Hmm, go figure. Actual answers and solid replies are given, and he disappears from the thread. Apparently didn't get the incendiary reaction he desired, and ignored the topic after a bit. Odd. Almost something.....trollish about that. That couldn't be.
After seeing Matthews live at fanfest I think I can safely say that we won't be missing Martell's contributions much this year -- the guy can flat play, so in that sense that I think group B represents a stronger 8 man rotation, even though A appears to be more balanced and "deeper." I'd much rather see a 3 or 4 guard rotation with Roy, Miller, Matthews and Jerryd sprinkled in with Nic, LMA, Camby and Dante soaking up the front-court minutes ... eventually add Pryzbilla or Oden (hopefully?) and I think this team is going to be a tough out. Certainly there's still a kludge of guards, but it's not a back-breaker with players apparently settling into roles much quicker this year than last.
It'll be funny this year if Andre Miller misses huge chunks of games and Greg Oden doesn't. In fact, if that's the trade off, I'd be ok with it.
After seeing the scrimmage last night and thinking about it more I've changed my mind from thinking it was pretty even with a slight edge to Group B, to thinking group B is actually significantly better. A depth chart like was used in the OP is a nice organization tool but obviously doesn't represent what a real rotation looks like, especially with so many versatile guys on the roster. I think to evaluate which team is superior you have to break it down more to facets of the game depending on what you think the rotation players bring to the table. First you have figure who the ideal rotation guys are in each roster. Group A (representing last season) is fairly clear, 10 guys Brandon/LA/Greg/Andre/Nic/Blake/Rudy/Martell/Travis/Pryz were slated to see pretty regular minutes in an ideal injury free rotation (obviously never the case last year but the OP's question leaves out the consideration of injuries). Group B is a bit harder because we're speculating, but right now MY ideal injury free rotation guys are Brandon/LA/Greg/Andre/Nic/Marcus/Wes/Bayless/Pryz (same ideal starters, totally different bench except Pryz, expecting Rudy to be traded before or soon after the season begins). So in my eyes we're swapping Blake/Rudy/Webs/Outlaw for Bayless/Wes/Marcus. After breaking down the roster to who you actually think should play then you can decide which facets of game you think are important to winning and compare which lineups you think are better at each. My opinion on the top 10 most important parts of the game(not in order), and which squad has the upper hand: 1. Scoring overall(starters)- Same starters, but development alone should give a slight edge to B 2. Scoring overall(bench)- I think a 1-2 bench scoring punch of Wes/Bayless is superior to our primarily jumpshot taking bench from last year (remember Jerryd's playoffs?). B 3. 3pt shooting- Group A, Wes is as good as Rudy/Webs, but unless Bayless has greatly improved then Blake and Travis were much better. 4. Penetration/Slashing- Group B, Wes looks like he has a better handle than any of our previous perimeter bench players and Bayless > Blake 5. Inside Scoring- Even, Starters are the same until LMA actually shows us something down low, Camby isn't really an upgrade because he's more of an elbow shooter than an inside guy. 6. Playmaking/Passing- Starters for B are a little better because of Nic's development. Bench is pretty even and probably towards B again if Wes is as good at initiating the offense as the players/coaches have been saying all camp; Blake being slightly better than Bayless, Wes being talked about as being as good as Rudy and clearly better than Webs, and Camby(a pretty good passer for a bigman) being a big upgrade over the anti-playmaking Outlaw. B 7. Rebounding- B, do I need to explain? 8. Interior defense- B, same 9. Perimeter D- Edge to B, Blake v Bayless is kind of a wash, but if Wes is as advertised than he'll be a bit better than Martell and clearly superior to Rudy/Trav. 10. BB IQ- Outlaw v Camby gives this to B no matter what. B-8, A-1, Even-1 Some of the ones I have a slight edge to B I could see being even in some eyes, but I really can't think of anything outside of 3pt shooting to give rotation A a clear advantage.
Group C: Miller | Bayless | Williams Roy | Wes | Rudy Batum | Wes | Babbitt Aldridge | Pendergraph Oden | Camby | Przybilla looks fine to me... I sure wouldn't mind a really good, young PG, but I'm fine going to battle with this lineup. I think Wes is a wildcard this year. He seems to have the potential to be really good. I think this team is better than last year's team (Healthy that is).
yup on all accounts I like the top 8 of the current team much better and the deep bench is fine. Roy Matthews and Batum are a tremendous rotation at the wing spots... why posters overlook/blow off how much and how effective Brandon has been playing the 3 the last few years is just weird. Reports are that he's slimmed down so probably Matthews (who has the same reach/wingspan and more girth) guards the bigger player when they're paired. Greg Camby and LA are possibly an even better rotation at the Big spots. Given health I see about the biggest challenge being getting used to playing with a true post player (GO) down on the low block on offense. Having him camped down low clogs the lane for the guard's slashes to the hoop, so like last year there may be a period of adjustment feeling things out. But their attack should be better for it in short order. Miller is the best PG this club has had in forever and 3 years in Bayless should be fine in spot minutes at either guard spot. I'm expecting Jerryd's improvement from year 1 to 2 to continue... dude is all of 22. Given some luck with health this team will be burying opponents. STOMP
Where the argument fails is simply that if you look close, Group B has a former DPOY on there and Group A doesn't. Irregardless of the remaining combinations you have and can say what works and what doesn't, you can't say Group A with a "basketball IQ retard" of Travis Outlaw on there is anywhere near Group with with a former Defensive Player of the Year. This is like trying to list out a "could have been" roster for the Houston Rocket in the late 90's where you had one group with Drexler, Barkley and Shawn Bradley and some other roles players that filled in a good 2nd team roster, and saying that might be better than the current Drexler, Barkley and Olajuwon on there. Sure maybe some of the fillers might fit better in the group with Shawn Bradley, but do you realize you have Shawn Bradley in place of Olajuwon? Really? Sure, maybe a 35 year old Olajuwon in his 15th year, but still a former DPOY and multiple all-defensive team member. You can have Group A with their depth, Group B is the title contender with the guys playing 28+ mpg.
