Who should be our 5th Starter?

[Mk0]

I'm on the Snell starts for confidence reasons wagon. The dude needs it and he looks much better doing it. MDJ is a steady vet who won't be affected from a role shift.

Edit: I am voting for Snell, but don't let that fool you into thinking that I don't want MDJ playing his usual minutes. MDJ is my guy. Fantastic vet, but I need Snell to grow up and become a better player or get traded and this will be a big step in either direction.

[fleet]

Whoever helps bring the most defensive identity back. I make no pick based on offense. Zero.

[Wont PerDont]

Snell would be an intriguing option if he actually played solid enough defense to guard good PG and let Derrick hide on SG but he simply doesn't so I say still leave Dunleavy in there.

I'm confused by your post...

Are you suggesting Dunleavy is a better option (than Snell) to guard good PGs (while attempting to hide Rose)? And where does Jimmy fit in this scenario? Does Dunleavy/Snell guard the good PG over Jimmy, too?

[RedBulls23]

Sorry OP, but Snell is terrible at passing into the post.

Anyways, to me the correct answer is Dunleavy. Too many underrated his ability to stretch the defense with his 3 point shooting and to top it off, he's a solid teak defender. He's our best complete sf and he should start.

[bulls_downunder]

From a general basketball strategy point of view, the question really is do we want our best unit playing together as much as possible or do we want our talent spread out more evenly throughout 48 minutes.

If we want the former then the question should extend to 2 starters i.e. Gibson and Dunleavy should start ahead of Noah and Snell. If we want the latter, Gibson's bench scoring is a positive and Snell starting in a Bogan's role has merit.

A difficult conundrum to solve for Thibs, from my point of view I just want the best performing players to play the most minutes.

[AhUtopian]

Snell.

One reason is Dun more like microwave-type player,he's smart and steady enough to do well both starting or coming off bench.On the other hand ,Snell seems to be only efficient when starting.

Based on similar reason that Dun is steadier,we don't usually suspect what Dun will give us today,but I do suspect Snell,as a result,play Snell early and let him show what he gets today,then we can adjust our wing's rotation accordingly.

But yes,Dun is far more better and needed player,just we try to discover more possibility.If after 5 games,Snell can't hold his own-defense,off ball move,drive in,some wide open 3,then pull him out.

[Polynice4Pippen]

I like the way the team's looked the past 2 games with Snell starting. We've gotten off to quick starts, strong 1st and 3rd quarters, a little more athleticism and lateral quickness defensively, another ball handler who can slash on occasion. I'd let Tony stay in the starting 5 and bring MDJ off the bench for the time being. If MDJ gets the spot back though that would be fine too. But I'd stick with Snell for now, just don't wanna break this rhythm we have now.

[McBulls]

Not too long ago some folks on this board were suggesting we should trade Gibson or Noah for a wing.

Glad to see that Snell's recent play and McDermott's reappearance has put that foolish talk to bed.

That said, Kudo's to Thibs for sticking by a player he believed in. Wouldn't second guess his call on the matter of who should start.

[dice]

Snell plays better with the starters. More open opportunities

snell has always had open opportunities

and anyone would theoretically have more open opportunities with the starters

[GimmeDat]

I think it's pretty obviously MDJ to me - he's not the perfect SF, but he's a damn good role player.

That said, I think Snell plays best with the starting unit (though Mike probably does too), so I wouldn't mind Thibs easing Mike's minutes back for a few games and have him coming off the bench, to get us a longer look at how Snell goes in this role.

Either way, I think Snell's earned his minutes this last week. If only Thibs could give Doug some time as well.

[[e]]

Mike. I really don't think it's even close.

I guess I can see an argument to maybe use Kirk in a Bogans role. Maybe even Snell with the way he's turning things around.

But I think defenses worry more about MDJ - he also hasn't done anything to lose his job. 12-3 with the starting 5, correct?

[kingkirk]

The answer is Dunleavy. If we're not going to bench Noah for Taj, why would we bench Dunleavy for Snell?

C'mon.

That said, there should be no reason for Snell going back to 5 minutes or DNP type games when Mike returns. Over to you now Thibs to ensure you continue to get this 'ok' looking Snell going for the remainder of the season. Don't kill his confidence.

[coldfish]

Snell plays better with the starters. More open opportunities

That's because his man is guarding Rose, Butler or Gasol. That's a huge problem.

.......

My preference would be:
Start Rose , Butler, Dunleavey, Gibson, Gasol

and then work in Noah, Snell, Mirotic, Brooks and Hinrich with Hinrich only getting spot minutes at the 2.

This is where I have an issue with Thibodeau. He is too soft and seems legit afraid of vets. He needs to have a conversation with Noah just like he should have had a conversation with Boozer and tell them that getting 25-30 minutes off the bench is what is best for the team. He also needs to cut Hinrich back to under 20mpg.

I don't see a place in the rotation for McDermott unless he drastically improves from earlier this year and/or Snell becomes Snell again.

[musiqsoulchild]

The answer is whoever can hurt the opponent the most when they switch their SF defender onto Jimmy.

Dunleavy can get his shot over most of the SG's in the league and that shot is a 41%, 3t attempt...so teams have to chose their poison very carefully. With Derrick playing wonderfully well, this is by no means an easy task for opposing defenses to accomplish.

[Stratmaster]

I think the whole starting lineup discussion is trying to solve an issue the Bulls don't really have. A previous poster mentioned the Bulls are (I believe) 12-3 when their normal starters (Noah, Gasol, MDJ, Butler, Rose) have all been on the court. That would be a 65-66 win pace, right? So yeah, let's mess with that.

As much as we need something to talk about and therefore get very picky about every little weakness in the team or individual player, the results show that the team when healthy is an elite championship contender. It puts all of the players into their desired roles and rotations. That is why Thibs went to Snell, so that the rest of the rotation could remain intact until MDJ gets back. Tony has taken advantage and possibly earned himself some back of the rotation minutes when MDJ returns.

It's all really pretty good, except there's those two damned if healthy words again. It all depends on the wings we do have (and of course our starting PG) staying healthy.

[Mobby]

I voted Mirotic, but that's only because I want him to develop into his potential too much. A bit biased, considering that his position really isn't SF, and his defense there is definitely the worst out of any of the other options.... besides perhaps Moore, and very obviously Aaron Brooks -- unless we're talking about v. lineups like the 3-guard set the Suns pull out with Bledsoe-Thomas-Dragic in the 1-3 spots.

The obvious option here would be MDJ.

[NZB2323]

The team is 23-10 in games Dunleavy plays.

The team is 6-7 in games Dunleavy hasn't played.

That 23-10 record includes the circus trip, and stretches of games where Rose, Butler, Noah, and Gasol all missed games. We need Mike back.