Is anyone else tired of seeing the Warriors and the Clippers competing every year for the worst team in CA? I am sure tired of it. I'm wondering who everyone thinks is going to be this year's starting lineup to possibly over take the throne of CA. The Warriors showed spurts last year but fell in the late season last year. PG: Speedy SG: J-Rich SF: Dunleavy PF: Murphy C: Foyle or Davis (depending on DD's shape in the beginning of the season)
Starting Line-up/Depth Chart (without repeating a player more than once) pg-Claxton/Fisher/Dickau sg-Richardson/Pietrus sf-Dunleavy/Robinson pf-Murphy/Biedrins c-Foyle/Davis/Eschmeyer Question: Is Popeye Jones still under contract? Isn't his last year(this coming year) a team option?
Barring injuries or trades, I think that's the line up everyone wants to see. By the way, with the Lakers recent moves, I don't see any reason why the Warriors can't be the second best team in CA.
I see you guys see Speedy as the starting pg? With te signing of Dfish and Speedy's history with injuries wouldn't it be logical to start with Fisher and let speedy come of the bench? I mean, i LOVE speedy. But do you guys think Mullin signed Fisher for our bench? Just want your opinion on this one.
I see Speedy as our number 1. Why wouldn't he start? He can break down a defense as good as anyone in the league, and he's a great on the ball defender. If there's any hope of him having a future in Oakland then he'll probably have to start, because that's why he came here in the first place. That being said, with his size and fragility it's evident that he probably can't play more than 30 minutes per game or 82 games in a season. This, plus the fact that D-Fish can play the 2, means that he'll get 25 minutes per game, which is basically what he's averaged for his career. Beyond that, I think we'll see Fish and Speedy on the court at the same time for stretches, which will be a tough match-up for a lot of teams. In regards to the D-Fish signing, why not sign him to come off of the bench? He's a great defender and decision maker with playoff experience, who's come off the bench and started throughout his career. After all Jerry West signed 2 forwards to back up Posey (Cardinal and Battier), the T-wolves just signed Hudson to back up Cassell and all three are comparable to Fish's contract. It may be a lot of money, but that's the state of the NBA.
I didn't mean anything with it, just curious about your thoughts on this. As said, i love speedy and his game. But (how to explain in english) with regards to Montgomery and his game and Speedy being injury prone, perhaps he could be better coming off the bench.
All I know is last year when Speedy was coming off the bench he was awful, he never got in a flow, and seemed to be pressing the issue too much, then when it was obvious he was the starter, he played very consistent, knocked down 18-20 footers, broke down the D, played intense defense (though he needs to work on keeping the guy in front of him and getting posted up). Speedy is the starter, he earned it, Dfish will be happy playing "starter-like minutes", off the bench.
You raise a good point DutchWarriorFan. Montgomery likes to have experienced point guards who can be like coaches on the floor. I think everyone here likes Speedy enough, based on what he did the last couple months of the season, that they want to see him start at pg. But with the coaching change, you can never tell exactly what's going to happen. Fisher is probably more of a "Montgomery" pg, but Speedy has a proven track record with this team. Talentwise, I think the two are close enough that Montgomery could go with either one as the starter. It will probably be decided in training camp. Personally, I'd like to see him go with Speedy.
Yes. As much as I would love to see Speedy starting, there are many factors that goes against Speedy 1. Knowing that Speedy gets 3 mils, Mullin and Montgomary paid Fisher for 6 mils to be a back up? 2. Mullin and Montgomary really liked Fisher. They liked him so much that they outbid/overpaid Fisher from Houston and Seattle. Both teams promised starting jobs. 3. Speedy is Saint's man. If I have to bet, I will bet that Fisher will be a starter...
That's exactly what i meant. What i read about Monty, i think Fisher is more his type of player, plus the fact that they outbid other teams to sign Dfish. Personally i love to see Speedy start, the man has earned it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting runtmc:</div><div class="quote_post">maybe he bought him so he didn't have to compete against him?</div>I could possibly believe that. Because I never really thought about how glue guys could make a team successful down the stretch. Now even though the Lakers had all these superstars, it was guys like Karl Malone and Fisher who were keeping a turbulent Lakers squad together on and off the court. When things were calm, the Lakers were unbeatable, but then somewhere down the line, they stopped playing as a team and started bickering (Kobe/Shaq/Phil Jackson, etc.). I attribute Derek Fisher's reduced role and injuries to Karl Malone and a weak bench to the Lakers loss to the Pistons. If anyone wants to rebuke my claim feel free, but to me the Super Lakers could have beaten anyone weak bench or not, but the chemistry and role players weren't there this time around. Also keep in mind that Centers and Point Guards of quality/experience are the biggest components of a sucessful franchise and are responsible for the biggest, most important roles on the team. It's like pitching in baseball. You need a good pitcher to throw it and you need a good catcher to call the pitch. If you look at possibly why the Warriors have sucked for so long it was because of these three factors outside of any general management or franchise ownership issues: 1.) We never drafted a pure point guard in the first round (last guy was Tim Hardaway, Vonteego Cummings don't count because he wasn't our pick) 2.) Big men like Damp/Foyle or almost anyone out of college take about 4 years to truly develop the physical bulk and footwork needed to play their position. 