Was listening to Cowherd this morning, regarding Conservative or Liberal type people. He was trying to explain that he isn't conservative or liberal. He compared himself to a chameleon with no true political side, using Roy as an example. He said "I'm like Roy. Am I a guard or forward?" I've been really thinking about this since last season. Hell even the end of the season before. In all honesty, I truly believe he is best used as a SF. Of course many of the arguments will be, don't want him to get beat up by the other stronger SFs, He works best playing with the ball, and What are we going to do with Batum or Webster. Here is my suggestion that will still keep everyone happy. 1.) Go with a template of Roy, Aldridge, Oden and Fernandez as your "Core group". Bring in a vet PG every 3 years. 2.) Having a Starting line-up of: Miller, Fernandez, Roy, Aldridge and Oden. This group will focus more on the "inside out" game with Oden anchoring the post. Aldridge, Roy and Fernandez are very good from the perimeter, plus it saves their energy throughout the game. 3.) First subs: Batum for Fernandez and Blake for Miller. Roy moves to SG. This line-up will have more of Roy doing like what he did last season. 4.) Sencond subs: Webster for Roy, Pryzbilla for Oden. You use Aldridge as your main offensive man, but eventually bring in Fernandez for Batum, Outlaw for Aldridge and Miller for Blake. Then you have two offensive weapons with Miller being the facilitator. 5.) Manage the minutes so that in the last 5 minutes of the game, you have Miller, Fernandez, Roy, Aldridge and Oden closing it out for you. With this kinda change-up, You can give plenty of minutes to the supporting cast, but keep it 30-35 minutes for those 4 players. As for the advantages of Roy playing SF mostly. He is much quicker than most SFs in the game. Also, it's much harder to double a SF, than a SG. And defensively, I honestly believe it would be a much easier handle. SGs have to fight through pick after pick, usually set by centers and PFs to stick with their man. A SF doesn't move without the ball as much, so Roy could gamble and play the "passing lanes". I maybe totally "off" on this, but it's something I've been really thinking about for quite some time. Thoughts?
Well this may be a "non-factor" but I personally think Fernandez won't be too happy playing back-up for the rest of his NBA career. Are you saying it's okay to see him eventually go?
Manu... besides that example, Rudy's free agency is years away. I'm for giving Roy the start at SG and letting him be the primary SF backup to Batum when Rudy checks in. There should be plenty of minutes (25-35) for all three at the wings. STOMP
For me it boils down to who do I feel is better, overall, for the team; Rudy or Nic? I go with Nic and hence, Roy should be SG. A simpleton's logic. Gramps...
Yes it is. And is it really so surprising? How long does the fourth best player on any team ever stay with that team? My guess is that those kind of guys never last more than 3 or 4 seasons. We will have to eventually trade Rudy. But the good news is that he's such a talented player that we'll likely get a decent value in return. As for your main point, it's pretty clear that Roy sees himself as a 2/1 and not as a 3/2. Why else would he drop weight over the summer? Myself, I kind of wish he'd gone the other direction and added a little more muscle so he could play more minutes at SF, but that wasn't what he decided to do. Anyway, if there's one prototypical starting player found on nearly every championship team, it's the defensive specialist small forward. (I posted about this about a month ago.) You seemingly have to have one (unless you are Boston). That's not Roy. That could be Batum.
The following is part of one of my posts from early summer. I'm not sure why the numbers work out this way, but it certainly is interesting. Roy as a SF is phenomenal, and better than as a SG. (Data from 82games.com.)... "The surprise our ranking in net PER from the SF position. We were ranked 7th last year. This is misleading, as Roy played 25% of our SF minutes with a net PER of +18.3 (phenomenal!). Batum played 35% of SF minutes with a net PER of -1.6, and Travis played 37% of the SF minutes with a -3.1 PER. Of our "true" SF, Batum should improve, and Martell is back, replacing Travis. Martell's net PER in 07/08 was -2.7, so not much difference in net PER from Travis. Roy's surprising strength at SF deserves some comparisons with the league's best (showing % of team's minutes at that position and net PER) LeBron as SF: 56%, +20.8 Roy as SF: 25%, +18.3 Wade as SG: 67%, + 17.0 Kobe as SG: 72%, +14.1 Howard as C: 71%, +12.8 Roy SF/SG: 72%, +12.5 Roy as SG: 47%, +9.4 Anthony as SF: 54%, +8.2 Pierce as SF: 72%, + 5.7 This makes the Roy as SF idea all the more intriguing!"
Remember Manu used to start. He didn't embrace coming off the bench until last year I believe. And this after they won a couple titles.
Yeah I remembered reading this from someone else that posted it in "o-live" That's why it was intriguing to me as well. He will be much faster, and his ball handling will be so much better than many at that position. Also, I believe there are way more SGs that are just as quick and just as strong as he is, and he would use a ton of his energy to guard them on the defensive end.
Even with Fernandez leaving, I still think Roy is a better defender and scorer at the SF position. He would be the quicker player, which would make his game come to him much easier.
I completely agree that Roy might have to play SF. All pre season I have been waiting for one of the young SF with "promise" to step up and act like they want the job. We have got nothing but non-production out of that position. That is not stepping up, it is stepping out. Roy is more than capable of playing SF, and we have a logjam at SG anyhow. 1. It shores up the SF position. 2. It gets Rudy playing time so he is happy. 3. It makes the starting unit stronger. 4. It makes the starting unit more capable of running. 5. Having Roy handle the ball from the SF position would be no different than when Pippen ran the show from that spot. It is effective with a Point-Forward type player. 6. Not many SF are going to out produce Roy from that position.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/ginobma01.html he has started exactly 1/2 the games since he came into the league. More importantly he has received minutes regardless and is paid like the productive star that he has been. My point is that it's not a given that a star type player will want to bolt just because they aren't starting. Another example would be Lamar Odom. Dude has been an All Star, he's in his prime (30 years old), yet he's paid and getting minutes coming off the bench for a contender. STOMP
I couldn't agree with you more. Seriously, I think Roy's advantage at SF is far greater than his disadvantages. At SG, he has so many quicker guards he has to chase around, and must fight through a ton of picks to stay on them. I think he uses much more energy playing SG than SF, IMO. PG isn't even an option in my mind.
I'm not saying he will, but it's not out of the realm of possibilities. We aren't really in the position to know such things and worrying won't help so might as well enjoy the ride. What you can take comfort in is that the current situation is a good one for the club. Rudy is a talented player who is unlikely to be dealt unless it was for real quality in return. That he's under contract (on the cheap!) for years to come only enhances this dynamic. STOMP
Who cares? I love Rudy but if he doesn't want to be 4th fiddle on a loaded contender, then I am happy to see what he can fetch us.
Which is exactly why you slide Roy over to SF to play point forward and move Rudy into the starting lineup. It's time to start playing the truly talented players the bulk of the minutes and the rest of the players can just sit down, and STFU.
