Trevor Booker starting permanently could fix this team

[Ruzious]

Gotta figure there's a reason why most of the rest of the starting 5 went cold once Booker replaced Nene.

[dlts20]

what if it was Harrington instead of Book? Al's D sucks and so does his rebounding but I always wanted to see Wall with a true stretch 4 and I always wanted to see Al & Gortat together. The biggest downfall of this though is not Al's D & rebounding but its his ego. He think's his Michael Jordan and will be gunning. He will gun even more with all the looks he will get. Still, I would love to see Wall-Beal-Ariza-Harrington-Gortat with Nene-Book-Webster-Porter off the bench

[jivelikenice]

Booker's rebounding has been a pleasant surprise, but is his presense in the lineup hurting us? Its just seems that outside of his rebounding he seems to be a liability defensively and doesn't move well without the ball offensively. He also sometimes crashes too hard leaving us susceptible on transition D (although that could be coaching).

The problem is Nene won't last as a starter and continually flip flopping between Vesely/Booker/Seraphin will get us nowhere. Eventually (and sometimes rather quickly) all of their flaws will show. Is it time to invest some future cap space in a guy like Thad Young?

[Nivek]

what if it was Harrington instead of Book? Al's D sucks and so does his rebounding but I always wanted to see Wall with a true stretch 4 and I always wanted to see Al & Gortat together. The biggest downfall of this though is not Al's D & rebounding but its his ego. He think's his Michael Jordan and will be gunning. He will gun even more with all the looks he will get. Still, I would love to see Wall-Beal-Ariza-Harrington-Gortat with Nene-Book-Webster-Porter off the bench

The problem with starting Harrington is that he's not good. Booker is a better option, even with his poor defense. At least from Booker, the team gets rebounding and efficient offense. They won't get that much from Harrington. As I've been saying since the summer, I'd STILL like to see them use Ariza at S4. I'd like to see them try a 5-game stretch starting a lineup of Wall-Beal-Webster-Ariza-Gortat.

[hands11]

Bookers fine. The reason we're losing games is because Beal, Webster and Ariza both are all having terrible shooting numbers for the new year.

I agree. All this back and forth over whether Book should start would be a non-issue if our shooters had not all gone cold at pretty much the same. That lack of offense naturally leads to questions about starting a nonscoring threat like Booker. What Booker does do with his rebounding (especially offensive) is give his teammates additional shot opportunities. It's not his fault that they're not knocking down those shots.

That's not the biggest issue with Booker. The issues regarding him starting MAINLY come from the defensive side of the court. He's not an acceptable team defender, is terrible in P&R scenarios & in space in general. Gortat's current struggles should highlight the fact he's basically alone down low defensively, without Nene in there beside him. Were basically playing with less than a full deck when Booker starts and he's a bad match up against at least half the league if not more. That's why he never was a good fit in the starting lineup IMO and why I can't view him as an exceptable option at starting PF.

That's pretty much it. I understand why its hard for some to see it. You can't just look at Bookers numbers. By his numbers, things looks fine. Best rebounder on the team. He is scoring efficiently. Most nights, he is getting his. But if you iso on just him and see what he is doing play after play, you see the downside. He will keep his box out position even when an offensive player is scoring 2 feet in front of him. He doesn't help. And on the perimeter, he walks around and plays stiff. Because he is to short and not heavy enough, he is aways fronting players. Having Booker out there is doing exactly what you said. Its exposing Gortat for his shortcomings. Its what I have said it is. Its not a good pairing for an every night go to starting PF/C combo.

Teams have now scouted them and figured this out.

[JWallConnect]

Gotta figure there's a reason why most of the rest of the starting 5 went cold once Booker replaced Nene.

I noticed that we're not getting those corner 3's that are assisted by our bigs since Booker came into the starting lineup

[hands11]

what if it was Harrington instead of Book? Al's D sucks and so does his rebounding but I always wanted to see Wall with a true stretch 4 and I always wanted to see Al & Gortat together. The biggest downfall of this though is not Al's D & rebounding but its his ego. He think's his Michael Jordan and will be gunning. He will gun even more with all the looks he will get. Still, I would love to see Wall-Beal-Ariza-Harrington-Gortat with Nene-Book-Webster-Porter off the bench

You are right. AH's was as bad as Bookers.

