2022-23 Season Discussion and Speculation 5 - The KD era begins

[bwgood77]

What about Payne/Booker/Okogie/KD/Biyombo lineup. Nice mix of offense and defense. Payne has played better with the starters in the past and may find his floater with more space next to KD and Book. CP3 should still cook against backups especially if staggered with DA together.

Yeah, lets see if Monty brings CP3 and Ayton off the bench. I can understand the thought process and like interesting suggestions but you know this would never happen.

[sunsbg]

What about Payne/Booker/Okogie/KD/Biyombo lineup. Nice mix of offense and defense. Payne has played better with the starters in the past and may find his floater with more space next to KD and Book. CP3 should still cook against backups especially if staggered with DA together.

Yeah, lets see if Monty brings CP3 and Ayton off the bench. I can understand the thought process and like interesting suggestions but you know this would never happen.

Indeed bringing them off the bench would never happen. I meant more like CP3 and DA play first 5 mins and last 3 of first qtr, first 3 and last 4 of 2nd qtr. Similar in 2nd half. This brings DA to his 30 mins a game, which is his average anyway in regular season because of the lack of motor or whatever. Adjust CP3's mins to keep him below 30. In playoffs increase their mins if required. Payne will spend a lot of time with KD and Booker this way and one can only hope his game gets to 2021 level.

[irish22022]

There's was a point as Nash got older I really wished they'd have just played him off ball.

We can absolutely do that Paul. Especially at the very least just let booker and KD bring it up. No more full court presses on Paul, you can see him getting tired right away. Run some quick screens to get him the ball up top or just let the guy spot up and shoot some 3s. Someone else said it - he's our 4th best player now. His contract value would suggest otherwise but for this year, he needs to play less and come off the ball.

As for Payne, I really don't mind him as much as a lot of you seem to. To me, he still passes the eye test. He is good ball handler and can initiate an offense very consistently. We have KD and Booker, we don't need him to go for 24.

I would have Paul bring it up, or Okogie. Like was mentioned earlier, the great thing about having Okogie bring it up is that it means someone has to guard him. The same would apply to Paul. If Booker or KD bring it up, other defenders can more easily leave Okogie and Paul as lesser offensive threats to double KD and/or trap Booker.

Paul is also by far the best ball handler and still has an elite ast/to ratio at like 4.5 to 1 or something so you absolutely want him doing what he does best while drawing a defender. As long as he can get it past halfcourt in 8 seconds.

I get it I just have PTSD of brunson and Jrue picking him up at 85 feet and watching Chris struggle so hard so fast.

[TOO]

What about Payne/Booker/Okogie/KD/Biyombo lineup. Nice mix of offense and defense. Payne has played better with the starters in the past and may find his floater with more space next to KD and Book. CP3 should still cook against backups especially if staggered with DA together.

Yeah, lets see if Monty brings CP3 and Ayton off the bench. I can understand the thought process and like interesting suggestions but you know this would never happen.

Indeed bringing them off the bench would never happen. I meant more like CP3 and DA play first 5 mins and last 3 of first qtr, first 3 and last 4 of 2nd qtr. Similar in 2nd half. This brings DA to his 30 mins a game, which is his average anyway in regular season because of the lack of motor or whatever. Adjust CP3's mins to keep him below 30. In playoffs increase their mins if required. Payne will spend a lot of time with KD and Booker this way and one can only hope his game gets to 2021 level.

5 minutes is barely long enough to break a sweat or get in a rhythm.

[lilfishi22]

There's was a point as Nash got older I really wished they'd have just played him off ball.

We can absolutely do that Paul. Especially at the very least just let booker and KD bring it up. No more full court presses on Paul, you can see him getting tired right away. Run some quick screens to get him the ball up top or just let the guy spot up and shoot some 3s. Someone else said it - he's our 4th best player now. His contract value would suggest otherwise but for this year, he needs to play less and come off the ball.

As for Payne, I really don't mind him as much as a lot of you seem to. To me, he still passes the eye test. He is good ball handler and can initiate an offense very consistently. We have KD and Booker, we don't need him to go for 24.

