And again, Jason Terry is another example of a guy who did not start coming of the bench until after he turned 30. Not a single example you have given is a young guy, in his mid-20s, just entering the prime of his career. Terry started in ATL and was a starter his first 3 seasons in DAL. He started 80 games in 2006-07 when DAL won 67 games. It wasn't until Terry's 4th season in DAL, at the age of 30, that he started coming off the bench, after they added a second 1st ballot Hall of Famer to their starting line up. We don't have that luxury. C.J. is clearly our second best player. BNM
I think I see more value in Crabbe's skillset this season than you do...I think he plays better with Mason and Dame than with CJ and Turner
It's fine....Kevin McHale was 6 man of the year a few times...I'm not concerned with all that..the simplest form of my wish for CJ to buy into a 6 man role is that I think it helps the team....we need a sparkplug on offense and Crabbe needs a jumpstart too...to make a better team...not an allstar ballot..and I think I've said about 6 times that I know nobody else agrees ...I get that.
Sure, Plumlee gets some assists out of our half court sets, but he's not going to keep other teams from doubling Dame and trapping him before we can even get into our half court sets. It's not about teams leaving Crabbe wide open to double Dame. It's about teams leaving Aminu or Harkless to trap Dame and Crabbe won't be able to do a damn thing to help with the ball handling duties. If you start Crabbe, it gives teams the green light to trap Dame from the opening tip off. That's why Dame and C.J. work togther. You can't double them both. Try to double one, and the other brings the ball up the court and initiates the offense. And there is more to iniating the offense than getting assists. It's about beating the other team's full court pressure and making the first pass that sets Stotts' flow offense in motion. C.J. can do that. Crabbe can't. So, you leave Dame on an island and are 100% dependent on him to get our team into their half court sets. Way too easy to just trap him the secnnd he crosses midcourt and shut everything down before we even get started. Allen Crabbe is a spot up shooter. You can't leave him open at the 3-point line, but he will never, ever demand a double team and he can't bring the ball up the court against full court ppressure and initiate our offense. He dosn't have those skills. BNM
Your entitled to your opinion. This isn't a popularity contest, but you still haven't answered the most basic question, and my biggest objection to Crabbe starting: If you start Crabbe, what would keep other teams from simply trapping Dame and shutting down our offense before it even gets started? BNM
I understand where your coming from. Your not the only one on here that feels that way. How have teams done trapping Dame so far? Not well. He's beating everyone off the dribble, or pulling up from halfcourt. Is that because of CJ? Because CJ stands outside and waits to see if Dame is going to shoot or pass? Both guys are spending time on the court without the other. I don't see either one getting constantly double teamed as your suggesting would be so easy without the other on the floor. Crabbe is a much better defender than CJ.....right? His contract came from in part to his defense. Don't you think? He also showed very well during clutch moments last year. right? Or am I way off? I think your selling Crabbe's play making ability a little short. I don't think he's dead in the water if there's a defender on him. They are averaging about the same assists. So yes he can make plays for others. He can move without the ball and is a team first player. Maybe to a fault. Are the other 3 guys watching Dame and CJ too much because their so ball dominant? Something I've been seeing more and more.
BNM I hear what you're saying, and I'm not necessarily in favor of starting crabbe over CJ, but why didn't we have the problem you described when CJ and Crabbe started together when dame was out? That was probably the best that crabbe ever played during any stretch, and one of th reasons why I think he will be a good starter..... for someone.
Small sample size, and yes Crabbe's raw numbers were up during the 8 games he started, but all of his shooting percentages and advanced stats were down. The Blazers were 4-4 in the 8 games he started. We beat DEN twice and SAC. We also had that weird 29-point win over CLE when they were trying to get their coach fired. Our four losses were by an average margin of -14.8 points. Hardly a significant sample size and hardly a ringing endorsement that Crabbe should be starting. BNM
In the past certain teams have been successful at trapping him. Less so with CJ next to him compared to Wes. Some teams like Phoenix 2-3 year ago did it all game long. Others like the clippers wait until the 4th. Once the playoffs start and coaches have time to prepare for your weaknesses.....you will see it more. It was a problem last year as well, which is why they got ET. Against some teams you need 2 ball handlers, others three. Regular season against some bad teams.....maybe just one. That said a starting lineup of Dame, Crabbe, and ET might work. But I don't think that makes the 2nd unit any better.
The question is less about who starts as it is about who comes off the bench first and for who. Want to play Crabbe next to Dame more? Sub him in for CJ at the 6 minute point of each half. Want Harkless to play next to CJ more? Sub him out at the same time as CJ, and bring him back at around the same point. It's simple. The first six minutes of each half don't make a difference in who plays with who. Substitution patterns do. However, if CJ plays 36 minutes, he only gets 12 minutes of rest. If thats during the 6 minutes that the starting unit plays at the start of each half, then he ends up playing 18 straight minutes to end each half. Not a good idea. Also, Lillard goes off in the middle or end of games. Hardly does he ever go off to start games, as he likes to get a feel first. If CJ isn't in to start, then the team will rely solely on Dame to produce all the offense from the very start, which isn't a good idea when Dame likes to settle into games. He wouldn't be able to, which would probably lead to some missed shots that would carry on throughout the night. If Lillard can relax his way into a hot streak then that's ideal. Hardly ever is it forced.
What's Avery Bradley now that he's playing with Thomas? If he's a SG, then he's in my Top 5, and probably the only SG I'd trade CJ for (maaaaybe Butler...but apparently he's not a SG anymore?).
I think I mentioned it before but I think Crabbe is at his best with the starting unit....and I think we under utilize him this season....he's a way better wing defender than either of our guards and I think his shot and handles are improved....he's just been the odd man out all season....it's hard to bring it up after CJ ties a career high scoring but previous game CJ shot 20% from deep and turned the ball over....the ball tends to stick with CJ which is great for a 6 man...as you say.....it's just an opinion. I've also said multiple times that I don't believe this will ever happen or CJ would be happy with it.....I would like to give it a shot
