in the "not worried" zone. As for McGrady, he plays a lot of SF sure, but he also plays a ton of SG, so the problem is not with what position he plays since McGrady will play him as a SG much of the times anyways. The addition of Artest will keep him playing more SG though. And I'm pretty sure that if Artest is in there with McGrady, that someone else will probably guard McGrady (probably Pierce, or even Ray or Giddens), while Tony stays with Artest who I don't see as much of a threat to Tony.

[Shaqzilla]

J.R. Giddens is only 6'5 tops  but he has a 6'11 wingspan  . I saw him play pretty good defense with UNM and is ferocious on the boards. His offense needs work because it needs to be more polished but defensively he's strong enough to get it done for 10-15 minutes!

[billysan]

Dont get me wrong, I like Tony Allen. I am glad we resigned him. He is a very effective perimeter defender. He is able to stay with most SG's and PG's defensively, but SF? Keep in mind he is 6'4" in shoes at best.

I made a list of guys who play the wing/SF full or part time every nite that Tony may be matched up against at any given time. Some nites he may have to play 30+ minutes if Paul Pierce is hurting or we have foul problems. These are guys he will be expected to guard on the wing as well as SG's etc. Feel free to add a few names, I am sure I forgot some.

Lebron James
Kevin Durant
Lamar Odom
Shawn Marion
Josh Howard
Gerald Wallace
Richard Jefferson
Shane Battier
Tracy McGrady
Peja Stoyakovich
Rudy Gay
Josh Smith
Tayshawn Prince
Ron Artest

Out of all of those, this are the ones that should give him trouble....

LeBron James
Lamar Odom (he's been playing mostly PF though, but with Bynum coming he might get the SF nod)
Shawn Marion (an athletic freak)
Josh Howard (can have a nice post up game against shorter players)
Rudy Gay (tall and athletic, can give him trouble penetrating... he plays quite a bit of a perimeter game, so that plays in Tony's favor)
Tayshawn Prince (very long and can post him up easily)

The rest:
Josh Smith (He plays VERY little SF to be considered a problem)
Tracy McGrady (he plays mostly as a big SG, so I don't think it's relevant to this discussion)
Gerald Wallace (I'm pretty sure he won't play SF much after his latest concusion, I think he expressed as much)
Kevin Durant (still hasn't polished his game enough for me to worry about him at the moment. If he develops a better post up game, then he can give Tony trouble... else, his success will have little to do with Tony's deficiency guarding him)
Richard Jefferson (great at drawing the foul, that'll be his advantage. Can get 3's happy, and if Tony can close his driving lanes, he won't be an issue.)
Shane Battier (not enough on an offensive arsenal to really take advantage of a smaller defender)
Peja Stoyakovich (too much of a perimeter player to worry about him)
Ron Artest (his offensive game won't take advantage of a smaller defender, I'm not worried about him... Tony should be capable of guarding him).

That's my look at things. No doubt that Tony will have to work hard, but I can see him defending himself quite a bit against the great majority of the bunch.

With all that said, I think Giddens will get the SF nod over Tony. He's lengthier and taller. I'm pretty sure he's also stronger.

Notice I said "full or part time at the wing/SF". It really doesnt matter what position a guy starts the game at, McGrady slides to the SF position frequently (depending on matchups) as you know. Do you really think an NBA team that sees a mismatch at the SF of Shane Battier vs Tony Allen for instance is not going to exploit it in the post?

I would also love to see JR Giddens play the SF or even Bill Walker for that matter. The problem is that they are still rookies, still unproven and biggest of all, still unsigned draft picks as of this date. They will not be stepping into that role for a while yet, likely not for at least 1/2 the season or more. We need someone now or just settle for Scalabrine.

Sorry for the rant, but I am just trying to make the point that as much as we may like Tony Allen, he is not the answer at SF by any stretch of the imagination IMO.

About McGrady, I excluded him because he mostly plays as a big SG. The reason is that he already has the advantage over Tony Allen there anyways, so it's irrelevant to me in the SF situation. No doubt that McGrady might give Tony Allen trouble, but it won't be because of playing SF. They'll be mainly matched up as SG's.