I would have Paul bring it up, or Okogie. Like was mentioned earlier, the great thing about having Okogie bring it up is that it means someone has to guard him. The same would apply to Paul. If Booker or KD bring it up, other defenders can more easily leave Okogie and Paul as lesser offensive threats to double KD and/or trap Booker.

Paul is also by far the best ball handler and still has an elite ast/to ratio at like 4.5 to 1 or something so you absolutely want him doing what he does best while drawing a defender. As long as he can get it past halfcourt in 8 seconds.

I get it I just have PTSD of brunson and Jrue picking him up at 85 feet and watching Chris struggle so hard so fast.

If Jrue or some #2 or #3 best defender on the opposing team is throwing resources at picking CP3 up full court, that's one less defender or help defender on KD/Book/DA. In the Mavs, Bucks or even the Pels series, we had defenders picking CP3 up full court because it was a gamble they could take when we didn't have have a really good 3rd guard to carry the ball up. Book is the obvious secondary ball handler but he's getting a ton of defensive attention as is so that leaves Payne (our 1st guard off the bench) but he was meh or downright bad in those series. Essentially, their game plan is to significantly slow down our ability to get in our offense or force someone else to set things up which leads to a worse outcome.

With KD now, I don't think teams can afford to throw the full court press at CP3, especially now that we've added Okogie and KD to the line up. That's 4 guys on the court who could bring the ball up with 3 of them creating significant gravity just by being on the court. Teams can still throw the full court press at CP3 but in those situations, it's more than likely we'll either swing the ball up court for quick offense or there's going to be more ball handling help for CP3.

[sunsfan1o1]

What about Payne/Booker/Okogie/KD/Biyombo lineup. Nice mix of offense and defense. Payne has played better with the starters in the past and may find his floater with more space next to KD and Book. CP3 should still cook against backups especially if staggered with DA together.

Yeah, lets see if Monty brings CP3 and Ayton off the bench. I can understand the thought process and like interesting suggestions but you know this would never happen.

Lol. You got jokes.

[garrick]

I'm still not convinced we have enough games left to get it together for a finals run, KD looked good but our bench struggled and we can't expect Book to be this efficient every game.

The backup center spot is a huge concern with how Jock has seemingly forgotten how to be a basketball player & we really should have just kept Dario because you know he's at least a threat to hit 3's and grab a few rebounds.

Jock just looks a bit slow and out of sorts and I can't understand why that is as he doesn't play a ton of minutes so fatigue is likely not a factor here.

No WC teams have had GREAT seasons though outside of Denver, who don't particularly scare me. Memphis, in 2nd, is on pace for like 51 wins...the Kings, in 3rd, at 48. Heck, I think our 9th place 13-14 team won that many.

Then we are in 4th and teams behind us are all on pace to be around 500. The west is pretty open. Denver should expect nothing less than a WCF run and really probably feels they should make the finals, but we all know the team with the best record isn't guaranteed anything. Utah and then us both lost in the 2nd round the last two years and we may face Denver in the 2nd round this year.

I think Dallas, Clippers and GSW could give us some trouble and the rest I am not super concerned about, now if we go the finals again then I'm not convinced we can beat Boston which did a really good job defending against KD and the Bucks who are also a really good defensive team.

[Slim Charless]

I'm still not convinced we have enough games left to get it together for a finals run, KD looked good but our bench struggled and we can't expect Book to be this efficient every game.

The backup center spot is a huge concern with how Jock has seemingly forgotten how to be a basketball player & we really should have just kept Dario because you know he's at least a threat to hit 3's and grab a few rebounds.

Jock just looks a bit slow and out of sorts and I can't understand why that is as he doesn't play a ton of minutes so fatigue is likely not a factor here.

No WC teams have had GREAT seasons though outside of Denver, who don't particularly scare me. Memphis, in 2nd, is on pace for like 51 wins...the Kings, in 3rd, at 48. Heck, I think our 9th place 13-14 team won that many.

Then we are in 4th and teams behind us are all on pace to be around 500. The west is pretty open. Denver should expect nothing less than a WCF run and really probably feels they should make the finals, but we all know the team with the best record isn't guaranteed anything. Utah and then us both lost in the 2nd round the last two years and we may face Denver in the 2nd round this year.

I think Dallas, Clippers and GSW could give us some trouble and the rest I am not super concerned about, now if we go the finals again then I'm not convinced we can beat Boston which did a really good job defending against KD and the Bucks who are also a really good defensive team.

