Though this may seem like it is coming out of left field, I think the Spurs should strongly consider replacing Bruce Bowen in the starting lineup with Devin Brown. I love what Bowen brings to the table but I believe the team would function better with Brown beginning games as the small forward.
And before you think I’m crazy, Pop and his coaching staff have given no indication that Bowen’s starting job is safe. Though this is probably just to promote compe iveness in camp, it’s a rather telling shift from years past. In the past three seasons, it has always been a no-brainer that Bowen will start. This year? Not so much, if I am reading between the lines correctly.
The move not only makes sense, but I believe it would make the team that much better. Brown is a better running mate for Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in the starting lineup. Those three can slash, create and cause havoc. Surround Tim Duncan with three players who can fly and create their own shot and the Spurs would have no problem scoring points.
Bowen off the bench would still be rather useful. He could come in and solve any matchup problem on the perimeter. Whether it’s a point guard, shooting guard or small forward that catches fire, Bowen can come in and shut them down. He’d still play a lot of minutes, but just in a more specialized role.
This move would also solve some the duplicity issues that face the bench as it stands. Right now, there are a bunch of shooting guards and no experienced small forward on the bench. It would be difficult to find minutes for Brown off the bench as Brent Barry will be playing most of the swing position minutes.
If you start Brown, here is how I think the minutes would stack up between the five involved players:
Brown 28
Manu 32
Parker 35
Bowen 25
Barry 24
Another thing to consider is that the Lakers exposed Bowen’s weakness for guarding the top of the key pick-and-roll. After game two, they went to it and Bowen was rendered useless for the rest of the series. If you bring him off the bench, it would be harder for teams to gameplan that same strategy this season.
Of course this move would take a lot of guts for Popovich to make, but we’ve seen him make similar moves. The replacing of Steve Smith with Stephen Jackson, Danny Ferry with Sean Elliott, Terry Porter with Avery Johnson and Manu Ginobili with Hedo Turkoglu come to mind.
Overall, I think it would be a smart move. And if Brown plays exceedingly well in preseason and Bowen struggles at all, I believe Pop will make the right decision.
i'm in the tank with bowen, but i say why not....after seeing dev last year, the kid deserves the chance....and there's plenty of time to make adjustments and see what works and what doesn't.....
the only thing i don't like is that the spurs historically struggle early, and putting dev in the lineup means instant scapegoat....malik, bowen and barry off the bench sounds real good though.....
great idea.
ps, if this comes to fruition, sig update was just in time....
I think you try it in the first 20 games and see how it goes.
you would still have enough games to get him confortable
bowen could always play better d in limited minutes(not as tired)
bowen also could play more mintues when he spurs need him against a superstar
Brown played well for glimpses last season. He's not even close to being ready to be an NBA starter. Why do you think they sent him to the summer leagues? He needs to improve in a lot of areas and play consistent night in and night out in whatever minutes he gets. He also needs to prove to the coaching staff that he has the kind of dedication to the game that Bowen does.
I'll go the opposite viewpoint on this subject. I say Bowen stays the starter and LJIII ends up getting more backup minutes at the 3 than Devin does by season's end.
In today's Laker practice, for much of the time on the court, they practiced nothing but hi pick & roll. So much so that Laker Announcers are saying that in the 1st 10 games this year's Lakers will have run more P & R set's than in ALL of last year.Another thing to consider is that the Lakers exposed Bowen’s weakness for guarding the top of the key pick-and-roll. After game two, they went to it and Bowen was rendered useless for the rest of the series. If you bring him off the bench, it would be harder for teams to gameplan that same strategy this season.
They will be looking to post up Kobe more.
Peeps thought I was crazy when I said Brown was an NBA player. What's new?Brown played well for glimpses last season. He's not even close to being ready to be an NBA starter.
If the Lakers series is any indication, Brown brings it when it's needed. Bowen, on the other hand, was murdered the last four games.He needs to improve in a lot of areas and play consistent night in and night out in whatever minutes he gets.