3.) No leadership from the players And another thing, if you look at all the plays that most teams execute in the NBA, most of them involve either the big men from the high/low post or the point guard to initiate the offense (every team's offense is different, but the majority of teams that do well are organized utilizing the big men or the point guard). Maybe by signing Fisher, Foyle and letting Damp walk to the East, we make less competition on ourselves due to the rarity of such big men and veteran points. Like for instance, Derek Fisher was about to sign with Houston but we robbed them of him. We didn't really need Fisher, but he stays out of the hands of teams that could really benefit from having him. Also re-signing Foyle who happens to have a great makeup as a leader, team player, and as a great transition defender keeps him from getting in the wrong hands of competitors within our conference as well. So now Houston, even though they seem like they have a lot of firepower because of their offense, they have to settle for playing ball with a team that includes a potentially selfish 6'9" allstar shooting guard that doesn't play a whole lot of D, a 7'6" allstar center that has trouble rebounding and needs touches to be truly effective, 6'9" power forward who is an excellent post scorer but also has trouble rebounding, a young 6'9 Slovenian small forward who is a good, but not great shooter and doesn't play a lot of D, and an undersized backup guard that could or couldn't be worthy of being a starter because of average playmaking ability and being more of an open court than halfcourt type of player. Also the team has no backup center or big power forward to take the minutes off of an often fatigued starting center (who plays constantly all year round for both the NBA/Chinese national team). They've got Charlie Ward off the bench which is okay I guess, but if you've seen him on the Spurs, you wonder if he can still even stay in the league. Then there's one dimensional, "I don't like contact in the paint, I can't rebound" Mo Taylor and an aging Jim Jackson who can provide a bunch of scoring. Bob Sura and Reece Gaines who can provide some skills at the point even though they're not point guards. Spoon who can score some and rebound pretty decently despite his size at 6'7". Griffin who is a good scrappy defender and decent shot. It seems to me that many of these guards won't even see playing time and the undersized power forwards will get killed on the glass. It's interesting to see how they can move so many 2's and land themselves a decent backup center, a power forward that can rebound and bang inside or an effective point coming off the bench that can get everyone involved and provide leadership. The team has no leaders it seems and that's important down the stretch when teammates start grumbling (as evident by this year's Lakers). Plus when you have a team with weak perimeter defense, little or no rebounding, lack of depth inside, and mainly perimeter scorers, you're just asking for trouble. We'll see if Jeff Van Gundy, who is an excellent coach for defense, and can train this team to be a good defensive team. Fisher or Foyle or Damp could have really helped this team as role players. Also looking at the Lakers squad. I see a similar thing going on. Who is the point guard? Marcus Banks and Chucky Atkins? I guess the good thing with Banks is that he'll steal the ball as many times as he loses it. And Atkins, a 5'11 guard, would rather shoot it than pass it you. Ask Celtics fans why they wanted them gone. Also who is the Lakers Center? Brian Grant/Mihm/Divac? Okay, maybe it's not as bad since they have a good 7 footer scorer inside, a wordclass flopper that can get teammates involved and provide shooting touch, and a tough scrappy rebounder in Grant. Also let's not forget that Lamar Odom, who is a really good role player, could play power forward in the West despite being undersized and then Caron Butler could play the 3. So Mihm, Odom, Butler, Bryant, and Banks wouldn't be that bad. Bench: Divac, Grant, Medvedenko, Rush, Atkins It's an okay lineup despite having currently mediocre point guards that have potential, but not more threatening than the Warriors IMO even though they have Kobe Bryant (who might be in jail or busy being on trial later on)
Would This Work? <u>Depth Chart</u> pg-Claxton/Fisher sg-Richardson/Cheaney sf-Pietrus/Dunleavy pf-Davis/Murphy c-Foyle/Laettner <u>Bench</u> Biedrins Robinson Najera Jones
Popeye's not on the roster. There was a team option for him this year, but it's a foregone conclusion that he won't be back.
In a minority I disagree with starting Speedy. Speedy may have talent, but until he can play an entire NBA schedule without injury I would not have him as my starter. There are over 2 million reasons why Fisher will be starting over Speedy, but I rather have a fresh Speedy for the hopeful playoff run for the 8th spot. Look at the worse case scenario, if Speedy is injured who plays the backup point guard (Dunleavy). With the absence of BC we have Najera and Cheaney who are not 3 starter material. Regardless, either player is an upgrade from the Blaylock, Armstrong era.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting cablesurfr:</div><div class="quote_post">Would This Work? <u>Depth Chart</u> pg-Claxton/Fisher sg-Richardson/Cheaney sf-Pietrus/Dunleavy pf-Davis/Murphy c-Foyle/Laettner <u>Bench</u> Biedrins Robinson Najera Jones</div>I'd want this <u>starting lineup</u> pg - Dunleavy or Claxton sg - Richardson sf - Pietrus pf - Murphy or Robinson c - Foyle <u>Bench</u> (really deep) c - D-square or Murphy or Crob pf - Biedrens, Murphy or Crob or Najera sf - Dunleavy, Crob, Najera or Biedrens sg - Cheaney, Pietrus or Dfish pg - Claxton or Fisher Claxton can drive and so can Pietrus (ppl said his ballhandling sucked but he did a good job attacking the rim from what I've seen. He's just too quick and agile) Richardson and Pietrus could be some big threats from downtown on the wing (even though Jrich had a low 3 point fg% let's not forget he set a new franchise record for most consecutive 3 pointers during the season and was a threat from downtown the year before). Dunleavy could be a good setup guy for those cutting to the basket and he could post up and shoot over smaller guards on offense. Then we got Richardson who will get you trips to the foul line and score in a variety of ways and is an above average passer. Murphy will get you tough rebounding and the ability to the hit the midrange J as good as Calbert Cheaney (and that's important when you need to spread the floor). Cliff could fill in when you need a low post defender and somebody who could hit the perimeter shot. And then Foyle (we've yet to see his whole offensive game, but he looked good when Damp was out) For those that didn't see his games he was getting offensive boards and just dunking it and getting all kinds of hook shots and little floaters. He even drilled a 20 footer. Plus some plays it was evident that the big man camps really improved his back to the basket games (not as polished as Dampier's but better than it was before).
