I think the majority of this board agrees that this line up (SF, BW, TM, LS, YM) has the most potential of any of our other line ups. The thing is, you need decent players coming off the bench so I'm going to say start battier over bonzi. However another thing you have to throw into the mix is this, Luis tends to get into foul trouble a lot and thats why he's a bench player at this particular time. Once he gets used to NBA calls he will be a legit starter.
I also believe Battier over Bonzi is best for the starting lineup... Bonzi comes in fresh to bully 2nd string 2s or tired starting 2s... we have James to add some spark off the bench...Hayes wil bring defense and energy in the second unit... our starters have two range shooters...two slashers...two post threats... sounds good to me. -V
Why don't the Spurs start Ginobili or Barry over Bowen? One reason is that defense matters, too. The other is that they have more punch off the bench. It's hard to argue with a formula used by the Spurs. The problem with starting SF, BW, TM, LS and YM is the lack of defense. At the same time, I think we need to make some changes. I like starting Francis, McGrady, Battier, Scola and Yao with James, Bonzi and Hayes coming off the bench. This gives us an unselfish, defensive presence (Battier) in our starting lineup and a more offensively-minded reserve (Bonzi) to give us a spark along with James.
It was curious that during the Memphis game when we had this lineup, Bill Worell made that comment to Bullard: "Check out this lineup". Kind of like suggesting without saying that it was his favorite lineup. I agree, the only decent possibility that this team has for point guard is T-Mac. And this starting lineup would be amazing.
I would rather see ANYBODY start over Rafer. Aaron Brooks would do a much better job. Not starting Steve is a f'n crime. He plays with the most passion of anyone on our team right now. It also makes me cringe to see Chuck start when we have the MVP of the Spanish league and the MVP of the FIBA World Championship on our roster. Insane. I don't give a crap if it is because Adelman likes to use him as a sub for Yao. Use Deke. He has never failed us and always inspires off the bench. And you know everyone on the other team says "oh s***" when Deke's elbows enter the game.
I agree this should be our line-up to finish games. Tmac will handle the ball late in the game so Rafer's strength is useless, besides he intends to panic in a tight game situation. MJ can penetrate too but that dude dont know there's a thing called drive and kick. So Stevie should be our PG to close games. I dont think who start the game is that important afterall.
I think settling for too many long jumpers is one of our biggest problems. In the majority of the games we lost, the team settled for way too many jumpers instead of forcing the action. Just look at last year. You know the cliche, "live and die by the 3pt" and that's what happened. Too many guys settling for jumpers instead of putting pressure on the defense. We tried that style for a couple years and it got us nowhere. It's time to start attacking the basket and force the other team to stop us.
WTF are you talking about? Removing Chuck Hayes and Rafer Alston from any starting lineup would cause any amount of disturbance in the "long range shooting" category??? Of all the debate in support of Chuck and Raf starting, this makes the least sense.
