PocketRockets wrote:I don't know man. JJ redick is pretty **** too. I would change Head's caption to tied for worse player in the league. Also, isn't Novak pretty **** too? I would put Novak ahead of Luther/Reddick for crappiest player.
Novak came through when it counted--otherwise the streak would've stopped at seven.
Okay, here's my ideal lineup:
PG - Alston (24)/Brooks (9)/McGrady(10)/Francis (5)
SG - McGrady (20)/Barry (10)/Battier (10)/Head (8)
SF - Battier (24)/Barry (6)/Artest (10)/Landry (8)
PF - Artest (18)/Scola (15)/Landry (12)/Dorsey (3)
C - Yao (30)/Scola (10)/Mutombo (5)/Dorsey (3)
Here's my reasoning.
PG ROTATION: In my mind, the starer's spot is Alston's to lose. He's not the best PG in the league, but he's done just fine the past couple years. Let him keep it for now. We need to give Brooks some minutes; let him develop. I don't really care if they're minutes where he's the primary option or the playmaker. Preferably, some of both. That way, we can see what his best fit is and learn to use him that way. I'd like to see McGrady be our ball-handler late in the game, or when things get too close. Then, we can go big (Mac-Battier-Artest-Scolandry-Yao).
SG ROTATION: McGrady starts here, naturally. Barry picks up a few minutes behind him. Nothing special, just go in and knock down a couple threes, make a couple passes, and I'm happy. Battier is in the "big lineup" mentioned above. Head gets a few minutes.
SF ROTATION: Battier starts, since he's one of the two best perimeter defenders on the team. He can guard the opponent's best wing player just fine--he's been doing it this long, right? If it doesn't work for some reason... switch and put Artest on him. Badda bing, badda bang, problem solved. Again, Barry gets a couple minutes to shoot. Artest is here in the big lineup. Finally, I'd give Landry a few minutes, just in case we want to go REALLY big (Mac-Artest-Landry-Scola-Yao), but really to see (like Brooks) what his best fit is.
PF ROTATION: Okay, here's the controversial part of my big plan. Start Artest at PF. "But Prime!" you say. "He's too small for power forward spot! We had enough of that with Hayes two years ago!" Okay, fine, my little ducklings, let me explain this. Artest is a MONSTER on the court. Hands down, one of the strongest guys in the league. Hands down, one of the most intimidating guys in the league. Do you REALLY think that many guys are going to successfully post him up? Besides that, how many post up PFs are out there? Shouldn't we be more worried about the mobile PFs like Amare, Dirk, KG, Bosh, etc etc etc? Fine--we'll put Artest on them, and their mobility is now zilch. Besides, even with Artest here, our PF/C starters still average over seven feet. I think we'd be the only team like that--correct me if I'm wrong. Look, Artest has the ability to play bigger than his size in the post. He's only an inch shorter and six pounds lighter than Elton Brand. He'll be fine. If not, switch him to PF and bring out the Scolandry (who will, combined, be playing the majority of the minutes at the 4). Dorsey gets a few minutes here and there.
C ROTATION: Yao starts. No explanation needed. Scola's the primary backup. Deke is in when we need a stop, or foul trouble hits the other guys. Dorsey gets a few minutes of burn.
Basically, I think our best lineups will have our best players on the floor at the same time--what a shock! Whether it's Alston-McGrady-Battier-Artest-Yao or McGrady-Battier-Artest-Scolandry-Yao,
we are going to win more when we play Ron, Tracy, and Shane together. I'm in favor of cutting the minutes of our best players, so they have more gas for the NBA finals.
I also think that we should give a few low-pressure minutes to our young guys, so we can see what they're made of. I feel like I'm in the minority on this, but PROVEN VETERANS (Barry) should get more playing time than SENTIMENTAL FAVORITES (Francis). Look, if Steve can turn into half the player that he used to be, it'll be a lot better than what we've seen out of him the last few years. And, should that miraculous event come to pass... he's still a backup at best.
I would never start Steve Francis on this team. Capice?
Anyways, the MPG chart would look about like this:
Battier 34 (Down 2mpg. Not our best player, but one capable of playing the most minutes--as someone said in another post, having him out there is like having another coach on the floor. Completely agree.)
Yao 30 (Down from 37mpg)
McGrady 30 (Down from 37mpg. "Prime, you just gave our two best players seven more minutes per game to rest so they're fresh for the playoffs! You're my hero!")
Artest 28 (Down from 38 minutes. See above.)
Scola 25 (About the same; 24.7 last year)
Alston 24 (Down from 34 mpg last year--for all you Alston haters, you happy now? He's on the court 10 fewer minutes per game, and has a clear role when he's there: SET UP THE OTHER GUYS.)
Landry 20 (Up from 17 mpg last year)
Barry 16 (slightly fewer than last year; think he was at 17 or so)
Brooks 9 (Actually fewer than last year, when he played 12mpg. If the Francis experiment doesn't work out, Brooks gets all those minutes.)
Head 8 (11 fewer minutes per game)
Dorsey 6 (spot minutes)
Francis 5 (spot minutes, IF HEALTHY--see end of post)
cbs134679 wrote:pg francis 24min/alston 24min
There are so many things wrong there I can't even count them. But I'll try. First, Francis is no longer capable of being a third scorer. Second, even in his prime, he wouldn't have been the third scorer, he's always going to see himself as the primary option. Third, even in his prime, he over-dribbled and would KILL Adelman's offense. Fouth... he quite frankly sucks these days.
I'm all for giving him spot minutes--maybe 5-8 a game or so--until he EARNS his way back to the lineup. Hear that? He has to PROVE his worth, because he's hardly a shadow of a shell of an afterimage of his former self. HE IS NOT GOING TO BE THE DIFFERENCE MAKER THIS YEAR THAT HE WAS IN THE PAST.
..........
Okay guys, I just spent about an hour and a half working on this, so I expect you all to nod, smile, and not argue with me, because my fingers hurt from typing so much, and I'd hate to have to make an epic rebuttal from your counter-arguments.
Optimism Prime out.
