Change our Starting Five!

[JMac1]

If we are going to rely on Nash and Stat for all of the scoring, we might as well start three "defenders" with them.

It is time to show that Lopez is either a good pick or bad pick by giving him major minutes, PERIOD! Do you think we can lose any worse than we did last night by starting him? Same goes for Clark, Hill is starting to wear down. Dudley has shown he can be a Raja type player more than capable of replacing JPoor. Starting those three for defensive purposes, junk baskets and spot up shooting on offense. Bring LB, Hill, JRich, Lou, Drag and Frye off of the bench, if we lose, at least we will have more than the score to watch.

I want to know right away if these guys are good or not, just like all of the other rookies and second year players that are getting time from their squads. Anyone agree or do you think it will hurt our playoff chances? I could care less about the OKC getting a lottery pick. Losing with these guys starting is not fun at all. We need to stop this charade and play the guys win or lose.

[KJ7]

If we are going to change the starting line-up the only 2 players I really want to see get a look in is Lou and Dudley because 1. they thoroughly deserve it due to their effort and 2. it gives us better hustle and D in our starting line-up and in regards to Dudley whether it's JRich or Hill making way I think that will help our 2nd unit.

[JMac1]

If we are going to change the starting line-up the only 2 players I really want to see get a look in is Lou and Dudley because 1. they thoroughly deserve it due to their effort and 2. it gives us better hustle and D in our starting line-up and in regards to Dudley whether it's JRich or Hill making way I think that will help our 2nd unit.

I understand your point with Lou, but he isn't a staring four in the future. He is what he is, a energy guy off of the bench, he has proven that. You know what I am saying? We need to develope, draft, sign or trade for starters of the future, not present. If Clark and Lopez aren't these guys, we need to find out immediately and make the necessary moves.

[TASTIC]

I think half of Lou/Dudley's effectiveness comes from playing against the reserves of the other team

Only change I'd look at would be Barbosa for JRich - he starts much quicker with Nash, and JRich would be a great first option on the block for that second unit. Not to mention it gets a little bigger with JRich + Dragic in the backcourt

Frye's inconsistent - he is what he is - he's there on a bargain contract so I think leave him in there

Lopez...haha JMac you know my stance on him, so I won't touch that. I thought he'd be better as a shotblocker though...

Basically from reading Traxxe's post and from seeing how we're playing, it's clear this team is not a contender and Sarver just wants that little cherry on top that is postseason coinage...So there's no point jeopardising a playoff spot by playing Clark/Lopez 30mins because if we don't make the playoffs we'll just be starting over again WITHOUT a pick in the 1st...

[Frank Lee]

it's clear this team is not a contender and Sarver just wants that little cherry on top that is postseason coinage...So there's no point jeopardising a playoff spot by playing Clark/Lopez 30mins because if we don't make the playoffs we'll just be starting over again WITHOUT a pick in the 1st...

That is the point. It would not take but 10 games with these two playing decent minutes to display not only to us, but to them, whether or not they deserve to play consistently at this level. (it may not be such a mystery with sLopez at this point) And if we are a fringe play off team (seems so) who really gives a crap if Sarver puts a few more million in his pockets ? He is not going to use it to improve this team.

[JMac1]

I think half of Lou/Dudley's effectiveness comes from playing against the reserves of the other team

Only change I'd look at would be Barbosa for JRich - he starts much quicker with Nash, and JRich would be a great first option on the block for that second unit. Not to mention it gets a little bigger with JRich + Dragic in the backcourt

Frye's inconsistent - he is what he is - he's there on a bargain contract so I think leave him in there

Lopez...haha JMac you know my stance on him, so I won't touch that. I thought he'd be better as a shotblocker though...

Basically from reading Traxxe's post and from seeing how we're playing, it's clear this team is not a contender and Sarver just wants that little cherry on top that is postseason coinage...So there's no point jeopardising a playoff spot by playing Clark/Lopez 30mins because if we don't make the playoffs we'll just be starting over again WITHOUT a pick in the 1st...

