That and this team is switching to an inside out game. Or at least much more of that than last year. The whole point of Harden leading the offense was because he could decide to shoot or pass or drive making him very dangerous but at least some plays will now start with Dwight and if that's the case then Harden is better off letting Lin throw it into howard and he play off the ball.
The main basketball reasons to start your best players are 1) so that you match up against their best players, and 2) if you start you can play more minutes overall without being tired.
The fact that Bev plays good defense and Lin likes the ball in his hand makes it plausible that Bev could start, but I just think Lin is a much better player overall so should usually start and finish games. I enjoy watching Bev and Lin play together so hopefully we'll see more of that.
It's a little strange. If Lin haters sincerely believe that the being 6th man isn't a bad thing, why do they know as a fact that Lin as 6th man will help the team win more? Or is it just trolling?
A miniscule difference that could be attributed to a ton of factors other than a difference in skill level. There is no SG in this league better than Harden at playmaking. He has rivals, but no one better.
You starts your best player, BUT there are time where you want to balance the 2 units out. Want a great D lock-down unit, Bev and Asik with shooters would do wonder. Want a more balanced unit. Lin and Asik with shooters would do great. Want a deadly PnR with Howard all the time. Lin and James with Howard give you the option every-time and allow James to rest more on O (a huge benefit IMO to keep him fresh and to allow him to play more solid D). Isn't it awesome to have that flexibility? As many already pointed out, our 1, 2, 3 and 5 are great to solid for both units. Our weakness is our 4 for BOTH unit. That's what we need to focus on. No need to be concern with what we should do with Lin vs Bev - that will settle by itself and whoever starts really doesn't matter - it's who get the playing time and in what situation, which will depends on the opponent as well as how consistent each player will be. Adding Howard and keeping Asik give you the above flexibility - this is why I would keep Asik and only give him up for a great PF. We can develop our PF (unfortunately, i think it's unlikely in the next 1-2 years). If we can't find a great PF, I would like to see us getting a solid defensive PF. We have enough O, we can always do with more D.
Too sad to be true...a team without pnr is just simply dead! I hope the system will change somehow in the coming season...we can't fit everybody in but please let the PG do his work!
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Was chit chattin with Patrick Beverley before the game. Says he's workin hard on improvin, with a lotta offseason work with Steph Curry.</p>— Howard Chen (@ho_chenCSN) <a href="https://twitter.com/ho_chenCSN/statuses/354679513529065474">July 9, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
ofc lin shuld be 6th man but kevin mchale is clueless. there aren't many touches to go around with the starting unit: harden, parsons, and now DWIGHT. come playoff time, patrick beverley has to start, to defend the other teams best PG. last season steve nash didnt look like himself cuz kobe took his job. so steve nash became a spot up shooter, even tho he's good at it he wasn't being used as a PG. it looked like he fell off, but we all kno he can still play. its up 2 the coach to utilize him effectively. kevin mchale needs to learn dis st00f.
For me, it is simply I trust Lin more then Beverly. I know I am in the minority but Beverly hasn't done anything that makes me think he is a better option starting other then play defense a little better. Lin still is the better scoring option and to me when he has the ball the better distributor. I know people seem to think that Harden handling PG duties is fine but the turnovers and predictability of the offense is not. Harden is a SG, potentially an elite one that can handle some PG responsibilities but like Durant when you hoist everything on his shoulders you do a disservice to him and reduce his effectiveness because he is thinking like a PG when he should be trying to score like a SG. That being said, time will tell how this team gels together.