I'm pro Lawson starting. You guys are right to point out that our offense suffers when Harden goes out, but I think that's an argument for staggering their minutes, not necessarily starting Beverley. But the reason you start Lawson is because he is a better player than Beverley. A team's upside is limited when your best 5 person lineup does not contain the 5 bests players on the team. Beverley might be a better natural fit next to Harden, but Lawson needs to spend the season playing next to Harden learning to make that fit. That's what Wade and Lebron did. They spent a whole regular season learning to play off each other, and come playoff time they developed their own brand of chemistry that made the Heat much better than they would have been if they simply completely staggered their minutes. Harden and Lawson are both better shooters so their offensive chemistry will probably come more naturally than LBJ/Wade.
Who's a one dimensional scoring guard. Unless you mean that he only plays offense, *cough* Harden? Ty is actually a good defender when he wants to. He has a solid frame and prevents other guards from getting to their spots. On offense, sheeeeet.....he can score and he is as good as anybody at distributing. Not to mention that he doesn't turn the ball over, *cough* Harden. I really think people come up with opinions without actually watching guys play. They hear a comment on twitter or pull out their Wikipedia degrees and just say stuff.
That's right, it doesn't. Being able to create offensive at an elite level, like they demonstratively showed last season, is what means your creating at an elite level. Numbers are clear, last season offensive out put with Bev/Harden/Ariza/Howard: http://nbawowy.com/ytygp7urmxgpsyvi#/team-level 113.9 points per 100 possessions #1 Offensive in the league in 2015 (Clippers): 112.4 points per 100 possessions Your turnover stat is just plain cherry picking. Since his third year in the league, Harden has been remarkably consistent with his turnovers, whether he is the third option behind Westbrook/Durant, all by himself, alongside Lin, or alongside Beverley. No matter where you put him and who is alongside him, he is going to turn the ball over 15 times every 100 possessions. I agree, Harden needs help. None of that implies it has to be in a starting role. He doesn't, but he should. Harden is the best creator and finisher on this team. We need to squeeze him as much as we can, without burning him up, because that is going to produce the best results. Maybe, its just because of my video gaming, but you guys need to look into the process of min/maxing. Yea, and the best balance is with Lawson off the bench.
and btw too much of this from Beverley's perspective is put on his defense. Beverley's track record on defense as a starter isn't exactly what you would call elite. In limited minutes off the bench is when that ceiling is highest.
The way i see it, we got to the conference finals starting a 40 year old PG. Bev's defense dropped of last year so his net positive in that regard was not great. Lawson is the better player, the better passer, and he is playoff proven. Starting Lawson to put pressure on the opposing PG's is something that is being overlooked. Bev will never shut down elite talents like Westbrook or Curry, it's better to have someone that can give them heat on offense than someone who is fighting a losing battle on defense.
I don't care who starts, I only care who manages the offense with Harden on the bench. When Harden sits, we need either Lawson or D-Mo or both on the floor to keep up the offense. If they start Lawson and stagger his minutes to play when Harden sits, I am totally fine with that. If they do that with D-Mo, I have no problem with that. If they have all 3 of them sitting at the same time, that I DO have a problem with.
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I do not think that the coach has an idea that who will be the regular reason PG right now, but I am confident that we need start Lawson during the playoff time.
LOL at you guys wanting Bev to start. Lawson is miles better than Bev. Lawson will start. Bev will sub in for him. Then Ty will sub in for James. Then James will sub in for Bev until the end of the half. Rinse and repeat second half. One of James or Lawson on the floor with the bench unit for all minutes the game is undecided. I can't believe there are any legit basketball fans here who question who is going to start between Lawson and Bev.
Shutdown the thread. No point in posting anymore. The basketball guru has spoken and all other opinions are irrelevant from here on out. Move along mortals.
I agree with you that Lawson should be the starter. However your premise that it's because one of James or Lawson on the floor with the bench unit for all minutes the game is undecided is kinda flawed. You can achieve that with Lawson off the bench too. For me Lawson should start and play around 30-32 minutes. Bev off the bench for 20 minutes max because frankly that's his limitation as a player.
Who cares who starts - it's all about who ends the games and who gets the most minutes. The "starter" is the least important part of the puzzle. Look at relay teams - the clock doesn't care who starts or finishes the race - it just cares about how well you ran while in the race. ....as mentioned earlier, the 2nd unit(Beverly, Brewer, KJ, Jones or Dmo/Capella has no one who can create for themselves or others so it's important that Lawson gets a lot of time with them when Harden rests. Otherwise the offense will grind to a halt when both Harden and Lawson leave the floor. That's why Smith was so effective for Houston because he was a playmaker for the 2nd unit. You could put Dmo in the 2nd unit and he could be a scorer but he doesn't open the floor up for his teammates necessarily and post players are much easier to neutralize if another team wants to.
I never left. I'm always learning and I learned something from you. When people are talking about who starts at PG, you're supposed to think of the worst offensive lineup and ignore the fact that everyone in the league staggers minutes. And I'm sorry if I ignored you. Unfortunately I don't subscribe to your posts. I would probably learn A LOT more about basketball if I did. You are pure genius. I mean, who would have isolated the problem of that 5 man lineup that will very rarely see the quart when you need buckets. Pure basketball genius! I love your posts! Keep it up!
I almost bought into this theory, but I don't think you can have Bev and Lawson on the court at the same time and expect to survive unless your opponent has a really small SG.