Exactly. I didn't know that but that fits exactly into my point.In today's Laker practice, for much of the time on the court, they practiced nothing but hi pick & roll.
The Lakers know they have to go thru the Spurs and now know the weakness. Bowen can't guard that play.
We'll see. I love Devin and think that he should somehow get minutes in the deep swingman rotation. But I don't think that one hot series means he's ready for the primetime. I want to see if he can play at smart and at a high-level consistently. I haven't seen that from him.
Bruce should start against the teams that have great scorers at the 2 and 3.
Interesting thought. My initial reaction is that it would be less than an optimal defensive arrangement. My impression is that though DBrown is listed at 6'5" that his real height is less. Height, of course, is not everything, but it is significant. If you had DBrown playing the 3 on offense and then guarding the 2 on D with Ginobili defending the 3 I could see it.
I don't think Bowen is as effective coming off the bench. Most of the teams high scores are starting and if he gets hot, it would be harder for Bowen to shut him down. I also think Brown (or Manu) is too short to consistently guard opposing SF every night. He might be able in spot minutes, but not all night. I really like Johnson size, but this is why I think we needed to bring in another 3 to compete against them. Hope he pans out, because we'll be in trouble if a team goes big.
I think timvp makes an excellent case. I would like to see Bowen fresher in the 4th quarter when it is time to lock down the other team defensively. However, my concern would be whether Brown is ready for the added pressure of starting at his age and experience level. Hopefully there will be some experimentation in the pre-season.
it could be just as interesting starting brent barry with parker and manu as well.
My one bone of contention is that Bowen's "ineffectiveness" in defending the high screen-roll came primarily as a result of his inability to fight over the top of screens set by Shaquille O'Neal and Karl Malone.
I thought the Lakers were trying to either spring Kobe or force switches to create a Bryant-Rasho or a Bryant-Duncan matchup on the floor. They were willing to use Malone and O'Neal as the screener because of the benefit of sprining Kobe from Bowen's defense. Because the screeners were those behemoths, any normal-sized NBA player would have been relegated to going under the screen (assuming that the defense didn't switch the play), and ultimately chasing the ball -- not a good strategy. I'm not sure that most teams: (1) have a monsterous big to set that type of screen; (2) are willing to send whatever bigs they have above the circle to set a screen on Bowen; or (3) have a player (like Kobe Bryant) who is capable of repeatedly exploiting the advantage gained by that tactic.
I'm also not sure that Devin is ready to play as a starter in the NBA. He had a nice couple of games against LA in the playoffs, but he was virtually absent in Games 2 and 4 of that series. I'd like to see a bit more consistency out of the kid before I drink the Kool-Aid on the Devin as a starter idea.
Insane. There are several problems with starting Brown:
- He's young and inexperienced. We don't know if he's tough enough. He certainly wouldn't add the toughness and consistency that Bowen brings, and those things are sorely needed in a lineup that includes Tony Parker and Rasho. The Spurs don't need more youth in the starting lineup right now.
- It would be a defensive mess. Do you really want DBrown guarding Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, and Tracy McGrady? He's done O.K. on the defensive end, but by no means is he big time. And unless you want to reduce Manu's minutes even more and render him less effective on the offensive end, you don't want to stick him those assignments. DBrown as your defensive stopper? Unless you want Manu taking the toughest assignments night in and night out, you're insane.
- Knowing the system. Brown, for all his talent, doesn't know when he's supposed to pass and when he's supposed to shoot. I'd rather have Bowen because he knows the system and knows what he's supposed to be doing. He spreads the floor by hitting threes regularly. Could Brown hit those? We hope so. But who knows?
- It would render Bowen ineffective. Why would you want Bowen playing reserve minutes? He would be more likely to match up with bench players, and having Bruce shut down Eric Piatkowski and Steve Smith is an insult to his skills. You would be taking Bruce's biggest strength and making it insignificant. Bowen is most useful when he gets to defend great players. When he's defending reserves, he doesn't really offer much.
