If you were Flip............. would you bring Wally Szczerbiak off the bench for the 2nd half of the season & playoffs? I mean right now the t-wolves starting lineup has a perfect blend of offense & defense. But if you inject Wally into the starting lineup that would give you two big defensive liabilities Wally, & Sam. Trenton Hassell is the perfect starter to play along side of the big 3. And if you look at the t-wolves second unit its lacks scoring power, thats why Spree has to play alot of second quarter minutes. When everybody gets back from injury the second unit will probably look like this PG-Troy Hudson, SG-Fred Hoiberg SF- Trenton Hassell PF- Mark Madsen C- Ervin Johnson & Miller/Trent will fill in at different times depending on matchups. But if you switch Wally with trenton Hassell then you have the offensive & defensive balance in your second unit. And there will be more shots for Wally in the second unit. Troy Hudson can get in the lane and create opportunity for the perimeter shooters Hoiberg & Wally. Iam not saying that Wally souldnt be in the game in the 4th. I think Flip can rotate the second half of the game by feel & matchups. If Wally is playing well then he will be in the game in the late stages. My theory is just to try & create more points in the 1st half of the game where the t-wolves cant generate alot of offense for some reason. My lineups would look like this when everyone gets back. Starters PG- SAM CASSELL SG- Trenton Hassell SF-Spree PF-KG C-Kandiman 2nd Unit PG-troy Hudson SG-Fred Hoiberg SF- Wally PF-Mark Madsen/Trent(depending on matchups) C- Ervin Johnson/ The Big O (depending on matchups) Then I would sign a point guard to a real contract keep him on injury reserve because you cant keep bringing in different point guards everytime Hudson goes down, they simply wont really be able to produce anything that will help the team. You have to have an insurance point guard that can practice with the team & learn the offense for a long period of time. And EBi goes to IL as well. So would you start Wally or bring him off the bench?
I would bring him off the bench. He would be a good spark off the bench, and if needed he will be there. Hassell is playing to good to put on the bench right now. If he came off the bench, I would say we would have the best depth in the league.
I would also say just bring Wally off the bench for the season. They are playing great ball right now, and I don't think they should be messing with their lineups this late into the season if they're succeeding. I originally thought Spree would probably play better as soon as Wally came back, but Hassell is playing good ball for them, and the only one I would change the starting lineup for is if the Kandi man came back. I can't wait for Michael to come back, so we can finally see what he can do when hes healthy with the Wolves. I watched him in L.A. for years, and I've gotta say if he's up for it he can probably average close to 20ppg. About two years ago, he brought his numbers up like crazy by averaging close to 20ppg at the end of the season.
I guess Kandi-KG-Spree-Hassell-Cassell would be the perfect lineup for the Wolves, but given Wally's ego, he wouldn't take this for long. I'm pretty sure, that when he's back 100% he will be a starter. Besides when he's back I think it'd be best if Spree, Wally and Hassell would handle the swing positions with Spree playing around 35 min, Wally and Hassell 30-30. That way Spree wouldn't be so tired by the time the playoffs start. Believe me, Wally'd be a great addition, since the team now lacks a consistent outside shooter. The Mayor has been struggling lately and Wally could light it up anytime he wanted last year. He's not an all-star for nothing and would be a huge upgrade over Hoibs IMO, even if he's a defensive liability. He'd be good, because when he comes back, the Big 3 could rest a bit more. I think all of them deserve it, and need it badly.
The Timberwolves are doing great on their own already and holding their own on both sides of the court. Also I personally think Wally is a ballhog and has a generally bad attitude. He'll be leaving soon seeing as he doesn't get along with KG. He's a great offensive player, but he's quite slow and not that hard a worker. I'd rather have him benched, much like Hoiberg and play some sparkplug points. Like the others said before me, he plays better that way anyway. The trouble is how he'll react. Losing him wouldn't be too bad a blow, we have Hassell afterall and our offense is strong enough without him already. I'll just be glad to have Kandi back on the starting lineup for some great big man defense from him and KG.
I don't think our offense is strong enough already. We've been winning games recently and that's cool, but it's really hard that all we have is the big 3. Other guys show up here and there but the last few games the Big 3 is scoring 75-85% of the points. That means that against tougher teams like Kings, Spurs, Lakers, especially in the playoffs, if one of them has an off night then 25% of the team's points are gone. That's a whole lot! As much as I love Hassell's defense, he is a valuable addition, but he's not that of a scoring machine. And Kandi wouldn't be either. T-Hud can light it up, when in the mood, but he's basically our only offensive sparkplug off the bench, that's all. That's why we need Wally, Hoiberg is not getting it done from the outside. Wally could easily drop 15-20 on them every night and would ease the offensive load from the MV3.
Are you kidding me Henacy? Now you want the shooter on the bench when you said Hassell can't knock the jumper down on a consistent basis. That is what Wally is really going to bring to the squad when he returns. Think about it... Garnett posts up... if hes doubled he has Sprewell to kick out to who can drive and create more confusion, Cassell who can do god knows how many things with the ball, Olowokandi who should be standings right near the basket, and Wally who can stroke some nice jumpers in stride off the past. I really believe if Wally can accept losing a few shots from last season, (2-4 tops) he will increase the offesive potency (nice word hehe) tremedously. You ask where the energy off the bench will come from... that has to be Troy Hudson's job. Troy is gunna havta use the minutes he gets and make the most of ever single second with high enegry, smart plays. I believe the rotation should look something like this... Olowokandi Garnett Szczerbiak Sprewell Cassell Now with Troy being the 6th man, keeping a 3 gaurd rotation with Sprewell and Cassell, where maybe the Wolves can play small ball for a couple minutes to give Spree some rest, and have Fred Hoiberg as the 4th gaurd. Hassell plays behind Wally, and maybe some 2 gaurd, for defensive matchups and/or if Flip is looking for more defensive pressure and can come away from Freddy. Gary Trent plays behind Garnett... and with Garnett depending on matchups. Center position matchups again.
I agree with Purehoops to have Wally starting. The TWolves need another shooter on the court, and Wally is automatic with wide open mid range shots. He won't be as much of a liability this year on defense either because of the addition of Sprewell. Spree can match up with the better "Swing" player on opposing teams, and the fact the TWolves play the majority of the game with Zone defense, reduces Wally's responsibility to shutdown anyone. I also think having Wally on offense, will allow Spree to focus more on the defensive end, and will give the TWolves the offensive firepower to match-up with the Mavs, Kings, and a healthy Laker team.
I would try Wally out in the starting lineup if they slump then put him on the bench. I think it would be nice for Wally to get the wide open shots he will get with Sam Spree and KG on the court. but Wally will likely be coming off the bench the first 5-10 games he is back so he can get back into shape, it is going to take him a bit since he hasn't done much running.
I forgot to add Mark Madsen to my depth chart. When it comes down to it... you could agure that these injuries to our top players have really helped the players who will be playing the limited minutes, Fred Hoiberg, Trenton Hassell have really gotten some valuable minutes and I think when they come in during the playoffs the Wolves won't lose a stride from their starting line up. However Flips decides to play his cards, I will be excited, the Wolves look potent in its first 5, and then when going into the bench, we have so many options and rotations we can throw at the opponet.
Keep Trenton Hassell in there, He's doing a great job defensively and now is starting to get a jump-shot going. The other game he held AI to under 10 points in the second half.