I'm interested in seeing our game on Sunday vs Dallas. From what I've seen so far, they don't worry me at all. Luka Chuckic and KY can score but are sieves defensively and Ayton should feast.

Booker is gonna see so many easy shots from this point forward. KD is gonna be taking the doubles or the opponents best defender. CP3 is also gonna be getting open shots...his little elbow midrange shot will be there everytime now.

[lilfishi22]

No WC teams have had GREAT seasons though outside of Denver, who don't particularly scare me. Memphis, in 2nd, is on pace for like 51 wins...the Kings, in 3rd, at 48. Heck, I think our 9th place 13-14 team won that many.

Then we are in 4th and teams behind us are all on pace to be around 500. The west is pretty open. Denver should expect nothing less than a WCF run and really probably feels they should make the finals, but we all know the team with the best record isn't guaranteed anything. Utah and then us both lost in the 2nd round the last two years and we may face Denver in the 2nd round this year.

I think Dallas, Clippers and GSW could give us some trouble and the rest I am not super concerned about, now if we go the finals again then I'm not convinced we can beat Boston which did a really good job defending against KD and the Bucks who are also a really good defensive team.

I'm interested in seeing our game on Sunday vs Dallas. From what I've seen so far, they don't worry me at all. Luka Chuckic and KY can score but are sieves defensively and Ayton should feast.

Booker is gonna see so many easy shots from this point forward. KD is gonna be taking the doubles or the opponents best defender. CP3 is also gonna be getting open shots...his little elbow midrange shot will be there everytime now.

From what I've watched of the new look Mavs, their offense is going to be very potent as they were last year but unlike last year, they won't be relying on Brunson to create when we're throwing everything to lock down Luka. That responsbility will now fall on an all-NBA calibre scorer in Kyrie. The Achilles heel as expected is their very poor defense. They are absolutely sieves on that end of the court and losing DFS who's their best team defender and who was most likely going to defend Book or KD, makes scoring on them all the more easier.

With the Mavs specifically, I don't think the question is necessary whether we can defend them well enough because I think it's just a matter of if they're gonna be hot or cold from 3. The question is whether we can keep up with them offensively. We have KD, Book and DA which should make us elite offensively but we're also 20th in the league in 3PT attempts and we're 22nd in pace. KD as good as he is from long range, has also never been a super high volume 3PT shooter. He topped out at 6.7 3PA all the way back in his final season with OKC. So I'm not sure we'll improve significantly on the 3PA front.

Which basically mean we need to rely on great defense to slow them down and be ultra efficient from 2pt range. Or....we just shoot a crap ton more 3's, like basically every elite contender outside of Denver and Memphis.

Prime example is their game against the Sixers. Sixers did exactly what they were suppose to do offensively, be super efficient and put up almost 130pts on the board. I mean, they shot almost 60% from the field and almost 45% from 3PT range. Their starters had a combined FG% of 62%. That should be enough to beat like 90% of teams on most nights. None of that mattered because the Mavs just beat them with pure volume and getting hot from 3.

[garrick]

I think Dallas, Clippers and GSW could give us some trouble and the rest I am not super concerned about, now if we go the finals again then I'm not convinced we can beat Boston which did a really good job defending against KD and the Bucks who are also a really good defensive team.

I'm interested in seeing our game on Sunday vs Dallas. From what I've seen so far, they don't worry me at all. Luka Chuckic and KY can score but are sieves defensively and Ayton should feast.

Booker is gonna see so many easy shots from this point forward. KD is gonna be taking the doubles or the opponents best defender. CP3 is also gonna be getting open shots...his little elbow midrange shot will be there everytime now.

From what I've watched of the new look Mavs, their offense is going to be very potent as they were last year but unlike last year, they won't be relying on Brunson to create when we're throwing everything to lock down Luka. That responsbility will now fall on an all-NBA calibre scorer in Kyrie. The Achilles heel as expected is their very poor defense. They are absolutely sieves on that end of the court and losing DFS who's their best team defender and who was most likely going to defend Book or KD, makes scoring on them all the more easier.

