So, I'm having trouble sleeping and I was imagining the starters for our team and kinda played with multi-variable line-ups for different situations:
Starting:
Devin Harris
Courtney Lee
Terrence Williams
Yi
Brook Lopez
Pretty easy if you ask me. I'd be surprised if it would go any other way. It's very, very weak and I don't expect more than 95ppg. 6th man would be Dooling. 1st "big" off the bench would probably bench would be Bobby Simmons replacing Yi.
Instant Offense:
Devin Harris
Keyon Dooling
Chris-Douglass Roberts
Terrence Williams
Brook
This actually may be a fun line up to have on the court. Terrence at the 4 spot may be risky, but the east is getting thinner up front so I wouldn't mind him just running on the wings for fast break opportunities. I know people will say that Yi can do the same, but honestly, guy isn't that great on the break despite being athletic and able to run the floor. He doesn't seem to have a good grasp about how to run the angles or to different spot. Back to the line-up, we have Brook down low, Devin to iso up top and CDR and Dooling covering the wings.
3-Point Line up:
Devin
Dooling
Simmons
Yi
Brook Lopez
Pretty easy again. Simmons loves that corner 3, Yi likes to flash to the top of the arc, Dooling as well. Devin likes the pull up three (though way too much if you ask me). Brook, though it seems he's developing that outside jumper, would merely be in to rebound if I were a coach. If Bobby is cold during the game, Jarvis Hayes would also work.
Fast Break offense:
Rafer Alston
Devin Harris
Courtney Lee
Terrence Williams
Brook Lopez
I actually prefer Skip running the offense on a break. He's a better passer than Devin, and it allows Devin to utilize his speed better. Courtney and Terrence are both athletic to run towards the basket/Courtney can run to spot to hit an open transition J, and Brook fills the lane.
Defensive Line up:
Dooling
Courtney Lee
Terrence Williams
Tony Battie
Josh Boone
I had to battle between Dooling and Rafer in which I prefer defensively. I ended up choosing Keyon cause he has better each and is slightly bigger but still as quick as Rafer is. Lee has proven to be a pretty decent wing defender. Terrence I think could be a lock down defender, but if he shows signs of struggling, then it'll probably be Trenton Hassell. Tony is a pretty good man defender and Boone is a rock. Ideally though, I'd prefer Brook in there as he gets stronger and better with his shot blocking. Only problem is that this line up is pure defense, on the other end we'd struggle to score. This is why I'm hoping Brook develops both a defensive game so this won't look so bleak.
Clutch-Time Line up:
Devin
Dooling
Courtney
Simmons
Brook Lopez
Honestly, I can live losing close games if this line-up couldn't get it done. I trust each of these guys at their spot. Obviously Bobby is the glaring weakness, but Frank seems to trust him at the end of games. He's big enough to guard the depleted 4 spot of the East, and he also isn't afraid to take big shots. He could be interchanged with Hayes, but I'll go with Bobby's size for now.
Garbage-Time line up:
Skip/Dooling
CDR
Trenton Hassell
Josh Boone
Tony Battie
I actually expect to see this line up a lot, mainly cause we're going to be losing a lot of games and by big margin. Well, I shouldn't be so down on the team.
Inactive List:
Sean Williams
Eduardo Najera
Trenton Hassell
Easy enough to explain.
Pardon if I sound incoherent at parts. I'm typing off the cuff, and am tired. Just can't sleep.
PG : Devin Harris
SG : Courtney Lee
SF : Bobby Simmons (Simply because Lawrence Frank doesn't start rookies until they earn the spot, he started Boone over Lopez last season until Boone got injured and Lopez earned it)
PF : Yi Jianlian
C : Brook Lopez
its probably going to b:
pg:devin harris
sg:courtney lee
sf:bobby simmons
pf:yi
c:brooke lopez
I would want
pg:harris
sg:lee
sf:jarvis hayes
pf:yi
c:lopez
Simmons does not need to start...like you said i would put
harris
lee
hayes or t-will (but is Twill a SF?)
Yi's (soft a$$) - he better be putting on some muscle
Lopez
PG : Devin Harris
SG : Courtney Lee
SF : Bobby Simmons (Simply because Lawrence Frank doesn't start rookies until they earn the spot, he started Boone over Lopez last season until Boone got injured and Lopez earned it)
PF : Yi Jianlian
C : Brook Lopez
You make a good point about Frank having rookies earn their starting spot, but I feel like they should start him anyway since he's going to be the SF for the future and it's obvious we won't be making the playoffs. Might as well get the minutes under his belt playing with Devin, Lee, and Brook.
the tallest SF's are about 6'10", so williams would have to give up about 2-4 inches on a semi-regular basis. assuming 6'6" is his actual basketball height, anyway (they tend to fudge those numbers a lot). OTOH his effort level is apparantly superb on defense, and shorter guys can give taller guys a lot of trouble by getting into their base (lower torso). jason kidd can defend most SF's very well because of his leg and body strength, even though he's probably shorter than 6'4" basketball height.
re: starting williams,
frank is like most coaches in wanting rookies to earn the position. most likely IMO is for them to run a platoon at that position with no player getting more than about 20 minutes... they have so many players at that position right now. ie, it's not going to matter that much who's starting, anyway.
on nets daily there's a comment from the main writer (net income) that vandy is leaning towards hayes as the starter. or maybe frank is leaning that way and vandy is relaying the info.
hayes was the best (and the guttiest) SF last year, so hard to argue with this a whole lot. i know people are going to want one of the two young guys to start, but this is how it usually works in sports- you gotta earn it.
Call me a conventional tinker, but I think the 6'6"/6'7" height is the right height for a small forward. I think of Richard Jefferson who was so successful for us and we never really had a problem with him at that position for me.
As for Hayes as a starter, it's a decent idea. I still think longterm with Jarvis. He turns 28 in like 2 weeks. That's not bad, he could be a valuable sixth man in a few years.
Your line ups for the 2009-2010 Season
