As much as I love the fact that we are 5-1 I see some flaws in the system. If you look back to coach in Sacramento he had 5 starters that average in double digit points. Do we have that? No. Will Alston be able to do it? No. Will Hayes be able to do it? No. Will Battier be able to do it? He should be. Now granted Sacramento didn’t have a Yao or McGrady type of player to just take over if need be. My point is this is not coach’s offensive; this is JVG with a little different offensive then what he ran. Can Francis get in to the starting pg position and average double dights in points? Yes. Can Francis average around 7 asst. a game? Yes. He has done it before with less talent on the team. Do you take Scola, when he comfortable in the system, and make him a starter? IMO No. If Hayes starts you’re deeper by having Scola coming off the bench and Hayes, Yao and Scola can be like a 3 way machine, just sub one in for when one needs a rest. I just think yes we still got the wins but I don’t see why Head is playing at all, and I not comfortable with Aslton as the starter after watching Fisher, Parker, Terry just tear him up on both sides of the ball. I mean come on do you really think Alston can run a team the wins the title? I don’t think so! Can Francis? I like his odds better!
I want Steve out there as well. I think he's a better point than Rafer and Luther but if he gets out there and starts to suck then they can stop playing him again. You won't know how good he is if he's stuck on the bench.
this is how it shoudl be. since tmac is capable for playing PG for stretches and bonzi has shown he can score to fill in the slack, start this lineup: pg - tmac sg - battier sf - bonzi pf - hayes c - yao since we lost bonzi from the 2nd unit, insert stevie francis james/francis/head/scola => francis can play his game if tmac and yao are not in the game. but if they are, he can still learn to contribute as the season goes on. he's still a better offensive player than rafer. unless stevie starts (which he won't), he does not need to play PG that much. so playing him in the 2nd unit, bump bonzi up, we're straight. raer is just too glaring of a weakess
I've always thought that TMac could play PG in the Magic Johnson mold. With this lineup, you could have Steve and James in for SG/PG and Scola in for SF/PF. That's your top 8. Rafer, Head and company to the bench. All of this said, we ARE 5-1 at this point.
I don't think Tmac starts at pg position is a good idea. He is a sg/sf for his entire career. He can play at pg position, but it is not his natural position. He is too tall to do that.
don't label him as a "PG". he was basically a PG for most of last yr. but when he's in this role, he's a "facilitator." he is a "playmaker". he just won't look to score all the time. and if u have yao and bonzi rolling, why do so? tmac is a great playmaker so we can use that. and sg/sf/pg, tmac plays all. when the ball is past half-court, if tmac initiates a play, he's basically a PG. if he runs through screens..., he's a scorer. so he can switch it up anytime.
This whole thing is playing out just like I expected. Rafer was great against soft, low-intensity pre-season competition. But as expected, his performance has dropped off now that the games count and opposing teams are playing legit defense. This is what Rafer is and to expect more would be insanity. MJ has been streaky as expected, but his shooting the last 4 games is scary. Over the season, his shooting % should increase. Luther looks tentative and completely lost. Despite what many here say, he isn't comfortable doing much more than jump-shooting in the NBA. This isn't college anymore. Adelman's offense isn't conducive to his game and I don't think he has much of a future here. If JVG becomes a head coach somewhere else, Luther should go there. I can understand Adelman not wanting to make a sudden change during a competitive game. As it turned out, a 14-0 run ended up putting the Bucks away. But effective next game, SF should become the 9th man instead of Luther. What he does with the 10-15 mins/game the next 3-4 games could go a long way towards shaking things out. I'm not a SF lover at all, but right now he's a member of the Rockets and I want him to succeed. Moving him in front of Luther seems a very low risk proposition to me. Then it's on him to put up or shut up. If he plays well, then things get interesting. doublehh03, there is no way we can start that lineup. Tracy cannot defend PGs, especially good ones, for any length of time. The idea of playing Tracy at PG is a fantasy unless you have one of our smaller guards on the floor to defend the opposing PG.
5-1 with LOTS to improve. if we are satisfied, then hell, you don't have signs o a great team. i'm sure adelman is pissed right now w/ his offense outside of tmac/yao/bonzi. this is not the offense he envisioned so far. so we have a long way to go. and doing something w/ the PG position is going to be one of his goals.
that's like driving a car with the check engine light on. the car is still runnin but you know somethings wrong
this is the thing people don't get. tracy or any player might play a "position" but not necessarily. tmac may play PG on offense, but he won't guard PGs (battier can do that). tmac may play PG, but he won't be guarded as a PG on offense (the best defender will be on him) => free up bonzi to dominate any weak SG/SF. the same way yao guards boozer on defense but plays okur on offense. tracy is just going to be in his "playmaker" mode. that's all. no need to label tracy. whenever he's on the court, he is putting on the "all positions outside of C" cape anyways.
I don't think buy the argument, in this context, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Rafer's inabilities is simply a timebomb waiting to explode....if he starts hitting a hot streak, then cool...but I'd rather take a pro-active approach and see if there's a way to change this either internally or via trade.
let's not get into that but all i'm saying is if we start that lineup, tmac does not have to look to score but be a playmaker. get yao and bonzi rolling. he can be a 23-24ppg, 7rpg, 8-9 apg type of guy.
adelman is only starting rafer b/c 1) he played w/ these guys last yr so he's the only one familiar w/ our main guys. but if rafer keeps sucking like this, TRUST ME, he will be benched.
rafer will get hot. every NBA player does. but what u want from a STARTER is CONSISTENCY. rafer had 4-5 game stretches where he shoots 50%+. but when we rolled into the playoffs, he shot 33%. he'll have LONGER stretches of bad shooting than hot shooting. i rather have a guy who consistently shoots 43-44% then either goes really cold and hot alil bit. if rafer can make his shot CONSISTENTLY, i have no problems with him starting. but the point of having tmac/yao and surrround them w/ shooters is to punish the double teams. if u can't shoot, what purpose do u serve?
Tracy playing the point (as a guard or forward) is a non-issue. He's done that a long time. But defense is the issue. If you think Shane can guard PGs I've got news for you: Ain't no way. I love Shane but he isn't nearly quick enough. Even some SGs are way too fast for him. You cannot pair Tracy/Shane or Tracy/Bonzi in the backcourt on defense. Either Rafer or MJ must check the opposing PG.
i just love how everyone thinks they know whats best for the team. why arent you all coaching in the NBA instead of typing on a forum?