With the Mavs specifically, I don't think the question is necessary whether we can defend them well enough because I think it's just a matter of if they're gonna be hot or cold from 3. The question is whether we can keep up with them offensively. We have KD, Book and DA which should make us elite offensively but we're also 20th in the league in 3PT attempts and we're 22nd in pace. KD as good as he is from long range, has also never been a super high volume 3PT shooter. He topped out at 6.7 3PA all the way back in his final season with OKC. So I'm not sure we'll improve significantly on the 3PA front.

Which basically mean we need to rely on great defense to slow them down and be ultra efficient from 2pt range. Or....we just shoot a crap ton more 3's, like basically every elite contender outside of Denver and Memphis.

Prime example is their game against the Sixers. Sixers did exactly what they were suppose to do offensively, be super efficient and put up almost 130pts on the board. I mean, they shot almost 60% from the field and almost 45% from 3PT range. Their starters had a combined FG% of 62%. That should be enough to beat like 90% of teams on most nights. None of that mattered because the Mavs just beat them with pure volume and getting hot from 3.

It's hard to beat them when they're shooting lights out like that.

Game 7 was just a perfect storm for us as not only did we play poor defense and couldn't hit the broad side of a barn but the Mavs were just on fire and hitting everything from deep. Luka in particular was hitting his step back 3's and not much you can really do to stop them if he's hitting deep 3's like that.

[Slim Charless]

I think Dallas, Clippers and GSW could give us some trouble and the rest I am not super concerned about, now if we go the finals again then I'm not convinced we can beat Boston which did a really good job defending against KD and the Bucks who are also a really good defensive team.

I'm interested in seeing our game on Sunday vs Dallas. From what I've seen so far, they don't worry me at all. Luka Chuckic and KY can score but are sieves defensively and Ayton should feast.

Booker is gonna see so many easy shots from this point forward. KD is gonna be taking the doubles or the opponents best defender. CP3 is also gonna be getting open shots...his little elbow midrange shot will be there everytime now.

From what I've watched of the new look Mavs, their offense is going to be very potent as they were last year but unlike last year, they won't be relying on Brunson to create when we're throwing everything to lock down Luka. That responsbility will now fall on an all-NBA calibre scorer in Kyrie. The Achilles heel as expected is their very poor defense. They are absolutely sieves on that end of the court and losing DFS who's their best team defender and who was most likely going to defend Book or KD, makes scoring on them all the more easier.

With the Mavs specifically, I don't think the question is necessary whether we can defend them well enough because I think it's just a matter of if they're gonna be hot or cold from 3. The question is whether we can keep up with them offensively. We have KD, Book and DA which should make us elite offensively but we're also 20th in the league in 3PT attempts and we're 22nd in pace. KD as good as he is from long range, has also never been a super high volume 3PT shooter. He topped out at 6.7 3PA all the way back in his final season with OKC. So I'm not sure we'll improve significantly on the 3PA front.

Which basically mean we need to rely on great defense to slow them down and be ultra efficient from 2pt range. Or....we just shoot a crap ton more 3's, like basically every elite contender outside of Denver and Memphis.

Prime example is their game against the Sixers. Sixers did exactly what they were suppose to do offensively, be super efficient and put up almost 130pts on the board. I mean, they shot almost 60% from the field and almost 45% from 3PT range. Their starters had a combined FG% of 62%. That should be enough to beat like 90% of teams on most nights. None of that mattered because the Mavs just beat them with pure volume and getting hot from 3.

The Mavs were lucky they won today. If Maxey hadn't had that brain fart at the end of the game Philly might've pulled that out.

Ppl like to talk about cp3 getting abused on switches, what about Dallas? Luka, Kyrie and Wood are all liabilities. Is Josh Green now their best defender? How is he gonna deal in the playoffs with KD/Booker?

I think the Mavs are ripe for a 1st round exit but I hope we get them again. I'd love some revenge. Then I'll take Dubs and a eventual rematch with Giannis and the dirty Bucks. Please and thank you.

None of the above teams worry me. Ironically I'm quoting Ja here and I think Boston is the only team we need to worry about.

[lilfishi22]

I'm interested in seeing our game on Sunday vs Dallas. From what I've seen so far, they don't worry me at all. Luka Chuckic and KY can score but are sieves defensively and Ayton should feast.

