What I'm curious about is who finishes close games at the start of the season. This may be the best gauge of JVG's confidence level in players.
True, but I'm looking forward to the initial start of the NBA season which is Tuesday. Also, it starts the free week of NBA league pass.
I find it somewhat surprising that so many posters in this thread see Juwan as the logical choice to start. About 3 months ago, nearly 8 of 10 posters were positive it was Swift... http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=99219&highlight=juwan+start
I still prefer Swift to start, but I trust JVG. He's taken a team with far, far less talent all the way.
I can definitely see Wesley benefiting from Barry on the court. The two of them should be able to open up shots for each other on the bench.
j. howard has the jumper which we need to make teams pay for double-teaming yao without the ball. he also is much more familiar with van gundy's system. i will feel better when head surpasses wesley on the back-up list. wesley didn't show sh it during preseason. it's been a continuation of the playoffs.
I'm a little bit surprised. I didn't think Derek Anderson would move into the starting lineup 'til closer to mid-season. Meanwhile, I thought Swift complimented Yao's game much more than Howard, and would start on opening night. Guess that's why I'm not the coach!
Being politically sensitive is not the same as being politically correct. being politically sensitive means understanding the chemistry and not screwing it up. Being politically correct means not saying anything that might "hurt" someone's "feelings." Being PC is great among strangers, but unnecessary among friends, while being politically sensitive works in both situations. Just my opinion. Of course, it depends on what the definition of "is" is.
For the record, I've said ALL ALONG that JH will start...at least on opening night. Check the thread you referenced, if you care. Now check back midseason and anything goes. Injury, chemistry or performances will obviously cause changes in the lineup. By midseason, I hope Swift proves himself to be a force as a starter. But JVG hates mistakes more than he likes athleticm so Swift must prove himself. I hope he does.
I like the starting line up choice, and honestly that was what I expected after watching a few pre-season games. DA over Wes I think is a no brainer due to the fact that DA has been shooting the ball extremely well, playing solid defense, and looking to get the ball to Yao as much as possible. Wes is definitely having a hard time finding his shots, and being undersized with his advancing age, will have trouble guarding the best. DA can only lose this spot if his shots go away or he ends up with another injury (which is likely). This is a spot for DA to lose. Howard is an expected choice from the beginning. Van Gundy likes Howard and his savvy veteran decision making. Howard is a much better offensive player than Swift and though not as athletic, can play solid defense if has to. I think Yao will get big numbers with Howard on the court with him. I don't see this spot shifting to Swift any time soon, unless Howard suddenly began to suck.
A lot of you guys are making it sound like Swift stunk it up in the preseason. He had one bad game where he committed a few mistakes and then got yanked. Other than that, he looked great. Howard still looks mediocre on defense, which puts Yao in jeopardy. I think Stro has shown enough to earn crunch time minutes, especially when he have a lead. If we are behind, Howard might be the better choice because of his shot.
Can't say I'm really all that surprised. Maybe if Swift had clearly outplayed Juwan in the preseason, but that really wasn't the case. But unless Swift busts in his pt, then Juwan is just holding the spot for him. Swift will get more and more time and will hopefully wrest the majority of playing time(if not a starting spot) sooner rather than later. I appreciate his jumper, but Juwan's d sucks.
I'm not surprised that JH starts over Swift for all the reasons already mentioned - where Swift can have an immediate impact for the Rockets and will almost certainly get the opportunity to earn plenty of minutes is against the tall quick PF's which the Rox and JH struggled to contain last year - Garnett, Stoudemire, et al.
I don't care which one of them starts at PF. This reminds me of the old 2-headed point guard we used to have. Kenny Smith always got the start for his veteran leadership, but Cassell usually played more and was out there to close the games. That approach worked out pretty well and I think it will again in this case.
I always said that Juwan would (and should) start. Now I can say to 80% of the people here, "Told you so." I am a bit (just a little bit) surprised that Anderson starts. I guess Wesley just couldn't find his shot back soon enough to hold the job. But I am glad we got Anderson. Of the last three guys, Baxter, Moochie, and Head, I'm pretty sure Baxter will be on the active roster. I am hoping JVG keep Head in too, but won't be surprised if Moochie is there aHEAD of him.
