If Will continues his ball handling skills, I think a lineup of damian, will, nicolas, +PF +C would be deadly. The opponents' defense would easily get exploited.
One of the priorities I want from my PG, starter or back up, is the ability to not turn the ball over when the other team cranks up their defensive pressure. We saw the issues that Phoenix caused. I saw it against the Clippers first hand when at the end of a game, our PG got doubled and we went into a 2 minute drought where we never got a decent shot off. However maybe it's more of a team wide issue. When our PG's get doubled out high, the rest of the team does not seem to react well. Phil Jackson's teams succeeded without a true PG's because he had wings who could do it all. Will Barton, Mo, CJ or even Damian for that matter can not succeed at the point unless they have help. That is why the offense flows better with Nic on the court. We need as many good ball handlers and passers on the floor as possible at all times. Not sure I would ever call Will a PG but he could succeed at setting up the offense if he had two other players on the court who could help out. Ideally we should always have 3 good ball handlers on the floor. The problem is that Terry likes his wings to excel at shooting as well, and most can't "do it all". Claver for instance could be that 3rd guy if he could shoot more consistently. (Especially since he is often guarded by slower bigs) Even though I get frustrated at Nic when he forces tough passes inside, we need another Batum type player on the team to help out the guards. I was hoping to get Livingston so we could play two PG's at the same time.
Certainly we are....but he wasn't then. He also would have had a couple more assists that game but teammates missed some very good looks. If he spends more time at PG, I'm not worried about him getting more assists. As it was, in that game he had double the assists of Wes and almost as many rebounds. Lillard, Watson and CJ were the PG's in that game even though when Will was in he gave them another ball-handling option. That's perfect. Lillard is going to take the bulk of the PG minutes anyway so if Will is on the floor with CJ and Nic and it's PG by committee, you're not going to see a back-up PG getting 4-6 assists (which is what starting PG Dame gets for an entire game). He is aggressive, makes plays for himself and others and is constant energy....just what you want from a bench player no matter what specific position they are playing.
any interest in Jason terry? haven't heard much about health issues concerning recoveryfrom knee injury last year. worked very well under stotts. too old? one year left at around MLE. wouldn't screw up next years MAX cap scenearios.
That shipped sailed about 4 years ago. Terry just doesn't have the speed as he once had in Dallas. That's what made terry so good.
I think a low post player is more important in this scenario. When teams are trying to trap, you toss it in to the post and force them to double down low. If they don't then you punish them inside.
I've been a Barton fan for a while. Love guys who aren't one dimensional. Also he's one of the few on this team that has a huge upside. I'm not a Mo fan but Mo was able to supply points off the bench I think Barton can give you the same thing plus better defense and rebounding. Not going to lie the thought of him being back up Pg scares me a little but I want to see what he can do. I honestly think one thing that makes Popovich such a good coach is he turns average players into good players. He knows his personnel better than any other coach and plays his bench so much during the regular season that they have confidence when it comes time for playoffs. In my opinion Leonard would not have been the player he is today without Popovich as his coach.
In Casey's article, they state that CJ is not a PG, and the staff accepts that CJ is definitely a SG. With Earl gone and Mo looking gone, I smell a similar Earl Watson signing in the works. Or some big S&T
Alex Kennedy @AlexKennedyNBA It remains to be seen if there's any interest in Mario Chalmers around NBA. But Miami could package Mario with a pick to get something back.
Alex Kennedy @AlexKennedyNBA If Miami can send Mario Chalmers sign-and-trade package to/through Charlotte for Josh McRoberts, Heat would still have their MLE to spend.
How do they have MLE if they're under the cap? I thought we all had this discussion here before-- you have to waive all exceptions to get under the cap. Can't have both.
Blankey might be OK off the bench. He can play the same role he did before, with CJ playing the role of a poor man's Brandon Roy.
I'm starting to think Ridnour is a good choice. Safe choice, local guy and former Duck. He doesn't turn the ball over, has good handles, plays smart and is a true pt guard. Good character guy who won't demand minutes and can be affordable
He is getting to that age where might. He got 4 million last year. So I think there is a good chance he would take 2 years at 2.5. I like the way he runs a team. Good handles, good passer and can make you pay if you leave him open. Obviously he is not a Defensive stopper, but he is a smart team player.
I'm not against getting him. He's basically a Steve Blake clone. I trust that Olshey will make the right decision and find good players to add to our great starting core.