Booker is gonna see so many easy shots from this point forward. KD is gonna be taking the doubles or the opponents best defender. CP3 is also gonna be getting open shots...his little elbow midrange shot will be there everytime now.

From what I've watched of the new look Mavs, their offense is going to be very potent as they were last year but unlike last year, they won't be relying on Brunson to create when we're throwing everything to lock down Luka. That responsbility will now fall on an all-NBA calibre scorer in Kyrie. The Achilles heel as expected is their very poor defense. They are absolutely sieves on that end of the court and losing DFS who's their best team defender and who was most likely going to defend Book or KD, makes scoring on them all the more easier.

With the Mavs specifically, I don't think the question is necessary whether we can defend them well enough because I think it's just a matter of if they're gonna be hot or cold from 3. The question is whether we can keep up with them offensively. We have KD, Book and DA which should make us elite offensively but we're also 20th in the league in 3PT attempts and we're 22nd in pace. KD as good as he is from long range, has also never been a super high volume 3PT shooter. He topped out at 6.7 3PA all the way back in his final season with OKC. So I'm not sure we'll improve significantly on the 3PA front.

Which basically mean we need to rely on great defense to slow them down and be ultra efficient from 2pt range. Or....we just shoot a crap ton more 3's, like basically every elite contender outside of Denver and Memphis.

Prime example is their game against the Sixers. Sixers did exactly what they were suppose to do offensively, be super efficient and put up almost 130pts on the board. I mean, they shot almost 60% from the field and almost 45% from 3PT range. Their starters had a combined FG% of 62%. That should be enough to beat like 90% of teams on most nights. None of that mattered because the Mavs just beat them with pure volume and getting hot from 3.

The Mavs were lucky they won today. If Maxey hadn't had that brain fart at the end of the game Philly might've pulled that out.

Ppl like to talk about cp3 getting abused on switches, what about Dallas? Luka, Kyrie and Wood are all liabilities. Is Josh Green now their best defender? How is he gonna deal in the playoffs with KD/Booker?

I think the Mavs are ripe for a 1st round exit but I hope we get them again. I'd love some revenge. Then I'll take Dubs and a eventual rematch with Giannis and the dirty Bucks. Please and thank you.

None of the above teams worry me. Ironically I'm quoting Ja here and I think Boston is the only team we need to worry about.

There were certainly mistakes made on the Sixers end but the point remains, the Mavs 3pt bombing means they are never out of a game and they just need to be within striking distance for their superstars to get it done on the offensive end and also play good enough defence to allow them the opportunity to get stops.

Also agree about the Mavs being ripe for a 1st round exit. Entirely possible the Mavs WCF appearance last playoffs is a flash in the pan. Not saying they had an easy road but the Jazz have been playoff chokers for a good half decade and while we put up a fight, we also choked hard in the last couple of games in our series. They did get wrecked in the WCF by the eventual champs though.

This year I think they are certainly a worse team and margin for error is smaller because of their lack of defense but as long as they can keep bombing away and hit anywhere close to 40%, they are going to be in every game.

The only teams that don't worry me all that much are the Kings and Wolves.

[sunsbg]

Yeah, lets see if Monty brings CP3 and Ayton off the bench. I can understand the thought process and like interesting suggestions but you know this would never happen.

Indeed bringing them off the bench would never happen. I meant more like CP3 and DA play first 5 mins and last 3 of first qtr, first 3 and last 4 of 2nd qtr. Similar in 2nd half. This brings DA to his 30 mins a game, which is his average anyway in regular season because of the lack of motor or whatever. Adjust CP3's mins to keep him below 30. In playoffs increase their mins if required. Payne will spend a lot of time with KD and Booker this way and one can only hope his game gets to 2021 level.

5 minutes is barely long enough to break a sweat or get in a rhythm.

CP3 and DA need to get into rhythm for those 6 mins at end of 1st/3rd qtr, start of 2nd/4th against the opponent's second unit. KD and Book will take the load the rest of the time anyway. Payne/Okogie/Booker/KD/Biyombo is a great D and fast break lineup. CP3 and DA can feast on other teams bench players. No more all reserve player lineups, you always have two of your big 4 on the floor. In the playoffs Ayton will ideally play more than 30 mins, but CP3 will need all the rest he can get.

