I'm not seeing the Iguodala comparison. They are two totally different types of players. Iguodala is a defensive stopper who is/has been their thirst scoring option off the bench after Speights and Livingston. He averaged 7.0 ppg last season and is averaging 5.3 ppg this season. We need to get way more than that from C.J. Anything less than 34 MPG for C.J. is wasting our second best offensive player. When we drafted him, I also envisioned him as a 6th man/combo guard off the bench, ala Vinnie The Microwave Johnson. But, C.J. is better than I thought he'd be. He needs to be in the starting line up. I loved his hot start tonight. That's the C.J. we had last year. How many times last year was it C.J. who got off to the fast start and kept us in games until Dame took over during Lillard time? Dame likes to defer early in the game and get his teammates involved. The flip side of that is he needs teammates on the floor that can take advantage of that. C.J. is the second best scoring option on our team. If he doesn't start, we will struggle to keeo from falling behind early. The bench guys need to figure out their roles and Stotts needs to figure of the combinations that work. Moving C.J. to the bench is not the answer, in my opinion. It will just dig us into a hole to start the game and it always takes a lot more energy to start with a deficit and spend the rest of the night trying to claw yourself back into the game. BNM
I didn't mean they were at all alike....I meant that they were max contract guys who accepted a bench role....impact player...CJ is more Manu Ginobli or young Jason Terry than Iggy...I just think he has the most value in that role and Crabbe gives us more defense on the perimeter...also think it gets Crabbe involved in the offense early and I think Crabbe's best games have always been with the starters
For careers? Maybe...Derozen wouldn't(edited) be high then, but for this year, or at the moment? CJ is #2 in my book. Derozen CJ Klay Wade Klay is playing like complete shit and having the worst strt of his career and Wade is a shell of his former self. I think CJ is better overall than Derozen, too, but at the moment, you cant deny what he is doing.
Oh, and can I just say... THANK fucking god for Kobe retiring, so one or two of the West Coast deserving guys can actually have a shot at the All star game this year????
Is CJ's defense hurting us to start the game? Or to start the 3rd qtr? It seems like we play pretty well during that stretch and when they both close games. And he is still in with the 2nd unit. So I would keep him in the starting unit.
Your minutes have nothing to do with starting or coming off the bench...Noah started all last season and played some of the fewest minutes on the team..my logic is better first half defense period....so maybe you don't dig a hole and your best players CAN rest at the end of a game....I never said CJ would buy into it at all...he had a great game today no matter what....he's had a real streaky start as well
In my opinion ....yes....and in my opinion...Crabbe isn't getting touches off the bench at all...that's CJ time..I think we get better value from Crabbe starting and CJ finishing but I've felt this way awhile and few agree with me....is what it is
Tough sell to CJ , but Crabbe would be better in the starting lineup overall. IMO. CJ would still get his and maybe more coming off the bench. Despite today's game stats.
Anybody willing to trade CJ for the struggling Klay right now? Who would benefit/fit better in the long run?
Iggy isn't, and has never been a max contract guy. He actually took less money when he left DEN to join GSW. And, he didn't "accept" coming off the bench until he was 31 years old. He wasn't in the prime of his career, like C.J. His first year in GSW he started every game he played in. Manu is a better comparison, but again he's never been a max contract guy and didn't become a 6th man until he turned 30. He's been doing it for so long, I think people forget he was a starter early in his career. He also started 79 games at the age of 33, and that was the last time he averaged over 12.9 ppg. We need a lot more than that from C.J. Anything that diminishes the role of our second best player is a mistake in my opinion. When they were coming off the bench, nether Iggy nor Manu were the second best player on their team. It can sometimes make sense to have your 3rd or 4th best player coming off the bench, but not your second best. BNM
You do realize it's a lot easier to start someone and play them 12 minutes than it is to bench them and play them 36 minutes? Where exactly would CJ get his rest? He shouldn't be palying for over 12 straight minutes or his play will really fall off due to fatigue. How do you get that done while bringing him off the bench and still playing him 35 minutes per game?
How would Crabbe be better in the starting lineup overall? Since Crabbe isn't a great ballhandler, what would keep teams from simply trapping Dame and grinding our offense to a screeching halt? Crabbe is a spot up 3 and D guy and the D is questionable. He can't create for himself, or others. That worked fine when we had pre-injury Wes, because Batum was the secondary ball handler/distributor. We dont have that luxury with Harkless startiing at the 3. We'd have a starting lineup with only ONE player capable of creating his own shot. Crabbe can't do it. Harklesss can't do it. Aminu can't do it and Plumlee can't do it. Opposing defnses would love that. They'd simply clamp down on Dame and we'd be fucked. BNM
Crabbe should be playing whenever one of Dame and CJ isn't on the floor. Staying him would keep that the same way as would starting CJ. So what's the difference, other than slower starts and CJ playing more consecutive minutes this zapping his energy?
See that's where I view it differently and this is the usual point of argument...I don't see Manu as a player that accepted a diminished role or Jason Terry when he was young, etc....I think it's a big role but I'm on the outside looking in..I get that. I'm sure no expert in minute distribution but Crabbe is now in a diminished role and CJ can get his at the end of qtrs...or play the start of qtrs. in the second half....like I said..it's not a popular view but it sticks with me
The more I think about it, the more I think starting Crabbe would be a disaster. He is assisted on 83.3% of his made 2-point FGs and 100% of his made 3-pointers. That is the definition of a guy who can't create his own shot. Put him in the starting lineup and our offense at the start of games would be 100% dependent on Damian Lillard to create for himself and others. That's WAY too easy to defend. We'd start every game in the hole with Dame worn out from trying to completely carry the offense. BNM
So, if you start Crabbe, what keeps other teams from simply trapping Dame and shutting down our offense? Crabbe is not a ball handler and is nearly 100% dependent on others to create shots for him. BNM
I feel like I'm repeating myself....Plumlee gets more assists than CJ early in games doesn't he? We'll never see Crabbe's offense playing with CJ because he'll never touch the ball....Crabbe gets some touches....defenses will treat him just like any two guard who can score.