Jordan Crawford VS Nick Young [Who Starts at SG?]

[The Fax]

Assuming we retain Nick Young (and there's a season next year...), is it set in stone that he's the starter? Does Jordan Crawford come off the bench to be our Jason Terry? Does Young go back to the 6th man slot?Or are we going to put Young at SF? What would be in the best interest of the team?

Some Pros & Cons

Jordan Crawford

Pro; much better ball handler and has excellent court vision, could take some pressure off Wall in terms of creating shots for himself and others. Also (surprisingly) a better rebounder and all around player. Similar to Arenas in terms of style, not afraid to chuck up shots and is effective at getting to the rim when he chooses, got 10+ FT's in limited action during two games last season, where Young did so only once with almost three times as many games palyed. While his jumper isn't consistent enough to demand respect from opposing defenses yet, he is a very capable scorer. Only 22 years old and still has a long time to get better.

Con; huge dropoff defensively, not as physically gifted as Young, gets beat by his man fairly easily. While he will surely improve defensively, Young right now is a superior defender in all categories.

Nick Young

Pro; Deadly shooter, arguably top 5 in the league. Threat to drop 25+ every game if given the green light. Smoother jumper, more consistent and far more athletic than Crawford. Also contains an added dimension in his developing post jumpshot. More efficient scorer than Crawford and demands respect from defenses. On defense, he's capable of shutting down premier stars like he showed us against Dwayne Wade last year. Seems to always play better as a starter too as he posted 19.8ppg vs 13.4 coming off the bench.

Con; Hasn't proven to be any more than a pure scorer at this point. In 64 games played last season, only accumulated 4+ assists twice with significant playing time. Not a great rebounder for his 6'7 frame, decent 2.7rpg for his role in the offense which commands him to constantly come off screens, however ideally he should be getting closer to 4 or 5 a game. Tends to fall in love with his jump shot at times even though he has the physical tools to attack the basket. Doesn't seem to have to be a great leader, generally a shy and non vocal player. Mentally, he seems like he gets down on himself at times, unlike Crawford who seems to have a bit of an arenas-like arrogance to his game (which I personally appreciate). Only 26 years old at the moment, but this is when players should be entering their prime, has Young hit the ceiling or has he just dipped his toes in the water?



Care to agree, disagree? What's your take, does it even matter?

[montestewart]

Young's good man defense makes him more than just a scorer to me, and his catch and shoot role, especially last year, limits his assists, although there are times when he just fails to look beyond either trying to make something happen or passing back to the PG. Considering his speed and jump, his RBing seems pretty poor.

As a Crawford Con, all his shooting percentages are pretty bad (except FT%, where he and Young are both excellent but Crawford is clearly better). A lot of that seems to be wild shot selection and crazy shots, which could improve if he calms down a little.

Until Sh'Mack proves worthy of getting PG minutes, Crawford should be the 3rd guard, as his skills allow him to capably back up both guards, but he hasn't shown that he's better than Young.

[nate33]

Unless Crawford has dramatically improved his shot this offseason, it's no contest. Young should start. He's a very good fit alongside Wall as a catch-and-shoot player who can run the floor and defend. Crawford's ability to take the pressure off Wall as the primary ball handler seems like a skill we'd want in our backup guard, not our starter. If Wall needs help, THEN you bring in Crawford.