<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Suns coach Mike D'Antoni had a queasy feeling about tinkering with a starting lineup that has worked well most of the season. He was right for the first half Tuesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves at US Airways Center. He started guard Leandro Barbosa in place of forward Boris Diaw, using a first five of Barbosa, guard Steve Nash, guard Raja Bell, forward Shawn Marion and center Amar? Stoudemire for the first time since Nov. 8. It was supposed to kick up the Suns' offense. Instead, Phoenix fell behind 12-9 with the starters and missed six consecutive shots before D'Antoni brought in Diaw after 6 minutes, 20 seconds. "I hate to even mess with it (the starting lineup), because we didn't have the energy and play hard (Saturday in a blowout loss to Denver)," D'Antoni said before Tuesday's game. "You are messing with something that wasn't broke. At the same time, we want to see different combinations for the playoffs. At the same time, we want to stay ahead of San Antonio." Diaw had six first-half assists and three first-half rebounds, a lacking part of his game since his return from back problems. The Suns' starters opened the second half with success, outscoring Minnesota 17-13.</div> Source
I don't like the idea of starting Barbosa, there really isn't any need, it creates mismatches playing small ball like that. Plus Diaw isn't nearly the scorer that Barbosa is, so our bench suffers... if Diaw were to go in it doesn't add any boost like when LB comes off the bench. Lastly is there any reason we need 5 explosive scorers on the court? Nash, Bell, Marion, and Amare aren't enough? I'm all for saving Barbosa, having him come in when fatigue starts to kick in... his speed is a killer for either the opponent's fatigued starting guard or their 2nd string guard. Starting Barbosa hurts our defense, bench, and doesn't give anybody the opportunity to get into the flow of the game. Nash can turn it on anytime he wants, but Marion, Bell and Amare usually require getting consistent shots, with LB out there it cuts down the shots for everybody. I know he could start for most NBA teams, but on this team his best contribution is being the best 6th man in the NBA.
I agree, Barbosa is more effective coming off the bench. Earlier in the season, I really liked the spread offense D'Antoni used with Banks and Barbosa in the backcourt and Diaw being the primary ballhandler. Diaw would rebound the ball and initiate the fastbreak right away with Banks and Barbosa filling the lane on opposite sides. Teams couldn't handle the speed and Phoenix was getting layups or 3 pointers before the defense had time to setup.
