Should Kostas Papanikolaou Start on Saturday Night vs Golden State?

Draymond Green is starting at Power Forward for the Warriors on Saturday night so should the Rockets counter by starting Kostas Papanikolaou? Green has added an element to the Golden State starting unit that David Lee does not have, Defense. Although not the most intelligent player, Darymond Green is a defensive oriented player with a mean streak. He is one of those players you want to punch in the nose after about 5 minutes of him guarding you. He rebounds well for his size and has shot the 3 ball well this season when left alone at the arc. Green is strong enough to defend most Power Forwards in the league and when his 3pt shooting is on can create a mismatch on the offense for bigger power forwards that cannot keep up with him.

In my humble opinion, the Rockets are better on both ends of the floor when the players on the floor include both Trevor Ariza and Kostas Papanikolaou. Like Draymond Green, Kostas has proven that he is a very good defensive player that is capable of hitting the 3pt shot. Unlike Green, he has a very high basketball IQ and is probably the Rockets best passer outside of James Harden. In just 24 minutes a game this season Kostas is averaging 3.5 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 steal a game. The coaches have apparently given Kostas the green light to shoot from beyond the arc as he is not hesitant about taking the 3pt shot. While Kostas is not as good of a 3pt shooter as some of the Rockets other 3 point shooters, at 33.3% 3pt percentage, opposing players are still forced to close out him.

If Terence Jones is out again tonight I don’t think Donatas Motiejunas has the quickness or foot speed to keep up with Draymond Green. When players get past DMo he has a habit of reaching which has the added effect of getting him into foul trouble. Although DMo is not shooting or rebounding particularly well, he appears to have added significant core strength this summer which in my opinion has made him a much better post defender as he has been able to hold his position against other post players. Although he initially appears to do a good job of boxing out and going after defensive rebounds, he has a difficult time controlling the rebound and frequently gets the ball knocked out of his hands.

If Pat Beverly is healthy on Saturday night then the adding Kostas Kostas Papanikolaou completely solidifies the starting line-up and creates very tough match ups for Golden State across the board. While Beverly would very likely match up against Curry all night, Harden, Ariza and Papa would be free to switch on Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes and Draymond Green all night without a single mismatch in Golden States favor.

I typically would not be in favor of switching up the starting line-up but…. The Warriors line-up seems to be a tailor made match up for Kostas at the Power Forward. Plus, it’s not as if the Rockets have had Terence Jones in the starting line-up, he has been injured the last couple of games and DMo hasn’t exactly set the world on fire as the starting Power Forward.

Should the Rockets give Kostas Papanikolaou his first NBA start on Saturday night against the Golden State Warriors and Daymond Green?

 

I'm not suggesting moving Papa into the starting line-up for good, but TJ has been out and Draymond Green is essentially a SF starting at the PF spot. It just seems like the ideal time to start Papa.

 

Both Jet and Canaan have been good off of the bench.