Lowry with an outside shot is a better player than Brooks, not to mention that Brooks will be rusty, the current team has improved chemistry now, and we need all the wins we can get in the short term at this point. If Lowry's outside shooting goes back to the mean then it's a tougher decision.
The stats don't lie. Lowry has been a top 25 fantasy player since he has been starting. Haven't seen that since Steve/McGrady/Yao...
Understood, but my point wasnt that him not starting equals him not playing late in games. My point was the fact that he's played well late in games and closed games out for us will add credence in his mind that he deserves to be a starter. I think you're dismissing this piece of the decision far too easily. Of course he should care about winning, but doing whats best for the team, in his mind, will likely entail him starting...not coming off the bench. There are far more players who were dissatisfied with a bench role than there were people who accepted it. Allen Iverson, Brendan Haywood, Andre Miller, and Antawn Jamison were all outspoken about their unhappiness with becoming bench players when teams put them in that role. Manu is back to the starting lineup and like you said, Terry was in his 9th year in the league, not his 4th. Assuming he doesnt get traded beforehand, he'll get signed to an offer sheet. Depending on what other teams offer, I'm sure whether or not the Rockets match is going to be a question of just how much other teams are offering for him.
I said the same thing last year when we had a similar discussion and I'm sticking with it. Start Lowry and have Brooks be the spark plug off the bench. Play the player that is having the better game down the stretch or for certain match ups. Both players will get similar minutes.
Lowry has gotten better every year that he has been in the league. Brooks is the same inconsistent player he has been since he came into the league. This is why i never get excited when Brooks has a good game, because i know that he will be sucking soon after.
