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http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/the_sp ... onis_hands

I agree...if we only had an effing suitable backup at the 4, Boris should definitely be our starting 3 man.

When you consider how well he played against the Spurs in Games 4 and 5, I agree he should start at the 3 instead of Barnes if Hill will come off the bench.

Boris is much better than Barnes.

Nash/Bell/Diaw/Amare/Shaq is a really good starting line-up.

Start Boris!

I'm not a fan of starting Boris. He is NOT a 3. He doesn't have the range or wing (not his wingspan) capacity to play the 3 on Offense. No doubt on D he can do it, but on offense he is suited to the high and low posts.

So in saying that, starting him along side both Shaq and Amare is just stupid IMO. You are not going to get the fullest out of him in that role.

Of course I still want Hill to start, but if he doesn't I would still prefer Barnes to start over The French Ears for the fact that he can play both offense and defense as a wing. Making our SL more potent.

That is just my opinion anyways.

D

NF33IH, Boris, Amare and Shaq played together last season as starts. Here's the stats:

STARTING: 37 mpg, 11.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.1 apg, 49.0 FG%

SUBBING: 24 mpg, 6.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.2 apg, 41.1 FG%

and that's under MikeD's spread-the-floor offense.

Start Boris...

Those stats are overinflated. Of course he is going to play more minutes when a player is out, as well as coincidentally get more stats. The only time he started last season was when Grant Hill was out or coming back from injury and also after the trade for Shaq IIRC.

Here are his per 48's as per your stats provided.

Starting: 15.18ppg, 7.14rpg, 6.62apg
Subbing: 12.60ppg, 7.60rpg, 6.40apg

So with a starter out and obviously one less player to take shots and minutes away all he improves on is 2.58ppg. Not proof to me that he should be a starter.

But again, I don't not want him to start because of his stats. But more so because the position he is best at is taken if he starts, with both Shaq or Amare in there. If one of them go down, then yes start him.

Never Fear 33 Is Here wrote:But again, I don't not want him to start because of his stats. But more so because the position he is best at is taken if he starts, with both Shaq or Amare in there. If one of them go down, then yes start him.

The position does not matter. It goes back to the notion that you don't always start your best players, but start the ones with the best chemistry and mix of skills.. With Barns starting in place of Hill, we left with Nash with our only ball handler and passer. That's why I said I have mixed feelings about Barns starting.

Don't get me wrong, I like Barns and I like Hill coming off the bench, I'm just worry about Boris. Boris is a talented player. He's the 2nd most technically sound player on the team and probably the smartest player on the team, and the only way we are going to get anything out of him is if we load him up with responsibility. That's the only time he responds. That's why we see him plays better whenever he starts because of injury of other guys. Every player is different, Boris is one of those that need the ball in his hands and a legit role in the offense, otherwise he'll coast and get lost. But whatever the case it is, it's the coaching staff to make sure every player is put into his best situation to succeed. If Barns works well in the starting unit, and Hill and Boris can strengthen our 2nd unit, I'm all for Boris as a sub. But before I see that, I'd say start Boris

mkot wrote:Start Boris!

i will agree to start diaw if lopez is the starting center and it wont happen. suns will be too slow with diaw at the 3. with shaq and diaw at center and small forward, suns need a athletic guards to make it up, that is to replace bell and nash. with nash and shaq in the lineup, suns need a athletic forward.

you have to have the right mix of 5 players with the current suns lineup if they really want to play defense.

Anyone noticed Boris has grown something?

nashill wrote:

mkot wrote:Start Boris!

i will agree to start diaw if lopez is the starting center and it wont happen. suns will be too slow with diaw at the 3. with shaq and diaw at center and small forward, suns need a athletic guards to make it up, that is to replace bell and nash. with nash and shaq in the lineup, suns need a athletic forward.

you have the right mix of 5 players with the current suns lineup if they really want to play defense.

I think Boris can be that athletic forward....he's versatile, and I feel he can fill in a Marion-esque role.

And yeah, Boris looks like a hobo in the Dragic video....not a fan of the fro/facial hair.

rsavaj wrote:

nashill wrote:

mkot wrote:Start Boris!

i will agree to start diaw if lopez is the starting center and it wont happen. suns will be too slow with diaw at the 3. with shaq and diaw at center and small forward, suns need a athletic guards to make it up, that is to replace bell and nash. with nash and shaq in the lineup, suns need a athletic forward.

you have the right mix of 5 players with the current suns lineup if they really want to play defense.

I think Boris can be that athletic forward....he's versatile, and I feel he can fill in a Marion-esque role.

And yeah, Boris looks like a hobo in the Dragic video....not a fan of the fro/facial hair.

Oh right, I thought he was talking about his missing NUTS!!!

^ +1 haha. That's exactly what I thought.

Boris needs to start if we want to get the best out of him. Barnes is the type of energy player who can start up a stagnated offense off the bench. Hill would be a great ball-handler with the second unit if he was to come off the bench.

^^^^^ Does Boris Diaw look fat or is it me??

i think the hair makes it look that way, doesnt look too bad to me

From what I can remember Boris played his best at the 4/5 where he could back down his opponents and use his very very good low post moves to duck in around the ring, now this worked very well in Mike D's small ball scheme of things but surely we can get him a few more minutes at the 4 or 5 and rest shaq some more throughout the regular season, especially when Nash is sitting so he can distribute the ball from the 4 or 5.

I just watched the video of the Dragic workout. Boris does look a bit fat. Maybe he can learn to use it ala Barkley lol.

nashill wrote:

mkot wrote:Start Boris!

i will agree to start diaw if lopez is the starting center and it wont happen. suns will be too slow with diaw at the 3. with shaq and diaw at center and small forward, suns need a athletic guards to make it up, that is to replace bell and nash. with nash and shaq in the lineup, suns need a athletic forward.

you have to have the right mix of 5 players with the current suns lineup if they really want to play defense.

With Barnes' injuries I don't think h would be any more athletic than Boris if they both ran the floor, the difference is Barnes will hit the 3 with some consistency and Boris won't, if he has been working on his 3 ball then he would be superior to Barnes in every respect at the 3.

i think im the biggest boris diaw fan on these boards

he is a real gem of a player with a fantastic skill set, but i dont think we should start him, or hill

we need a consistent 3 point threat at SF, and our best option is barnes

i would love to trade diaw for mike miller and start him.

diaw is best used at PF, i hope he gets 25 minutes as C / PF when shaq / amare are resting and gets used in the post

diaw has the ability to earn every $$ we are paying him and i agree with the title, we do marginalize him

I still don't see the love affair with Barnes and his 3 point shooting. His best he has shot is .366% and last season he shot .293%.

Compared to what Hill has done, his best is .347% and last season .317%. Now we don't consider him a 3 point threat, or more so a potent 3 point shooter, so what makes Barnes so much of a threat?

Just something that has always baffled me.

Never Fear 33 Is Here wrote:I still don't see the love affair with Barnes and his 3 point shooting. His best he has shot is .366% and last season he shot .293%.

Compared to what Hill has done, his best is .347% and last season .317%. Now we don't consider him a 3 point threat, or more so a potent 3 point shooter, so what makes Barnes so much of a threat?

Just something that has always baffled me.

Well when you put it that way, all I ever remmember of Barnes is him lighting it up against Dallas in the playoffs 2 seasons ago.