Like it or not, Ves is the best defensive PF of AH, Booker, Kevin and himself. And he is the 3rd best rebounder on the team. First in steals per/36. Yeep. Better then Wall or TA. And Randy loves steals so they can run the fast break. The foundation of his offense. He is 4th in blocks and only .1 per 36 behind Nene for 3rd.

Ves is also 7-0 242 and long.

Time to give Ves a try.

[hands11]

what if it was Harrington instead of Book? Al's D sucks and so does his rebounding but I always wanted to see Wall with a true stretch 4 and I always wanted to see Al & Gortat together. The biggest downfall of this though is not Al's D & rebounding but its his ego. He think's his Michael Jordan and will be gunning. He will gun even more with all the looks he will get. Still, I would love to see Wall-Beal-Ariza-Harrington-Gortat with Nene-Book-Webster-Porter off the bench

The problem with starting Harrington is that he's not good. Booker is a better option, even with his poor defense. At least from Booker, the team gets rebounding and efficient offense. They won't get that much from Harrington. As I've been saying since the summer, I'd STILL like to see them use Ariza at S4. I'd like to see them try a 5-game stretch starting a lineup of Wall-Beal-Webster-Ariza-Gortat.

I also like that idea from before the season started. It was either that, or the tryout out we are seeing since I wanted to see one of Nene or Okafor coming off the bench. TA at S4 with Webster starting seemed like the easiest decision for Randy from the get go... if Otto didn't get hurt. All experienced capable players. But Otto's injury delayed that option.

I think we will see more of that once Randy is convinced Otto is ready to take more minutes at SF. May as well give Ves a run at it and have that as the fall back plan. Eventually, they can do the same with Otto starting if he is good enough. Starters really need another ball handler out there.

I expect by the ASB, Randy might have it worked out.

[dckingsfan]

Vesely is just not an option. We would literally destroy any confidence he has begun to assemble by starting him. He would come out the other end a quivering mess. We just have to hope that he can develop in 10 minute dribs and drabs off the bench.

Okafor, Ariza, Webster, Beal, Wall is the best option. Agreed that Porter needs to get serviceable first.

Witt has this figured out - but if Beal keeps playing like a D leaguer... it won't matter who you start at PF. Our wings have been tanking - even when Nene is in the lineup.

[TGW]

Vesely is barely worthy of starting on a d-league team, let alone an NBA team.

Booker is clearly a much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, better player than Vesely, despite his defensive woes.

Poor Ves should be in his native country.

[dckingsfan]

Vesely is barely worthy of starting on a d-league team, let alone an NBA team.

Booker is clearly a much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, better player than Vesely, despite his defensive woes.

Poor Ves should be in his native country.

I kind of wonder if he had stayed overseas for a couple 3 years - if he would have become a much better player.

[JWallConnect]

Vesely is barely worthy of starting on a d-league team, let alone an NBA team.

Booker is clearly a much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, better player than Vesely, despite his defensive woes.

Poor Ves should be in his native country.

He got the ball last night while Steph Curry was the only player in the paint and in front of the rim and he just threw the ball off the backboard he's so bad

[TGW]

Vesely is barely worthy of starting on a d-league team, let alone an NBA team.

Booker is clearly a much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, better player than Vesely, despite his defensive woes.

Poor Ves should be in his native country.

He got the ball last night while Steph Curry was the only player in the paint and in front of the rim and he just threw the ball off the backboard he's so bad

I've never seen such an embarrassing player offensively. I honestly think Michael Ruffin was more of a threat. At least Ruffin set solid screens and grabbed offensive boards at a high rate...Ves doesn't even do those things well.

[Ruzious]

Vesely's +/- is -11.7. On a losing team, the team is 11.7 points worse per 100 possessions when he's on the floor. He definitely has not made the team better.

[dckingsfan]

Vesely's +/- is -11.7. On a losing team, the team is 11.7 points worse per 100 possessions when he's on the floor. He definitely has not made the team better.

That really should end the discussion for now - somehow, I don't feel that will happen though.

[Dark Faze]

I'd love to see what a guy like Thibs could do with Ves. With more muscle and a higher IQ he's pretty much the perfect defensive PF.

I'm kind of over the "just give John a stretch 4" thing. We already have an offense that consists on relying on Wall to penetrate and kick and even with three wings who shoot 40% from deep we're a below .500 team.