Good point with the Dudley/Lou assessment. I wouldn't mid LB starting, but like I say, I want to see if Dudley is a starter. Dudley finishes the games against starters often. All your theories can be tested if we made changes, but the owners and we are afraid, because of the possibility of missing the playoffs. The fact that we could miss the playoffs doesn't sway me away from wanting to give a chance to the young guys, with the mistakes Sarver has made, there is no going back anyways. If Lopez sucks on a regular basis and is showing no improvement, to hell with him and ship him off, but I just don't want to be like Boston with JJ.

Tastic, I don't care who gets shipped off when it comes to the Suns. NO ONE is more important than adding to the success of the team. If that means shipping Amare, Nash or LB, I don't care if it makes us better. I don't want Lopez if he stinks. I will happily say I was wrong and bring in someone else. I have preference for no Suns, I have my favorite (Nash), but I am willing to trade anyone. I would just like to know that the person isnt right for the team before we do that. We don't know with Lopez yet, or maybe I am just a fool. I doubt it

[JMac1]

it's clear this team is not a contender and Sarver just wants that little cherry on top that is postseason coinage...So there's no point jeopardising a playoff spot by playing Clark/Lopez 30mins because if we don't make the playoffs we'll just be starting over again WITHOUT a pick in the 1st...

That is the point. It would not take but 10 games with these two playing decent minutes to display not only to us, but to them, whether or not they deserve to play consistently at this level. (it may not be such a mystery with sLopez at this point) And if we are a fringe play off team (seems so) who really gives a crap if Sarver puts a few more million in his pockets ? He is not going to use it to improve this team.

+1 Thank you Frank. I got nuthin but love for ya baby. Someone gets my point...Whew!!

[JMac1]

Another point T. Why do we have to be hamstrung as fans because of our jagoff mgmt? OKC, Mem and Sac fans are excited and their team is not better than our team, record wise. We are just stalling on the inevitable, and a trip to the playoff won't hide it. Boy, I loath Sarver, prick!

[nashill]

i like our starting lineup....if they are hot, its almost a sure win.

the thing is, if they are not making their shots, we should go for a defensive 2nd unit... we still dont have that flexibility yet but i believe we have the players to play defense. just increase the playing time of dudley, lou and lopez, maybe that will do it.

[KJ7]

If we are going to change the starting line-up the only 2 players I really want to see get a look in is Lou and Dudley because 1. they thoroughly deserve it due to their effort and 2. it gives us better hustle and D in our starting line-up and in regards to Dudley whether it's JRich or Hill making way I think that will help our 2nd unit.

I understand your point with Lou, but he isn't a staring four in the future. He is what he is, a energy guy off of the bench, he has proven that. You know what I am saying? We need to develope, draft, sign or trade for starters of the future, not present. If Clark and Lopez aren't these guys, we need to find out immediately and make the necessary moves.

If you want to develop Clark and Lopez start off by giving them some consistent mins in the 2nd unit and *then* give them time in the starting line-up if they impress in that role (ie. much like Duds and Lou).

I don't buy this thing about some players only being good off the bench ... basically I think that's a bunch of crap. I do believe that some players work better with some unit/team-mates then others tho.

Lou is by far the smartest player defensively we have. I can tell that just by watching him rebound. He gets both good position and times his jump fantastically. No other player on this team does that. Even offensively, altho he has limited skills his ability to read where his team-mates are means that he doesn't clog things up. He knows when to free up the lane and when to attack the basket for an offensive rebound.

IMO the starting line-up needs someone *exactly* like that. Him and Duds are role-players and we need a few more of those in the starting line-up. Our swingmen in particular are too one-on-one focused and not true role-players. Seems like JRich has to take a dribble before he can shoot the basket effectively. Hill takes 1/2 a second to think about where he is on the court and whether it's in his range. Neither are automatic catch-and-shoot guys like Bell, Joe Johnson or even QRich.

[lilfishi22]

I'm all for bringing Duds or Barbs into the starting lineup. Preferably Duds for his defense, but I think we'll need Barbs to keep our offense flowing.