[Saberestar]

Indeed bringing them off the bench would never happen. I meant more like CP3 and DA play first 5 mins and last 3 of first qtr, first 3 and last 4 of 2nd qtr. Similar in 2nd half. This brings DA to his 30 mins a game, which is his average anyway in regular season because of the lack of motor or whatever. Adjust CP3's mins to keep him below 30. In playoffs increase their mins if required. Payne will spend a lot of time with KD and Booker this way and one can only hope his game gets to 2021 level.

5 minutes is barely long enough to break a sweat or get in a rhythm.

CP3 and DA need to get into rhythm for those 6 mins at end of 1st/3rd qtr, start of 2nd/4th against the opponent's second unit. KD and Book will take the load the rest of the time anyway. Payne/Okogie/Booker/KD/Biyombo is a great D and fast break lineup. CP3 and DA can feast on other teams bench players. No more all reserve player lineups, you always have two of your big 4 on the floor. In the playoffs Ayton will ideally play more than 30 mins, but CP3 will need all the rest he can get.

No need to overthink things, the starting five is fine and they need to play minutes together to be ready for the playoffs.

82 games... we need to play 10-11 guys on the rotation to stay fresh enough. In the playoffs we can play just 8-9, that's how it works every year.

[sunsbg]

5 minutes is barely long enough to break a sweat or get in a rhythm.

CP3 and DA need to get into rhythm for those 6 mins at end of 1st/3rd qtr, start of 2nd/4th against the opponent's second unit. KD and Book will take the load the rest of the time anyway. Payne/Okogie/Booker/KD/Biyombo is a great D and fast break lineup. CP3 and DA can feast on other teams bench players. No more all reserve player lineups, you always have two of your big 4 on the floor. In the playoffs Ayton will ideally play more than 30 mins, but CP3 will need all the rest he can get.

No need to overthinking things, the starting five is fine and they need to play minutes together to be ready for the playoffs.

82 games... we need to play 10-11 guys on the rotation to stay fresh enough. In the playoffs we can play just 8-9, that's how it works every year.

They will play together, but I feel CP3 and DA may be underutilized some of the time, so experimenting with different lineups to find different strengths makes sense. It's also not a revolutionary idea to have a starter quality player spend more time with the second unit and make life easier for the reserves, especially with those older players like CP3.

[sunsbg]

Something related.

https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/2023/3/2/23621905/phoenix-suns-devin-booker-on-kevin-durant-one-of-us-will-always-be-on-the-floor-at-all-times

[Saberestar]

CP3 and DA need to get into rhythm for those 6 mins at end of 1st/3rd qtr, start of 2nd/4th against the opponent's second unit. KD and Book will take the load the rest of the time anyway. Payne/Okogie/Booker/KD/Biyombo is a great D and fast break lineup. CP3 and DA can feast on other teams bench players. No more all reserve player lineups, you always have two of your big 4 on the floor. In the playoffs Ayton will ideally play more than 30 mins, but CP3 will need all the rest he can get.

No need to overthink things, the starting five is fine and they need to play minutes together to be ready for the playoffs.

82 games... we need to play 10-11 guys on the rotation to stay fresh enough. In the playoffs we can play just 8-9, that's how it works every year.

They will play together, but I feel CP3 and DA may be underutilized some of the time, so experimenting with different lineups to find different strengths makes sense. It's also not a revolutionary idea to have a starter quality player spend more time with the second unit and make life easier for the reserves, especially with those older players like CP3.

Okogie makes our starting five pretty balanced. CP3 and Ayton will have a lot of opportunities to create or score on offense.

We are competing for a championship and every player will need to make some sacrifice. We are stacked and some guys will not play at all.

I don't care if stats for CP3 and Ayton goes down because wins are the most important thing. We need their capability and threatening to make KD and Book somewhat open.

Biyombo and Okogie together makes our starting five much easier to defend. And Payne isn't as reliable and smart as CP3.

And not even need to talk about all the physiological stuff with being starter or bench player, being demoted, confidence...

The cons are much bigger than the pros.

[sunsbg]

No need to overthinking things, the starting five is fine and they need to play minutes together to be ready for the playoffs.

