<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Derek Fisher won't be in the Jazz's starting lineup for a while. He's being promoted. That's how Jazz coach Jerry Sloan is looking at it, anyway. Utah's bench has lost a lot of its effectiveness over the past couple of weeks, and Sloan believes Fisher's leadership can help restore it. "Our younger guys in the second unit, it's had a big impact," Sloan said of his early-December decision to make Fisher a starter. "Teams are playing them differently, and it puts a lot of pressure on them to perform. They're affected when things go wrong; that's the biggest problem." Fisher, the coach believes, will help that second unit regroup when necessary. It also allows the 11-year veteran to play point guard, his natural position, more frequently. "He gives us a little bit more stability," said Sloan, who sought Fisher's opinion before making the decision. "I think he was probably playing a little bit better coming off the bench." The whole team was better. Utah's bench outscored its opposition in 14 of the first 15 games, but recently went through a stretch of being outscored in eight straight games. </div> <div align="center">Source</div>
So who gets the start now? I assume it wouldn't be Harpring, since it will put the team at a serious quickness disadvantage on the perimeter. It's between Giricek, Brewer, and Miles I guess. I've been a big fan of Brewer's upside since before the draft, so I'd like to see him get in the regular rotation. I guess the main issue with him is his inability to space the floor with an outside jumper. Right now he's strictly a slasher.
Giricek got the start last night. I didn't watch the game though. Hopefully Brewer will get some more minutes backing up Giricek. And looks like Dee Browns minutes will decrease.
Giricek looked great yesterday in the beginning of the game and actually was the one that got us jump started in the 1st. I expect to see more of him for awhile, but I'd love to see Brewer.
With Giricek starting, Fisher can now play more minutes at his natural position of point guard. That will result in Dee Brown getting less minutes, and more minutes for either Giricek or Brewer at shooting guard. With his experience, Sloan will probably give the majority of them to Giricek, but he's also no stranger to Sloan's doghouse. Brewer has started before, it could happen again soon enough.
