Oh God this has been said numerous times before here and I'll say it again; Lawson was brought here to take the load off Harden's shoulders and not to assist Brewer in his quest to score 50 again. Lawson and Harden will see the bulk of their minutes together with Beverley sprinkled in between for good measure. Even McHale said he would play Beverley alongside Lawson at the 2 when Harden rests. So, definitely Lawson will be the starter.
doesn't necessarily mean they have to start games together for sure they need to end close games together and also means when Harden rests, someone needs to be a playmaker to either keep the lead or better yet extend the lead
the new internet/clutchfans placeholder threads....until later sorry, Plowman, luv ya. But you don't want me to start placeholders threads like this. Don't get me started. This is your one for the year. Next time, bring a take, or you suck.
I thimk some you are underestimating Ty. With him we're a completely different team. mI'm sure Bev will get a bunch of minutes both at 1 & 2. I hope KJ gets some burn.
I dont' want either Harden or Lawson to play too many minutes in regular season because I believe this team can win a championship and the way to do it is to keep fresh for the pos and also to avoid injuries. And the best way to avoid injuries is to keep minutes down- as is currently being investigated by NBA commisioned researches. When Harden sits it is vital that Lawson is in the game. I dont' want Lawson to come off the bench because of HIS defensive deficiencies as much but because of the specialisation of Bev's skills (/Bev's own deficiencies). I don't believe for a minute that Bev can run an nba offence on his own. Either as a backup or as a starter. Meanwhile having a player of Lawson's caliber coming fresh off the bench will destroy other teams' bench units. They will both be able to maintain their high usage (lawson/harden) without having any skills overlapping while also having good perimeter defence most of the match. But anyway it doesn't matter as much who starts. What matters is who finishes the matches. And as for my post, there are quite a few that believe that, that would be a good lineup instead of catastrophic.
guard defence is very hard to quantify with the stats that are available to the public but source: Vantage Sports.
Attention w****. If you have something to say, say it. Otherwise don't start the thread. WTF is this "let me tease you first, and if there are enough guys kissing my bottom, I may share you something, or my not" BS? Sad part is, not many people take him serious now, even if he did say something. ..
Not going to make a real judgement on how big of a difference Lawson's defense is now on this team, compared to whatever has been documented in the past. He's never had someone like Dwight Howard in the backfield as an anchor. I severely doubt his defense is going to be as bad as some people think. Completely different situation and at this point he only needs to be solid on the defensive end and still be the pg he's capable of on the other end.
Balance. I am fine either way at this point. With Beverly we get additional defensive support. With Lawson we get additional play making. Either one is good for us. It doesn't matter which starts. As long as the rotation and minutes ensure that we don't have both of them on the bench for long stretches. We need Ty's playmaking ability with the bench, we don't have Prigioni any longer :grin:
I hear what you're saying but in the real world that doesn't happen like that. High usage players will always play at least 35+ minutes a game. Your best player will always get the bulk of minutes. That's the way it is and that't the way it will always be. The only team that doesn't follow that pattern is the Spurs. But they did when Duncan , Manu and Parker were younger. Lawson is a TRUE point guard, something we been begging for around here for a long time. So to me that makes no sense to have your best PG coming off the bench. Bev will do just fine providing that defensive spark off the bench. Again Law will be in the game with bench player's when Harden sits. And sometimes Harden will be in the game with bench players while Law sits. Fans will always hope for this and that, doesn't mean the coaching staff would do what said fan thinks is better for this team. LOL And who said it will be catastrophic.
