Guard Situation

[LBPTarHeel27]

Hey, what's up? I am trolling over from the Orlando Magic board to see what you guys see happening with your PG/SG rotation this year.

It seems like there a lot of guys there who will expect to get minutes, many of which can play both PG & SG. What do you see the rotation looking like?

PG/SG Devin Harris
PG/SG Keyon Dooling
PG/SG Courtney Lee
PG/SG Chris Douglas-Roberts
PG Rafer Alston

Where are all of the minutes going to go?

[vincecarter4pres]

Don't forget Thrill.

[lurkingobeiscity]

Dooling is still recovering from hip surgery so Alston will begin the year as the backup to Harris.

Lee will likely start at SG because of both his ability and fit next to Harris in terms of defense/running/shooting.

I forget if it was Frank or Thorn but one of them said that Devin is expected to be a defensive leader on every possession and because of that expectation he may play fewer minutes at a higher intensity.

There is also a lot of speculation that one of Dooling/Alston will be traded for a draft pick at some point in the season to a team in need.

Many fans think CDR is destined to be a truly great 6th man, and Dooling (resident veteran who makes comments on the ability of youngsters) said last year that he can play 3 positions. CDR got himself into the lineup by playing the point off the bench when Harris was out, and he has the size (6-7) to play against less bulky SFs. This year Dooling said that if anyone has stood out besides Terrance Williams it is CDR, going on to say that he has gotten a lot better.

Williams has gotten rave reviews from Dooling and Frank (and others unmentioned) so far. The talk for him is also that he can play 3 positions and is probably the most natural fit playing as a point forward. I doubt they hand him the starting job (although he may take it in, or even before, the season) that currently belongs to Hayes but he will definitely get a good deal of minutes off the bench, with most of them coming at the SF position, although he will probably infringe upon the guard minutes as well.

Ultimately they seem to be pushing a defense first mentality that requires more effort per minute, so that they can get the most out of each player when they are on the floor and then put in the sub. Frank mentioned that in a few cases the backup will be just as good as the starter, so I would expect to see the minutes be similar.

If I had to guess the minutes to begin the season:
Harris 33mpg/Alston 15mpg
Lee 25mpg/CDR 23mpg
Hayes 23mpg/TWilliams 25mpg

CDR and Williams are interchangeable. I expect to see Hayes' minutes go down as the season progresses in order to give more time to Lee, CDR and Williams.

When Dooling comes back I really don't know what they'll do but I think he is a superior player to Rafer.

[Rockice_8]

Yeah it sucks but someone isn't gonna get any burn (unless an injury happens).

I think it should be
Harris/Alston/Dooling
Lee/CDR/Dooling
Williams/Hayes/Simmons
Yi/SWAT/Najara
Lopez/Battie/Boone

Dooling, Boone, and Simmons i think are gonna lose minutes this year. Even though Dooling played so well for us last year. I think we need the more pass first point coming off the bench but having a problem setting a lineup with such depth is a good thing.

[LBPTarHeel27]

I have Alston & CDR on my fantasy team so I was trying to get "inside" information from people that likely have the best idea of what to expect.

Anyone else have a take on the situation?

[lurkingobeiscity]

If you want to know for fantasy, then my suggestion is pick up Williams and don't bother so much with the rest especially Alston. Williams had 8.6 rpg in college to go with 5 apg. He's one of those guys that stuffs a stat sheet and could be a Suns Shawn Marion lite type of fantasy option.

[TDot_nomad]

Do not bother with Alston in fantasy basketball. He is strictly a backup and likely to get even fewer minutes when Dooling comes back. If he gets traded I doubt he goes to a profitable situation. I liked the way he ran Orlando the second half of last season; but I see him entering the twilight of his career and declining. I hope he proves me wrong.

The SG/SF situation is going to be one of the most interesting battles in the nba. The team is young and deep; expectations are not too high, but the coach's/management have said they expect good things. I agree that Hayes will start training camp as the primary SF, but i wouldn't be surprised if he loses the job before day 1, or soon there after - T Will could snag that spot. Hayes used to be a horrible defender in WASH, got better in DET and now is decent. But if his 3-point shot gets shaky it could send him to the bench. T-Will, CDR and lee are all good defenders - which the coach's seem to be stressing.

It's crowded in NJ and I could see Simmons and Najera struggling for playing time. Perhaps even Hayes. Dooling could be religated purely to backup pg which I don't think he's accustomed to - he usually gets some burn at sg throughout the game if i'm not mistaken.

I'm looking forward to keeping an eye on things. If Lee, CDR and T-Will can establish themselves as the cream of the crop I would think that spells good things for Jersey fans.

[fdefore]

Didn't want to litter your board with another thread...

What's the deal with Josh Boone? Obviously Brook had a fantastic rookie year, but two years ago, Josh had a pretty promising season. Has he really fallen that far out of Frank's rotation? Does he just need a change of scenery or is he just not very good at basketball?

[SOUP]

Didn't want to litter your board with another thread...

What's the deal with Josh Boone? Obviously Brook had a fantastic rookie year, but two years ago, Josh had a pretty promising season. Has he really fallen that far out of Frank's rotation? Does he just need a change of scenery or is he just not very good at basketball?

It's a make or break season for Boone. He's a good basketball player, but has a very weak mind, can get thrown off his game very easily, and is a poor free-throw shooter. I'd like to see him step up and become our primary back up C though.