Utah (37-20) @ Sacramento (18-39)

[SacKingZZZ]

7 turnovers YES is surprising! As a team we average 15.5. The absence of Jason Thompson doesn't explain that, nor does any other change in the lineup. The guys had roles and a game plan.

Look I get you, mitch, and a select few want to see Spencer Hawes start. I'd like to see Spencer Hawes play consistently! I'm not too caught up in who's starting and "front court pairings" because you don't play the entire game like soccer or baseball. With the three big men they will all play their time if they can pull their weight. Spencer Hawes needs to consistently play well. He needs to learn how to play with Jason AND Carl (and vise versa).

I'm not going to make a suggestion anyone should be in or out of the lineup based on one game. It looks like you're content with this lineup. Tomorrow when Chris Kaman goes to town on Spencer Hawes don't deviate from this lineup.

While after seeing the other available options I do think it's the best option, it's more about how the players are used. I've been clamouring for JT to be used in a different way as well. Now that we have Landry maybe he can be! Westphal was desperately trying to force him into the role Carl is now succeeding at. It's just a waste of JT's considerable talents IMO.

Believe me, I won't. It's not just about Spencer Hawes. I have no unrealistic expectations about Spencer or his capabilities. Now I do however think if he's used correctly, even if at the level of a marginal role player (spread the floor, feed the post, set good screens, foul hard, etc.), he can be a very successful part of the team moving forward. Still, he's 21 years old! He's got time, and it will take him some time, but I feel he has to have a patient coach not panicking everytime a youngster makes a mistake. Spencer gets an unfair shake some of the time IMO. JT gets it too but far less even though he probably triples the amount of mistakes Spencer makes in a given game by setting a crap screen, missing a defensive assignment, committing a silly foul, or turning the ball over. In order for Spencer to learn to play with Carl he has to actually do it! I think the game last night was the first one in which he got a real chance to do it.

One of my other main points is that Jason would be better off the bench because he's got the qualities of a good major minute bench player. On the flipside I'd like to see Spencer start because he doesn't have the qualities of a good bench player, but he does have a more stable and advanced skill level which in turn makes him a better candidate to start IMO. Alluding to the idea that it doesn't matter who starts or comes off the bench just isn't true. Why do you think a good 6th man is so special? They're hard to find, that's why. I want somebody like JT who will bring energy and hustle. Somebody that's going to produce in a short number of minutes, and that's just not Spencer Hawes. He's more of an "in the flow of the game" kind of player. It just seems rather obvious to me. This team is going to be built around Evans and Landry, I think he compliments those two more than JT. JT compliments them more as an off the bench type when the energy is low, or we're getting beat up on the glass.

[pillwenney]

Just to be clear, I'm not necessarily gung ho about Spencer starting. I'm kind of indifferent on it. It did seem to work well last night, but I just want to find the right combination. I'm personally still for trying Landry off the bench. I like the idea of having a main offensive option come off the bench. Of course this wouldn't necessarily mean anything about his minutes, but I just think it would potentially be a good way to set things up. Also, I'm a little wary of starting a poor rebounding front line. We really just got by against the Jazz in that sense.

On another note, I don't think there's a ton of merit to the idea that Spencer's presence really helped space the floor just isn't based in reality. I think the guys certainly had a clearer idea of what they were doing, and I think Utah's very overrated D also helped, but the simple fact is that while Spencer has more range, Jason has arguably been the more consistent mid-range shooter this year. This was extremely true early on. So I don't know how much that necessarily has to do with it.

I do think it's ideal that things should be set up so that the right guys are playing with each other. I think that if Spencer is coming off the bench, that ideally Beno should be as well, for instance.

[Royal Zephyrus]

I'd rather have Spencer start for the simple reason that I think Thompson OR Landry for that matter would be MUCH more suited to coming off the bench, JT in particular.

That's not me saying Hawes is better than JT right now. That's me saying that line-up focuses on the strengths and weakness of our team right now.

In fact, I think our best starting line-up THIS week would be:

C: Hawes
PF: Landry
SF: Nocioni
SG: Udrih
PG: Evans

Just for this week...

