Hal14 wrote:Who will start tomorrow night?
Tatum didn't start at the 4 in any preseason game. I'm thinking Ime wants him at the 3.
Ime started Grant twice at the 4 in the preseason, Al once and Juancho once.
Al is out for tomorrow night's game.
So you figure either Grant or Juancho.
If I'm Ime, I would start Grant tomorrow night.
I'm a little scared of Juancho trying to guard Randle. I feel like Randle might eat him alive.
Meanwhile, I feel like Randle is just the type of guy who Grant would be able to do pretty good against defensively. Randle is big but not REALLY big - he's 6'9". So it's not like Randle can just dominate/overpower Grant inside. And Randle isn't super quick/athletic so it's not liken he'll just blow by him off the dribble. Randle was an all-star last year because for a bigger guy he did shoot it really well from 3, and he was an extremely good passer, and good ball handler for a PF - and he made really good reads/decisions with the ball in terms of when to post up, when to drive/pass/shoot. As long as Grant makes him work, stays with him, gets a little physical with him, contests his shots, he'll be ok.
If I'm Ime, I tell Grant - don't worry about scoring - shut down Randle. Make Randle work. Do your best to make Randle's life a living hell. Maybe even study some tape of the Knicks/Hawks series last year to see what ATL did to Randle cause he really struggled that series.
And I tell Smart - don't worry about scoring - shut down Kemba. Defend the sh*t out of Kemba. Make him work so hard for not only every shot but every damn dribble, to the point that it wipes that smile off his face.
I'd start:
C Rob
F Grant
F Tatum
G Brown
G Smart
Plenty of talent to choose from off the bench: Pritchard, Nesmith, langford, richardson, Juancho, Kanter. That's 11 guys. I'd probably play all of them. The Knicks are a deep team. We'll need to go deep in order to have fresh bodies in the 4th quarter.
If you've seen my posts, you know I have a love/hate relationship with Grant. But I just feel like this is a good matchup for him, for him to guard Randle - especially with Al being out - and especially vs the Knicks who play a tough, physical, defensive style of play - which obviously favors Grant - he's not the type of guy who excels in a fast, up tempo, run and gun style of play, obviously..
i also like this starting 5 because all 5 of these guys have been a good amount of experience playing together now. on opening night - on the road vs a good team, nerves/jitters will be there. Teams are still trying to find their rhythm so shots will probably be off, it might be a little sloppy - i feel like we're less likely to get off to a really crappy start with our 5 guys who have the most experience playing together - the jitters are inevitable but i think it'll be less jitters with this group with their experience together. Lots of inexperience / new faces on the bench, so Ime should be careful to not just throw 5 bench guys out there at once - sprinkle them in and out of the lineup, trying to keep at least 1 or 2 starters out there at all times - unless we start beating the crap out of them
But i think it'll be a close one..
start G league Williams in game 1? IDK Hal and I usually agree with you LMAO. You daytime drinking? lol I'd add Schroder, Nesmith or langford into the lineup all day!
