The return of TA...

[BillessuR6]

I was really looking forward to seeing Tony back after his injury. I thought this would give Doc the opportunity to rest Ray and especially Pierce. But after watching the game yesterday Doc put Tony in in the second quarter to play SG instead of House. He even said in an interview that TA`s return, means more rest for Ray...

So, is Rivers really planning on using TA primarily as a SG and not a SF? That is a frightening thought! Marbury and House have built up great chemistry at PG/SG, so to break that up would be a huge mistake. We have the opportunity now to bring back the preseason lineup where TA played at SF and it worked great. Pruitt, House, TA had great chemistry and with Marbury at PG we can get even more from the bench. In that way we can get the most out of each player and collectively as a group, IMO...

I hope Doc will use Tony primarily as a SF. He might not have the height for it but he fits the position from his skill set. And more importantly that also allows House to play his natural position where he excels...

Marbury, House, TA, Powe, Davis is an extremely good second lineup, IMO. It lacks height but it could definitely do some damage against other benches...

[BRUNiNHO91]

Yea Doc screwed up yesterday...Eddie played limited minutes...he only checked in the game with about 40 seconds left in the 1st quarter. That should not happen, specially now that House is on fire. TA should be filling in for Pierce, as Bill Walker was doing. Let House play his normal minutes at the 2, and MArbury get his at the 1. No need to play TA at 2 when we got House burning up at that position. I totally agree with your post.

[Dave_From_NB]

Pierce played 31 minutes last night, RA 39. It would seem to me that the immediate beneficiary of TA's return is Pauls with respect to reduced minutes.

8 whole minutes of play by TA, don't you think it's a little quick to jump to conclusions about Doc's intended use of him?

[BillessuR6]

Ray Allen got Pierce`s minutes at SF yesterday, so Paul didn`t benefit directly from Tony`s return.

The problem with Doc is that when he gets something in his head he refuses to change it even if it doesn`t work. He is extremely stubborn...

I guess I have to find solace in what he said. We all know he talks a lot and says all the right things, he just doesn`t implement it. So, if he said he would play Tony at SG that should actually mean that that won`t be the case...I feel better now...