- The second unit could be offensively challenged, and Brown's slashing style and athleticism would allow him to create scoring opportunities when the Spurs will need them most. There isn't a shortage of offense in the starting lineup. There is one the bench.
- Put down the crack pipe.
Didn't they do that at the olympics... It wasn't that succesful.
I'm not entirely convinced Devin is ready to start either, he needs to recieve some more minutes to judge his ability/consistency then maybe its a viable option.
I like the idea of Barry/Manu/Parker thats three playmakers, and barry runs the break pretty well as well.
On defense Devin was struggling with Kobe too. In particular Kobe was taking Brown on the blocks and posting him up.
Nobody else in the NBA comes close to Malone in setting a screen and then catching up the defender and dragging him as he rolls to the basket.
This year Bryant is going to be doubled on the ball and denied off the ball. He'll be the focus of every team's defense. Wear him out, force him to take bad shots which he will. That will be the game plan night in, night out against LA. Lakers are a non-factor for the Spurs.
I'd rather see the Spurs come off the bench with a second unit of Brown, Berry and Udrih initially and start Bowen. Second half and end of game would be situational and whose playing well. If Litton is a good defender he might help on some of the bigger players BB has trouble with like James, Artest, Kirilenko at the 3.
Timvp is high.
He seemed pretty damn tough when he was the only Spur fighting against the Lakers in the playoffs. Bowen didn't look too tough sitting on the bench after being killed by the high pick-and-roll.- He's young and inexperienced. We don't know if he's tough enough.
He guarded Kobe better than Bowen did in the playoffs. Although he is a couple inches shorter, he's thicker and stronger than Bowen. Of course he's not the same defender at the moment, but he isn't shabby either.- It would be a defensive mess. Do you really want DBrown guarding Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, and Tracy McGrady?
You're worried about Vince Carter?
Bowen knows to shoot because he is wide ass open most of the time while his man is doubling Tim.- Knowing the system. Brown, for all his talent, doesn't know when he's supposed to pass and when he's supposed to shoot.
As I stated in the original posts, you can still play him against the other team's great perimeter players if there seems to be a matchup problem. If there is no matchup problem, this group of starters is far superior.- It would render Bowen ineffective. Why would you want Bowen playing reserve minutes?
Barry and Beno are both scorers. However, they are both only average defenders ... which is why Bowen off the bench makes even more sense.- The second unit could be offensively challenged, and Brown's slashing style and athleticism would allow him to create scoring opportunities when the Spurs will need them most.
Sincerely,- Put down the crack pipe.
10-10 Start
10 game winning streak
Waive Ron Mercer
Devin Brown is an NBA player
Linton Johnson III for the long three
etc.
etc.
Udrih will be a better defensive PG than Parker. Book it.
What are you basing that on? Defense is Udrih's weakness as of now.
Where did you hear defense was his weakness? That was one of the things Pop complimented him on I thought.
I'm basing it on one summer league game (granted limited and lesser compe ion), Pop's comments and reports from Chicago. He is stronger and can't be taken to the basket as easily as Parker. He can't be shot over quite as easily. He moved his feet very well in the game I saw, stayed in front of his man. Set up on D, particularly on screens well. He's a much more active off the ball defender than Parker, reading the passing lanes, droped down to double post players and scrape the ball, got three deflections that ended up in poor shots/turnovers/shot clock violations. While playing off the ball he still got back to his man, showing good defensive court awarenes of when to double.
Time will tell but I'll wager vBucks that he's recognized as the better defender of the two by year end excluding injuries.
Um, I was courtside.Where did you hear defense was his weakness?
So far I've learned that with Beno, you can never exclude injuries.Time will tell but I'll wager vBucks that he's recognized as the better defender of the two by year end excluding injuries.
NBA zone defense and international zone is alot different
I don't think Brown is talented enough to start in the L, I don't think he ever will be.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