I just think it's more of a coaching problem than it is a talent one. We're so pathetically uninspired offensively. Wall has the potential to be a 25 ppg guy. How does the fastest PG in the league have so many unassisted buckets? Why is he having to work so hard with the ball? Where are the give and gos? Why doesn't he only have an alley oop jam once every week? He never gets easy cuts, catch, and layup finishes or anything simple at all.

What is happening in the offense that causes Porter to consistently set off ball screens while I never see Ariza doing it?

idk, I just want Witt gone.

[Dat2U]

It's a talent issue as much as a coaching issue. We have 9 crappy players right now. Well 8 crappy players and one that's struggling but we do have hope for (Beal).

But to excuse Witt because of a lack of talent is a mistake. He's in over his head. Has been the whole time, but standards are so low right now, he's been fortunate enough to remain employed for nearly two years now.

Right now being in the East is really masking how bad we really are. IMO in the West, were a 50 loss team. Were basically Portland of last year (33-49). A decent starting 5 with no depth whatsoever. Now a good GM like Neil Olshey was able to add a starting quality C and add depth and the Blazers have made an amazing turnaround. But instead of having a guy like Aldridge coming off a down year, we've got the fragile Nene who probably isn't going to rebound to play 36 minutes a night going forward. And while Olshey was wise enough to let a non-defensive big like J.J. Hickson go and replaced him with Robin Lopez, I doubt Ernie would have the foresight to do the same with Marcin Gortat. Plus Olshey already had his best 4 players locked under contract. We have Ariza, Gortat & Booker all as free agents (3 of our top 6 guys).

I already see extensions coming for Ernie & Witt. The bar is just set too low to expect anything else. But next year will be interesting. It's going to cost a pretty penny this off-season just to maintain status quo. As the East begins to get better and guys like Nene & Gortat decline while Ariza is no longer playing for a contract, the glow of being a playoff team in the East may wear off quickly next season.

[FAH1223]

It's a talent issue as much as a coaching issue. We have 9 crappy players right now. Well 8 crappy players and one that's struggling but we do have hope for (Beal).

But to excuse Witt because of a lack of talent is a mistake. He's in over his head. Has been the whole time, but standards are so low right now, he's been fortunate enough to remain employed for nearly two years now.

Right now being in the East is really masking how bad we really are. IMO in the West, were a 50 loss team. Were basically Portland of last year (33-49). A decent starting 5 with no depth whatsoever. Now a good GM like Neil Olshey was able to add a starting quality C and add depth and the Blazers have made an amazing turnaround. But instead of having a guy like Aldridge coming off a down year, we've got the fragile Nene who probably isn't going to rebound to play 36 minutes a night going forward. And while Olshey was wise enough to let a non-defensive big like J.J. Hickson go and replaced him with Robin Lopez, I doubt Ernie would have the foresight to do the same with Marcin Gortat. Plus Olshey already had his best 4 players locked under contract. We have Ariza, Gortat & Booker all as free agents (3 of our top 6 guys).

I already see extensions coming for Ernie & Witt. The bar is just set too low to expect anything else. But next year will be interesting. It's going to cost a pretty penny this off-season just to maintain status quo. As the East begins to get better and guys like Nene & Gortat decline while Ariza is no longer playing for a contract, the glow of being a playoff team in the East may wear off quickly next season.

If EG and Witt are given new 2 year contracts and the team sucks next year (which is probable due to the East not being as bad and less tanking teams)... then I guess we can say the countdown will end in 2015

[dobrojim]

I don't know if it's my lyin' eyes/selective memory or small sample size
but it seems to me that Book has been more reliable in hitting his mid-range J.
I admit that I still cringe when he does it but it's said that he has put in time
working on it so it may be that that work is paying off. That always was
a major hole in his game.

[dckingsfan]

I have us as the 18th ranked team but OK... I guess that is agreement.

#1 Issue is talent
#2 Issue is that we don't have a good talent plan

Further down is coaching which should be based on:
1) Does the team play hard
2) Is there a good defensive schema that fits the personnel
3) Is there a good offensive schema that fits the personnel
4) Is the coach playing the right players
5) Is the coach making good game time substitutions

I would say that Witt is at about 60% - not exactly a strong passing grade.

I think a little differently about the bar... if EG is retained it is too low. We shall see...