I'm most in favour of moving Collins into the starting lineup. Frye is a one-trick pony who only has value when he's hitting shots. We need someone who can bring something to the table night in and night out and Collins will bring that defense.

[Sreister]

Starting doesn't matter THAT much. It's all about matchups. During the game, it's who gets what minutes and who is hot. If Frye is in, and he is 0-5 from the 3, tell the kid to get some easy baskets. Don't let him go 0-8. Same for J-Rich, the dude is KNOWN for getting to the hoop, but he is settling, as most combo guards do when they start to age. Get on him for being lazy and chucking.

I've always thought that we need Barbs in the reserve unit. I always liked having a "starter" as a reserve, gives us an edge when some times let off (when they sub). But I wouldn't mind seeing Hill in the reserve unit. I think he'd be fine with it, and give Duds some time to show that he is legit.

[rsavaj]

I'd start Barbs...his stats as a starter are better than Jason's.

[Qwigglez]

I'd start Barbs...his stats as a starter are better than Jason's.

No you can't do that... calling someone by they're last name and then someone else by they're first name. It just gets confusing.

[amares goggles]

only change i would make is to swap j-rich and barbosa. barbosa plays so much better with nash and is simply better than richardson.

the reason you bring duds off the bench is that grant hill has proven he cannot come of the bench. he is most effective in the first quarter. we need to just keep doing what we're doing by putting duds in the 4th quarter and finishing games like he ought to. he is also getting plenty of minutes for a bench player

and channing frye will remain a starter. i cant see him being effective without nash who creates all of channings open looks. plus he was promised a starting spot when he signed with us.

[Classick]

I would like to see Barbs start over JRich, but Dudley and Amundson need to stay on the bench. Amundson will slow the offense down.

[grumpysaddle]

i would love to see LB start over J-Rich, but there's no way $arver is going to have such an expensive bench player. Last night was terrible as far as everyone but Nash and Stat were playing. One positive lately though, has been that Nash and Stat have been getting more into their old form of playing off each other. I've thought that they should be doing the pick and roll at least once every time down the court since the beginning of the season. Stat has been showing major flashes of his old self lately and they need to keep milking that. The rest of the team just needs to stop watching everything and move around. The problem i've found lately is that the team hasn't been moving much off the ball for Nash, which ends up causing a lot of stagnation and Nash turnovers. I'd say 60% of Nash's turnovers are not his fault, but the other player he's passing to losing focus and drifting off into la-la land. It also helps when at least one or two players besides Nash and Stat can put down a shot every now and then. Suns didn't play good last night, but i think it mostly came down to the Grizzlies hitting EVERY single shot they threw up, and the Suns not hitting anything they put up. I think the loss also fell on the bench last night, because they didn't show up at all. the Suns were down what? 3 or 4 at the beginning of the second quarter. with the bench in the Grizzlies went on a 15-0 run that basically ended the game. Grizzlies got even more warmed up during that stretch and by the time the Suns starters reentered the game it was just too much for them to come back from.

[NashtyNas]

Completely open to startin Dudley over JRich and Lopez over Frye.

Nash/Dragic
Dudley/Barbosa
Hill/Richardson
Amar'e/Amundson
Lopez/Frye

[mr-EEE]

Hey you guys are good..... sure you lose to the Knicks (126-99) but your somehow able to beat the Lakers.... You guys just need to get it Together, that's it

[JMac1]

I appreciate the feedback, but the purpose of this thread was to ask if you guys would like to see what we had in our young players, not who would be the best starting five. Of course LB, Nash, Hill, Frye and Stat are our best starting five, but would it hurt us that much if we started Lopez, Clark and Duds or some combination of the three in order to start planning for the future.

If we are going to placate ourselves by "possibly" making the playoffs and getting tossed in round one, I think we can do it by starting Duds, Lopez and Clark. Clark can play for us in the same way as Nick Batum did for POR. He started, but played apprx 15min a game. I would like to see more of the young guys, I don't think it would hurt us in the standings much considering how we go crushed by Memp and OKC at home.