Also, I based my opinion not on how they start the game, but the amount of time they spent at a position according to 82games.com. So unless they have their figures wrong, I stand by my assesment.

Josh Smith spent 0% of the teams' minutes as a SF. Odom spent 4% at the position (and there's no chance in hell Tony will play him there, I still included him in the guys that will give him trouble). The other is Gerald Wallace, that even though I think he will give Tony some trouble... he has expressed he won't play SF any longer. So unless that's untrue, he'll stay in the "not worried" zone. As for McGrady, he plays a lot of SF sure, but he also plays a ton of SG, so the problem is not with what position he plays since McGrady will play him as a SG much of the times anyways. The addition of Artest will keep him playing more SG though. And I'm pretty sure that if Artest is in there with McGrady, that someone else will probably guard McGrady (probably Pierce, or even Ray or Giddens), while Tony stays with Artest who I don't see as much of a threat to Tony.

The point remains, if Tony Allen is expected to play SF with presumably Ray Allen at SG for any length of time, he will be matched up against players 2-6 inches taller. Ray Allen will not be asked to guard many of those guys IMO. It really doesnt matter what Tony's wingspan is or how much of an offensive threat an opposing player could be. This is a bad defensive matchup for the Celtics no matter how many times 82games.com credits them with playing at the position.

I do agree with you about Gerald Wallace and had forgotten about his comments but that still leaves Jason Richardson who isnt too bad of a wing either. I think you will see Tony Allen on McGrady and Ray Allen on Artest, but who will cover Battier when he is the SF? 

I included Josh Smith because the Hawks have talked about playing him at the SF some with Horford at the PF and Pachulia back healthy at Center. If that turns out to be not true then Tony still ends up on 6'9" Marvin Williams at the SF.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Dont get me wrong, I like Tony Allen. I am glad we resigned him. He is a very effective perimeter defender. He is able to stay with most SG's and PG's defensively, but SF? Keep in mind he is 6'4" in shoes at best.

I made a list of guys who play the wing/SF full or part time every nite that Tony may be matched up against at any given time. Some nites he may have to play 30+ minutes if Paul Pierce is hurting or we have foul problems. These are guys he will be expected to guard on the wing as well as SG's etc. Feel free to add a few names, I am sure I forgot some.

Lebron James
Kevin Durant
Lamar Odom
Shawn Marion
Josh Howard
Gerald Wallace
Richard Jefferson
Shane Battier
Tracy McGrady
Peja Stoyakovich
Rudy Gay
Josh Smith
Tayshawn Prince
Ron Artest

Out of all of those, this are the ones that should give him trouble....

LeBron James
Lamar Odom (he's been playing mostly PF though, but with Bynum coming he might get the SF nod)
Shawn Marion (an athletic freak)
Josh Howard (can have a nice post up game against shorter players)
Rudy Gay (tall and athletic, can give him trouble penetrating... he plays quite a bit of a perimeter game, so that plays in Tony's favor)
Tayshawn Prince (very long and can post him up easily)

The rest:
Josh Smith (He plays VERY little SF to be considered a problem)
Tracy McGrady (he plays mostly as a big SG, so I don't think it's relevant to this discussion)
Gerald Wallace (I'm pretty sure he won't play SF much after his latest concusion, I think he expressed as much)
Kevin Durant (still hasn't polished his game enough for me to worry about him at the moment. If he develops a better post up game, then he can give Tony trouble... else, his success will have little to do with Tony's deficiency guarding him)
Richard Jefferson (great at drawing the foul, that'll be his advantage. Can get 3's happy, and if Tony can close his driving lanes, he won't be an issue.)
Shane Battier (not enough on an offensive arsenal to really take advantage of a smaller defender)
Peja Stoyakovich (too much of a perimeter player to worry about him)
Ron Artest (his offensive game won't take advantage of a smaller defender, I'm not worried about him... Tony should be capable of guarding him).

That's my look at things. No doubt that Tony will have to work hard, but I can see him defending himself quite a bit against the great majority of the bunch.

With all that said, I think Giddens will get the SF nod over Tony. He's lengthier and taller. I'm pretty sure he's also stronger.