^i cant stand when people say Beverely is perfect as a defensive spark off the bench. No he isn't. Bench units are notoriously weaker than offensive units, with no real stars to focus defensive attention on. Bench units rely on an offense by committee and the Offenses they run are chaotic, often just using whatever works. Beverleys key contributions would be wasted off the bench just like Lawson's and Hardens would be wasted if they were taking the ball out of each other's hands as starters together. Beverley needs to be studying the Chris Paul's, the Conleys, the Currys, the Parkers, the Westbrooks and focusing all his prep work on how to slow down those guys. Having Lawson standing around watching Harden on offense, while all the elite PGs feast on him, then having having Beverley come in and use his skills to hound the Livingston's, Udrihs, cam paynes, etc. is just a terrible use of your resources. "the better player should start" is not an argument.There is no logical reasoning too it. "He was brought here to do xxxx" is not an argument either. We have no idea how they envisioned him here. Even if they did envision him starting, they may not be right. The only vague argument I hear is that Lawson splitting ball handling duties will give him more energy for defense. If even that is true, you haven't made the team better. Lawson creates, who is not as good at it as Harden. And Harden defends, but still not as well as Beverley would. Who knows what will happen, but ultimately I think Lawson will be coming off the bench.
Lawson and DMo are best suited to come off the bench. Now, in the context of this team, coming off the bench doesn't mean "bench minutes". I expect us to have (when healthy and suspension free) either Harden Or Lawson with their elite playmaking abilities throughout the 48 minutes. I'd be surprised if they both didn't play 30+ minutes.
You don't think Beverley would be more effective at what he does in a 20 min off the bench role? I'm tired of seeing elite opposing PGs not expending any effort on the defensive end whatsoever. If opposing PGs get hot, then bring Beverley in to mix things ups. All you have to do is stagger Lawson and Harden's minutes and you always have a creator on the floor. Harden definitely needed help last season, and he specifically asked for it this offseason. With Lawson in the starting lineup, Harden will have more energy for defense, get easier shots and be more efficient. And since Lawson started the first preseason game, it looks like he will be the starter anyway. Until he comes off the bench, there's no reason to think he will.
WOW. Lot's of people still furious at the PLOW for the Rondo, Ricky, Goran situation. #GetPlowed #Progman
No, no I don't. I think 3 and D players would be terrible off the bench. Same reason I don't like Brewer, who is clearly a better offensive player than Ariza, starting. I never saw that. They still have to rotate, they still have to switch. I think it is pure basketball rhetoric and I think it has no basis in reality. It doesn't matter who starts, Harden is still going to dominate the ball and the PG is not going to have to exert much energy on defense. Its a good strategy, but to say its "all you have to do" is an oversimplification of a very complicated art. Its not all you have to do. Harden not being efficient is not a problem for this team. You are trying to fix problems that aren't there. In the few times Harden needs help, you can bring Lawson out to help out. You guys are talking about very unique situations and circumstances, that really don't happen all that often. What I am a proponent of is beneficial on EVERY possession.
Bevelery defense is based off hustle and evergy. He doesnt play solid defense and doesn't pace himself compared to someone like ariza. He wants to play aggressive and for the entire 94 ft. There's a reason why his defense suffers in a starting role when it requires more minutes and where he primarily plays against the top pg's night in and night out. There's no way he can sustain the same type of energy and keep his defense at the level we all expect in extended minutes. This was a concern from day 1 and obviously his defense was never the same when he was finally a starter. Thats just not possible in the NBA. His defense has always been at it's best in limited minutes (~20-25 mins) off the bench. That's why his role is best off the bench. Same reason brewer comes off bench essentially. The speed they play at constantly in a game is best off the bench and is most affective for this team
It's up to the Coach to make sure player's are not standing around and watching the show. Now that you have a TRUE PG, Harden doesn't have to have the ball in his hand a lot. He know have the luxury of another player creating for him. We should see a lot of ball movement instead of these iso plays that a lot of us complain about. And it's not about who's the better player, it's about having a TRUE PG running your offense, as well as having two legit guards who can breakdown the opposing defense.
Ariza is clearly a better three point shooter and with a penetrator like Harden in the starting lineup it makes sense to have a better shooter as opposed to someone who is a slasher. Brewer is also too sporadic for the starting unit, Ariza fits in better. It was definitely a problem, especially in the playoffs against good defenses. Too many turnovers comes from just having one ball handler against the other team's best five. Again, Harden literally publicly asked Morey to get someone like Lawson to play alongside him at PG, and you want to stick him on the bench?
