Who Should Be the 5th Starter?

3toheadmelo · Post #61 » by **3toheadmelo** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 1:20 pm

Mitch is the easy answer.

NoStatsGuy · Post #62 » by **NoStatsGuy** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 2:33 pm

id pick mitch if he plays around 20 minutes a game and not more. as much as we all love him, he cant start and stay healthy for a full season.

mitch should not be starting, if we are not 100% confident with his health. i can see lineups with deuce and yabu work aswell. i really dont have a preference, ill let coach cook with this. obviously if we just speak in terms of talent and what our team needs i think it has to be mitch. but again, i dont trust his health as a starter, like at all.

i also wouldnt mind keeping josh hart as a starter. his shooting hasnt been a problem in the regular season and we have been one of the better offenses in terms of efficiency during the regular season. i dont know why we crashed so hard in the playoffs. i guess detroit, boston and indy all played great defense. but i dont see why that shouldnt work again in the season. during the playofffs you obviously have to re-evaluate and consider matchups anyway.

spree8 · Post #63 » by **spree8** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 2:53 pm

3toheadmelo wrote:Mitch is the easy answer.

Read on Twitter

Mitch didn’t start any of those games. So 20 mpg off the bench is great for him

Post #64 » by **GONYK** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 2:54 pm

NoStatsGuy wrote:id pick mitch if he plays around 20 minutes a game and not more. as much as we all love him, he cant start and stay healthy for a full season.

mitch should not be starting, if we are not 100% confident with his health. i can see lineups with deuce and yabu work aswell. i really dont have a preference, ill let coach cook with this. obviously if we just speak in terms of talent and what our team needs i think it has to be mitch. but again, i dont trust his health as a starter, like at all.

i also wouldnt mind keeping josh hart as a starter. his shooting hasnt been a problem in the regular season and we have been one of the better offenses in terms of efficiency during the regular season. i dont know why we crashed so hard in the playoffs. i guess detroit, boston and indy all played great defense. but i dont see why that shouldnt work again in the season. during the playofffs you obviously have to re-evaluate and consider matchups anyway.

Hart in the starting 5 destroyed our offense from January on this season, when teams figured out they could just put their 5 on Hart. What DET, BOS and Indy did was nothing new.

bkkrh · Post #65 » by **bkkrh** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 3:01 pm

Zero-in-box wrote:I voted for McBride by accident because I forgot all about Yabu!

I think Yabu absolutely should start - he might not be the defender any of us wants - but I think he has the size to help up front, I think with our offense he has the IQ to help run it, he has the ability to finish, hit the three and set picks and screens that will absolutely help Brunson attack and exploit match ups.

I love Mitch, but I worry about his ability to stay healthy and also process and run the offense that Brown ran in, Sacramento.

In terms of who goes to the bench - I think Hart or Bridges should. Hart was over played - I wonder if Thibs was simply lazy, knowing he could put him out there - and he should be 30 minutes energy - starting is ok, or off the bench.

And I could see Bridges being more effective as the focal point of the 2nd unit, especially with what Brown is likely to install as a system.

Haha just did exactly the same. I think he can be a modern version of Boris Diaw. Since Mitch will always be a question mark due to injuries I see him also as best option based on his height and versatility.

NoStatsGuy · Post #66 » by **NoStatsGuy** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 3:16 pm

GONYK wrote:
NoStatsGuy wrote:id pick mitch if he plays around 20 minutes a game and not more. as much as we all love him, he cant start and stay healthy for a full season.

mitch should not be starting, if we are not 100% confident with his health. i can see lineups with deuce and yabu work aswell. i really dont have a preference, ill let coach cook with this. obviously if we just speak in terms of talent and what our team needs i think it has to be mitch. but again, i dont trust his health as a starter, like at all.

i also wouldnt mind keeping josh hart as a starter. his shooting hasnt been a problem in the regular season and we have been one of the better offenses in terms of efficiency during the regular season. i dont know why we crashed so hard in the playoffs. i guess detroit, boston and indy all played great defense. but i dont see why that shouldnt work again in the season. during the playofffs you obviously have to re-evaluate and consider matchups anyway.

Hart in the starting 5 destroyed our offense from January on this season, when teams figured out they could just put their 5 on Hart. What DET, BOS and Indy did was nothing new.

more a side effect of our read and react offense imo. but im not saying you are wrong.

what im really baffled about is how he shot almost 40% from three, on same volume, in his rookie year and turned into this. maybe we could even revive that in a proper system and some confidence. definitley prefer the other options but i dont think keeping hart in the starting lineup would be as bad as people make it out to be.

Post #67 » by **GONYK** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 3:18 pm

NoStatsGuy wrote:
GONYK wrote:
NoStatsGuy wrote:id pick mitch if he plays around 20 minutes a game and not more. as much as we all love him, he cant start and stay healthy for a full season.

mitch should not be starting, if we are not 100% confident with his health. i can see lineups with deuce and yabu work aswell. i really dont have a preference, ill let coach cook with this. obviously if we just speak in terms of talent and what our team needs i think it has to be mitch. but again, i dont trust his health as a starter, like at all.

i also wouldnt mind keeping josh hart as a starter. his shooting hasnt been a problem in the regular season and we have been one of the better offenses in terms of efficiency during the regular season. i dont know why we crashed so hard in the playoffs. i guess detroit, boston and indy all played great defense. but i dont see why that shouldnt work again in the season. during the playofffs you obviously have to re-evaluate and consider matchups anyway.