Notice I said "full or part time at the wing/SF". It really doesnt matter what position a guy starts the game at, McGrady slides to the SF position frequently (depending on matchups) as you know. Do you really think an NBA team that sees a mismatch at the SF of Shane Battier vs Tony Allen for instance is not going to exploit it in the post?

I would also love to see JR Giddens play the SF or even Bill Walker for that matter. The problem is that they are still rookies, still unproven and biggest of all, still unsigned draft picks as of this date. They will not be stepping into that role for a while yet, likely not for at least 1/2 the season or more. We need someone now or just settle for Scalabrine.

Sorry for the rant, but I am just trying to make the point that as much as we may like Tony Allen, he is not the answer at SF by any stretch of the imagination IMO.

About McGrady, I excluded him because he mostly plays as a big SG. The reason is that he already has the advantage over Tony Allen there anyways, so it's irrelevant to me in the SF situation. No doubt that McGrady might give Tony Allen trouble, but it won't be because of playing SF. They'll be mainly matched up as SG's.

Also, I based my opinion not on how they start the game, but the amount of time they spent at a position according to 82games.com. So unless they have their figures wrong, I stand by my assesment.

Josh Smith spent 0% of the teams' minutes as a SF. Odom spent 4% at the position (and there's no chance in hell Tony will play him there, I still included him in the guys that will give him trouble). The other is Gerald Wallace, that even though I think he will give Tony some trouble... he has expressed he won't play SF any longer. So unless that's untrue, he'll stay in the "not worried" zone. As for McGrady, he plays a lot of SF sure, but he also plays a ton of SG, so the problem is not with what position he plays since McGrady will play him as a SG much of the times anyways. The addition of Artest will keep him playing more SG though. And I'm pretty sure that if Artest is in there with McGrady, that someone else will probably guard McGrady (probably Pierce, or even Ray or Giddens), while Tony stays with Artest who I don't see as much of a threat to Tony.

The point remains, if Tony Allen is expected to play SF with presumably Ray Allen at SG for any length of time, he will be matched up against players 2-6 inches taller. Ray Allen will not be asked to guard many of those guys IMO. It really doesnt matter what Tony's wingspan is or how much of an offensive threat an opposing player could be. This is a bad defensive matchup for the Celtics no matter how many times 82games.com credits them with playing at the position.

I do agree with you about Gerald Wallace and had forgotten about his comments but that still leaves Jason Richardson who isnt too bad of a wing either. I think you will see Tony Allen on McGrady and Ray Allen on Artest, but who will cover Battier when he is the SF? 

I included Josh Smith because the Hawks have talked about playing him at the SF some with Horford at the PF and Pachulia back healthy at Center. If that turns out to be not true then Tony still ends up on 6'9" Marvin Williams at the SF.

You simply don't play Tony there with unfavorable match-ups. Just as other teams have the ability to change their players around, we have have the same ability. As I said, in some of the cases above, you simply bring Giddens, Scal, or Walker... one of those guys should be capable of being enough of a defensive authority on any given night depending on the player that needs guarding.

Point taken about Josh Smith, but if Josh Smith is playing SF, I highly doubt you'll see Tony in there. So you go elsewhere. You adapt. I don't see it as much of an issue. You bring in Walker or Giddens, and try to make him a jump shooter by blocking his driving lanes. He usually doesn't use his post up game. He likes to face up and dribble, and when that isn't there he settles for a jump shot. If he gets his post up game, then he could hurt us, but that's a big if, when you have Garnett and Perk protecting the basket.  Also, he'd be playing SF mainly with the main unit, so Pierce is the one that has to take care of it. As soon as they sub someone, he'll likely move to the PF position; so we could be worrying about nothing at the moment.

And why are you worried about Battier? He isn't an offensive threat to any of our guys that are capable of playing the position. He's a perimeter player. If he took advantage of a post up game, then this would be an issue... but he really doesn't.

Tony Allen has been tasked at times with guarding Kobe, and we're going to worry about Battier?

And Jason Richardson? Another perimeter player. This is of little issue. The main issue with small forwards and having someone smaller guarding them is when they have a post up game, or like to catch the ball in the midrange area and simply shoot over people.  He doesn't fit the profile.