82 games... we need to play 10-11 guys on the rotation to stay fresh enough. In the playoffs we can play just 8-9, that's how it works every year.

They will play together, but I feel CP3 and DA may be underutilized some of the time, so experimenting with different lineups to find different strengths makes sense. It's also not a revolutionary idea to have a starter quality player spend more time with the second unit and make life easier for the reserves, especially with those older players like CP3.

Okogie makes our starting five pretty balanced. CP3 and Ayton will have a lot of opportunities to create or score on offense.

We are competing for a championship and every player will need to make some sacrifice. We are stacked and some guys will not play at all.

I don't care if stats for CP3 and Ayton goes down because wins are the most important thing. We need their capability and threatening to make KD and Book somewhat open.

Biyombo and Okogie together makes our starting five much easier to defend. And Payne isn't as reliable and smart as CP3.

And not even need to talk about all the physiological stuff with being starter or bench player, being demoted, confidence...

The cons are much bigger than the pros.

I posted minutes distribution in a previous post so not talking about demotion at all, but staggering the big four. Payne is certainly not as smart as CP3, but if we face the Mavs you know what is coming - Luka posting CP3 all day to get him exhausted. Suns D will probably look better with Payne, so better be prepared for such situation. Cam in the form he showed as a starter last season is a game changer.

[Saberestar]

They will play together, but I feel CP3 and DA may be underutilized some of the time, so experimenting with different lineups to find different strengths makes sense. It's also not a revolutionary idea to have a starter quality player spend more time with the second unit and make life easier for the reserves, especially with those older players like CP3.

Okogie makes our starting five pretty balanced. CP3 and Ayton will have a lot of opportunities to create or score on offense.

We are competing for a championship and every player will need to make some sacrifice. We are stacked and some guys will not play at all.

I don't care if stats for CP3 and Ayton goes down because wins are the most important thing. We need their capability and threatening to make KD and Book somewhat open.

Biyombo and Okogie together makes our starting five much easier to defend. And Payne isn't as reliable and smart as CP3.

And not even need to talk about all the physiological stuff with being starter or bench player, being demoted, confidence...

The cons are much bigger than the pros.

I posted minutes distribution in a previous post so not talking about demotion at all, but staggering the big four. Payne is certainly not as smart as CP3, but if we face the Mavs you know what is coming - Luka posting CP3 all day to get him exhausted. Suns D will probably look better with Payne, so better be prepared for such situation. Cam in the form he showed as a starter last season is a game changer.

Payne is not better than CP3 on defense.

We couldn't play Cam Payne in that series against the Mavs because Doncic and Brunson took advantage of him all the time. Payne's size is gonna be always a disadvantage.

It will be better to go big against the Mavs and play some minutes with Book at PG.

[sunsbg]

Okogie makes our starting five pretty balanced. CP3 and Ayton will have a lot of opportunities to create or score on offense.

We are competing for a championship and every player will need to make some sacrifice. We are stacked and some guys will not play at all.

I don't care if stats for CP3 and Ayton goes down because wins are the most important thing. We need their capability and threatening to make KD and Book somewhat open.

Biyombo and Okogie together makes our starting five much easier to defend. And Payne isn't as reliable and smart as CP3.

And not even need to talk about all the physiological stuff with being starter or bench player, being demoted, confidence...

The cons are much bigger than the pros.

I posted minutes distribution in a previous post so not talking about demotion at all, but staggering the big four. Payne is certainly not as smart as CP3, but if we face the Mavs you know what is coming - Luka posting CP3 all day to get him exhausted. Suns D will probably look better with Payne, so better be prepared for such situation. Cam in the form he showed as a starter last season is a game changer.

Payne is not better than CP3 on defense.

We couldn't play Cam Payne in that series against the Mavs because Doncic and Brunson took advantage of him all the time. Payne's size is gonna be always a disadvantage.

It will be better to go big against the Mavs and play some minutes with Book at PG.

True, Cam is not better than CP3 as defender in general, but youth and energy is still on his side. The lineup with him I mentioned should be pretty good in up tempo game. It's good to be able to throw different looks at the opponent. All this applies if he regains form and actually looks good, otherwise Booker or Okogie at PG is only option if Mavs or any other team start exploiting CP3 on D.