Should Bonzi AKA Spurs Killer be the starter vs the Spurs?

Simple:

Did Bonzi start tonight? NO

Did the Rockets win? YES

Nuff said.

 

Why fix something that's not broken?

 

your point is understood, but in terms of the flow of the game, the punch he provides off the bench as 1st sub can be even greater if he didn't start, ala Terry for Dallas.

 

why arent people able to grasp the concept of the sixth man? mj shouldnt be starting although he is much better than rafer....bonzi shouldnt start either

 

We need spark(s) off the bench. Tonight Bonzi and Mike James, too some extent, provided that. We should keep our Spurs killer weapon as a surprise off the bench (although they should know by now he kills them constantly) and knock them off their feet when their bench is out.

Too bad we dont have a Mavericks killer or a Jazz killer weapon

 

While I don't think he needs to start, it's obvious that Bonzi continues to present a huge matchup problem for the spurs, and OP's suggestion actually isn't a bad one -- bringing Battier off the bench against Manu.

Either way, it's clear that with the addition of Bonzi, all of a sudden the Spurs have huge matchup problems with us because we can go small against them and not lose any edge as far as defense/rebounding/shotblocking is concerned. If they attempt to go small against us, Bonzi destroys them on the boards like he did tonight.

 

I wonder if people really understand the basic concept of who you start and who you bring off the bench and why.

Having James and Wells come off the bench adds a HUGE offensive boost for the second team. If you started all the scorers together, you wouldn't have anyone to come of the bench for them and give them a rest.

Hayes/Yao, Scola/Hayes, Scola/Deke - those are all pairings that provide offensive and defensive balance. James is GREAT coming off the bench because he provides instant offense when McGrady or Yao sits.

Once the game gets going, you find the combinations and players that are working and you stick with them down the stretch. But, the first two quarters and the start of the second half are all about rhythm for players and being comfortable on the floor with certain combinations.

 

bonzi is fine right now off the bench. adelman knows how to manage bonzi's minutes. he owns ginobili on offense and on the glass.

 

It's because of Video game logic. Start your best five rated players and play with fatigue off, lol! So on the game, you start Francis, Wells, T-Mac, Scola, and Yao

 

Battier is our best defensive player and you want to put him on the bench? We are 4-1 with a tough schedule and you want to start messing with the lineup?

 

he should not start, but he should play a lot of minutes and finish the game.. Starting bonzi means less establishement of yao/t-mac early, and WAY less offense when the first unit goes out.

 

I was at the game, and the numbers cannot even describe everything Bonzi did for us. Mismatches, steals, just pissin Spurs off left and right including one foul-line sequence that was hilarious... If the dude could play 40 minutes against them, I'd be all for it. The thing is, you can see the fear in the whites of their eyes when Bonzi checks in, they have no answer for him whatsoever and he just bullies all their guards around and runs around their forwards at will. And you can tell Bonzi knows it's personal too, they must have definitely done something to him when he was a free agent or something.

Point is, have him on the court to start the game, end the game, I don't care what time of game it is, he needs to play against SA.

 

The real question is...

Should all the Bonzi skeptics be eating crow yet? I think so... Y'all know who you are. Get to it.