Once Francisco get HEALTHY(which might not be until next year really) then I'd like to see Beno go to the bench and Cisco start at the 2.

I mainly want to play Nocioni at the 3(even if he ticks me off often) to get him going early, allow him to spread the floor( I think he's the best, yet the streakiest, 3 point shooter we have at the 3 right now) Which is what I think we need from the 3 right now, DISTANCE shooting. His veteran presence might help settle things down as well.

[KingInExile]

^^I agree with the line of thought that Hawes should play center over JT. JT is just far more suited to play the 4. That said, I would much rather Petrie find someone else to be the long term solution at the center position. I just don't have the confidence that Hawes is going to grow out of his inconsistencies and will lack the athleticism to be the defensive presence we need from that position.

[perezident]

^^^ Do what ever it takes to get Brook Lopez!!

I'd gladly give up Hawes (Casspi/Donte) rights to swap 2010 picks for Lopez (Terrence/Douglas-
Roberts) cash

On the count of the draft looks like this:
GSW--Wall
Sac-- Turner
MIN-- Johnson (known for screwing up drafts lol)
NJ -- Cousins

So the trade then looks like this:

Sac trades: Hawes, Donte Rights to Evan Turner
gets: Lopez, Terrence Rights to DeMarcus Cousins

New lineup
Lopez/Cousins/Dorsey
JT/Landry/Brockman
Casspi/Noc
Garcia/Terrence
Evans/Beno

NJ trades: Lopez, Terrence Rights to DeMarcus Cousins
gets: Hawes, Donte Rights to Evan Turner

New lineup
Hawes/Hump
Yi/Donte
CDR/?
Turner/Lee
Harris/Dooling

[SacKingZZZ]

Just to be clear, I'm not necessarily gung ho about Spencer starting. I'm kind of indifferent on it. It did seem to work well last night, but I just want to find the right combination. I'm personally still for trying Landry off the bench. I like the idea of having a main offensive option come off the bench. Of course this wouldn't necessarily mean anything about his minutes, but I just think it would potentially be a good way to set things up. Also, I'm a little wary of starting a poor rebounding front line. We really just got by against the Jazz in that sense.

On another note, I don't think there's a ton of merit to the idea that Spencer's presence really helped space the floor just isn't based in reality. I think the guys certainly had a clearer idea of what they were doing, and I think Utah's very overrated D also helped, but the simple fact is that while Spencer has more range, Jason has arguably been the more consistent mid-range shooter this year. This was extremely true early on. So I don't know how much that necessarily has to do with it.

I do think it's ideal that things should be set up so that the right guys are playing with each other. I think that if Spencer is coming off the bench, that ideally Beno should be as well, for instance.

Once again, go back to my argument. It isn't just about shooting, it's all about the nuances of the game. It's mainly about a) knowing where to be on the floor, b) knowing the play, c) setting solid screens, and d) doing the unheralded things like effectively feeding the post and moving to a advantageous position in relation to the ball from that point on.

Even though there is the ability to run a two man game here and there, this team is so well rounded in terms of differing skill sets they should be able to play 10+ different combinations of two man games from player to player.

[SacKingZZZ]

^^I agree with the line of thought that Hawes should play center over JT. JT is just far more suited to play the 4. That said, I would much rather Petrie find someone else to be the long term solution at the center position. I just don't have the confidence that Hawes is going to grow out of his inconsistencies and will lack the athleticism to be the defensive presence we need from that position.

That's why I think it would be great to have a solid option off the bench. Somebody that maybe plays the game different and provides maybe some of those bigger needs. That way if Spencer isn't effective you go to your #1 option off the bench and then go from there.

I like the idea of having a stabilizing defensive force off the bench because there are very few teams that start games shutting down the other team. It's usually a back and forth affair until the game settles. That's when you need to bring in the beef and start locking the other team down. Somebody like Cole Aldrich would be perfect as a fallback in case Spencer Hawes just isn't getting the job done. Being that our guys are still on such affordable contracts it's still possible to get a big $$$ to fill that position but it would be much better to get a cheaper option IMO, but at least we could go that route without having to tie up significant funds in 2-3 bigs.

[a-rod]

Thanks for this great analysis SacKingZZZ, I agree on most of them.