<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>As for longtime Net big man Jason Collins, until someone beats him out, he could still very well be the starting center.</div></p> Source</p>
i dont expect magloire to beat him out unless if he plays flawless on the defensive end during october. twin has been here so long he has the coaches on his side. it isnt like KG is coming in, this is magloire who is nice and has things to prove, but twin gets so much love every year from the coaches and teammates about his D i cant see any reason for him not starting. the start to this season is going to be interesting. krstic may start but he wont end up playing starter minutes for a while so i could see collins playing more, assuming he is 100% healthy now. all of our big men are going to get a chance to prove themselves and earn minutes early this year i think. if sean williams wants meaningful minutes i think he is going to get an early opportunity to play meaningful minutes the first we weeks of the season until krstic gets back to starter minutes. same goes for boone and malik(if he makes the team) to get some minutes.</p>
Collins should only be starting when we play against a big lumbering Center like Shaq. Even if he doesnt play big minutes, why dig ourselves in a hole early on offense by having him out there. He wont be able to guard any of the more versatile centers that have flooded the league anyway and will be an offensive liability. I dont mind him coming off the bench but there's no point in wasting time with him early in a game.</p>
I agree with you , Mann.</p> Hopefully, I could see Sean gets more minutes in the preseason games.</p>
I'm hoping that Magloire's big body and physical toughness makes him a comparable post defender to Collins. While I'm not doubting Collins' skills, he was the only guy on the team with the body to do so; they're going to be magnified.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TheMann)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Collins should only be starting when we play against a big lumbering Center like Shaq. Even if he doesnt play big minutes, why dig ourselves in a hole early on offense by having him out there. He wont be able to guard any of the more versatile centers that have flooded the league anyway and will be an offensive liability. I dont mind him coming off the bench but there's no point in wasting time with him early in a game.</p> </div></p> </p> You've got it all backwards. Collins is most effective when he plays with the starters--and the starting unit, believe it or not, is most effective when Collins is in the lineup with them (of course, we've never seen how they do with Magloire yet). The Nets starting five of Kidd, Carter, RJ, Collins, and Krstic is one of the most effective units in the league. The goal is to put all players in a position when they will be the most successful. In my view, Collins should continue to start, but should just play 16 minutes a night--eight minutes at the start of the first and third quarters, and then be taken out at the same time the first other starter is removed. And, depending on the matchup, he could play part of the fourth quarter also. The thing is, Collins DOES contribute on offense, but not by scoring points. He helps by setting picks and creating space for players like Jefferson. Almost every time Jefferson breaks free for a breakaway along the sideline, it is because Collins has taken out his defender.</p> Keep in mind that the Nets' strategy is for Collins to inferquently handle the ball, which they can get a way with when Kidd, Carter, and RJ are on the floor together. The Spurs play Oberto and Elson at center; it's not much different.</p> If you played Collins with the reserves, it would make the reserve units much weaker offensively. My preference would actually be to start Magloire alongside Collins and bring Krstic off the bench. Krstic would play 30 minutes a night, but I'd limit the time he's on the court with Collins.</p>
Problem is that they've already said Nenad will be brought along slowly. So I'm taking that we will start both collins and Magloire....at least to start the season, when Krstic is ready to start I guess this will come down to how both performs up to that point. Frank may even like Krstic's fire power off the bench and designate him the 6th man for the season.</p>
Maglorie and Collins would be alot of muscle, I like the idea of Malik/Collins possibly with Wright also.
Krstic comming off the bench is interesting, and with Boki or Houston also off the bench we'd have no shortage of shooters. No, that's not a bad bench at all.
Collins doesn't get many rebounds, but he makes it easier for his teammates to get rebounds. He really needs to be on the court with another frontcourt player that can get some. He also should be on the court with a player who could score from the post. Cliffy was allergic to rebounds, which is why that combo wasn't used very much together, and Krstic is only less so. If you paired Magloire and Collins, Magloire would get eight-ten rebounds a night. Similarly, Krstic is more of a jumpshooter. You need a post player on the court, especially when Carter is playing. I still think that a Boone/Collins combo would work great for those reasons. Same with a Sean Williams/Collins combo when he's ready. The advantage of those two over Magloire is that you'd at least have a chance at a fast break.</p>
