Should Green Start or Play from Bench

[SD2042]

This was a debate from today on local ESPN radio here in Memphis. The guys on the radio were talking about how the Grizzlies bench Allen In the fourth quarter for Jeff Green. I get the argument to put in some offense to get the game. Unfortunately other factors prevented the Grizzlies from winning the game. Given Green's offensive prowess, would he best serve off the bench as the scorer to give the Grizzlies the punch needed to bolster the bench offensive production or would he best benefit as a starter while Courtney Lee is the likely candidate to play the bench role?

[Zordor]

I think Jeff Green should start, gives us the length we need in our starting lineup, then have courtney lee come off the bench as a scoring punch, and he plays well with udrih and carter anyway and can fit in Joeger's "lets put the whole bench out there at one time and give them no instructions" mentality because Lee is a smart player, good ball handler, and better shooter. Overall I think just let all 3 guys start at times, try to faze out some of TA minutes so he isnt killing himself (give him 25-30 a night) and try to bring in Jordan Adams a bit so he can get some experience (5-10 minutes a night), I think our biggest struggle is backup PF, Leur is good but isnt defensively what we need and is more of a role player than a backup, and stokes is developing still, Tyrus thomas if he stays healthy will be a good addition, but i think Memphis has other/better options, especially defensively.

[dark-child]

Start

[BarbaGrizz]

6th man

[SD2042]

Start

6th man

Hey guys, can I get a why from both of you? Just to see where we are in terms of a good debate.

[BarbaGrizz]

Start

6th man

Hey guys, can I get a why from both of you? Just to see where we are in terms of a good debate.

IMO Green should come from the bench, as he has the ability to create his own shot. Also, our starting 5 has good chemistry, so I don´t think we should change that.

[SD2042]

Start

6th man

Hey guys, can I get a why from both of you? Just to see where we are in terms of a good debate.

IMO Green should come from the bench, as he has the ability to create his own shot. Also, our starting 5 has good chemistry, so I don´t think we should change that.

I can agree to that. Green has better aggression on the offensive end where as good as Lee is average aggressive on the offensive end. May not be enough motivation in terms to get a better offensive punch from the bench standpoint.

[ferk]

i really think it's a win-win either way. i'd like him to start the rest of the month with Lee at the two . either way i think we'll be fine but i'd love to see what that line up can do vs dal,okc,den

[jumivi]

If u make good rotations u dont need to bench yours best players. Best players needs to start if they could play together, and this is the case, Green can play with zbo, marc and Conley. I prefer to start Lee and leave Tony on the bench. In some games he can start o sub Lee earlier. In 48 min of play we have to keep playing Marc or Zbo at least in 40 min (i dont mean they have to play 40 min individually, at least one of the 2 has to be on the court)

[bobobolas10]

Green should be starting a few games now just because as Conley said, we need him to fit in the system with the starters. with all the respect to our bench, it is not the same to play along side Conley, Gasol or Zbo. More spaces and the ball moves just better. Whoever is starting, either Lee, Allen or Green is going to play better. So if we think "lets send Lee to the bench to have a scoring punch" It may not happen as we expect it.

Now if you ask me If the playoffs are starting tomorrow, Id start with Allen. More or less same amount of minutes but with Allen starting. (Edit for a why) Well, it is well-known his defensive presence in the game, he makes the other players playing better Defense with his aggresiveness. About the offensive end, we already have four reliable options to score, so not really need a 5th, Anyway he will always be moving, cutting to the rim, either Gasol or Conley will find him eventually and the % attemping lay-ups is not that bad...

[SD2042]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2347 ... -the-bench

[dark-child]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2347 ... -the-bench

They have uncorked the bottle, so I couldn't forsee them changing now unless they had success with a new lineup because of an injury.

Tony has to get use to coming off the bench, because his offensive game is a lot like a squirrel crossing traffic at rush hour. No coach wants to endure that nightly spectacle. Wrecking havoc with the second unit and playing crunch time minutes against the top wing is as good as it is going to get.

[SD2042]

I agree that his offense is questionable at times. I just hope that he doesn't let the idea of not starting get in the way of what everyone else is chasing after: a shot at the NBA Finals and a chance to win it all.

[Vinsanity_GOAT]

I think it should depend on matchups.

Against lebron/melo/durant as well as quick/small lineups like phoenix i'd start tony at sf and lee at sg, green of the bench.

Against most other teams i'd like tony at sg and green at sf with lee of the bench. I prefer lee of the bench because he's a much better iso scorer than green. That way you have conley/zbo/marc who can create their own shot for the starters and udrih/lee(/vince if healthy) for the bench. Green could also benefit from conley and gasol's passing.

Maybe even experiment with a run and gun lineup (conley - udrih - lee - green - leuer) against certain teams like the sixers or knicks for example. Not as a starting lineup obviously, maybe 4-5 minutes stretches just to see how they perform in those roles. If it works well you could field that lineup for 2 minutes against some of the better teams to try to catch them off guard.

In theory of course.