Hart in the starting 5 destroyed our offense from January on this season, when teams figured out they could just put their 5 on Hart. What DET, BOS and Indy did was nothing new.

more a side effect of our read and react offense imo. but im not saying you are wrong.

what im really baffled about is how he shot almost 40% from three, on same volume, in his rookie year and turned into this. maybe we could even revive that in a proper system and some confidence. definitley prefer the other options but i dont think keeping hart in the starting lineup would be as bad as people make it out to be.

He's a confidence/rhythm guy, which is why he shoots so well at the end of shot clock situations. He doesn't have time to think about it.

So in a way, he's in control of how effective a SL is with him in it.

gavran · Post #68 » by **gavran** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 3:20 pm

Jalen Bluntson wrote:
Besart19 wrote:Brunson / Clarkson / Kolek
McBride / Shamet / McCullar
Anuonoby / Bridges / Coffey
Yabussele / Hart / Dadiet
Towns / Robinson / Huk

Full Besart!!

Bes(z)art in Hungarian means he/she shat him/herself. Wingo.

3toheadmelo · Post #69 » by **3toheadmelo** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 3:27 pm

spree8 wrote:
3toheadmelo wrote:Mitch is the easy answer.

Read on Twitter

Mitch didn’t start any of those games. So 20 mpg off the bench is great for him

Jalen Bluntson · Post #70 » by **Jalen Bluntson** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 3:51 pm

3toheadmelo wrote:
spree8 wrote:
3toheadmelo wrote:Mitch is the easy answer.

Read on Twitter

Mitch didn’t start any of those games. So 20 mpg off the bench is great for him

sol537 · Post #71 » by **sol537** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 4:23 pm

Mitch starts and caps at 20 mins
Hart and Deuce get 20-24 mins consistently
Yabu and Clarkson get 15-20 mins situationally
Other starters get 32 mins max or less

Post #72 » by **Capn'O** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 4:45 pm

Depending on the game Deuce or Mitch should start.

FrozenEnvelope · Post #73 » by **FrozenEnvelope** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 4:53 pm

1 of Brunson or KAT and 1 of OG and Mikal should be in the floor at all times so whatever makes that easiest. I guess starting Mitch makes most sense to set the tone defensively and prevent the hack at Mitch as much as possible.

Post #74 » by **mpharris36** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 5:10 pm

They can be flexible depending on matchups but everything we have heard is that they want to maximize KAT, its something about midway through the year teams were able to adjusting to him at the 5.

There is only one answer to truly unlocking KAT offensive production.

3toheadmelo · Post #75 » by **3toheadmelo** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 5:40 pm

Since the FO forced Thibs to start Mitch next to KAT, and then the article about how players and coaches were frustrated with KAT’s defense, it seems obvious they are going to start Mitch. And they just tried to get Ayton too which is another sign they are done with KAT at the 5.

HarthorneWingo · Post #76 » by **HarthorneWingo** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 6:38 pm

3toheadmelo wrote:Since the FO forced Thibs to start Mitch next to KAT, and then the article about how players and coaches were frustrated with KAT’s defense, it seems obvious they are going to start Mitch. And they just tried to get Ayton too which is another sign they are done with KAT at the 5.

The FO forced Thibs to play Mitch? When was this revealed?

3toheadmelo · Post #77 » by **3toheadmelo** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 6:56 pm

HarthorneWingo wrote:
3toheadmelo wrote:Since the FO forced Thibs to start Mitch next to KAT, and then the article about how players and coaches were frustrated with KAT’s defense, it seems obvious they are going to start Mitch. And they just tried to get Ayton too which is another sign they are done with KAT at the 5.

The FO forced Thibs to play Mitch? When was this revealed?

There’s rumors that the front office forced Thibs to make an adjustment in the playoffs

spree8 · Post #78 » by **spree8** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 7:53 pm

Brown wants to play fast (his words), how we doing that with Mitch n KAT together all that time?

KAT should be playing 32 mpg, Mitch between 20-22 mpg… leaves 4-6 mpg for them to play together at most, which is enough imo.

Signature NYK · Post #79 » by **Signature NYK** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 8:06 pm

3toheadmelo wrote:Since the FO forced Thibs to start Mitch next to KAT, and then the article about how players and coaches were frustrated with KAT’s defense, it seems obvious they are going to start Mitch. And they just tried to get Ayton too which is another sign they are done with KAT at the 5.

Need to find a way to trade KAT for AD but thats a different convo

sol537 · Post #80 » by **sol537** » Tue Jul 8, 2025 8:22 pm

spree8 wrote:Brown wants to play fast (his words), how we doing that with Mitch n KAT together all that time?

KAT should be playing 32 mpg, Mitch between 20-22 mpg… leaves 4-6 mpg for them to play together at most, which is enough imo.

You can play fast even with Mitch on the floor with KAT.... You play fast when only one of them is on the floor and when both are on the floor, you secure defensive rebounds and push the pace instead of walking it up like Thibs liked the guys doing. It's a mindset and a readiness. If you can't get stops (misses, blocks, steals) and if you can't secure rebounds at a high clip, it's hard to run. Mitch helps in all those areas.

Who Should be the 5th Starter?