Who should start ?

[Mavs<Spurs]

I apologize in advance if there is already a thread out about this.
But after the OKC game, I think it is even more relevant.

I'm seeing some people propose starting:

Parker
Mason
Bowen
Gooden
Duncan

I think that is possibly a decent lineup now. Our problem wasn't our defense tonight. It was the turnovers and we didn't score on the last possession.

I know that Gooden isn't known for being a good defender. However, he is a relatively athletic big and he's mobile enough to make him capable of helping Tim defend the rim. And I think that Bowen should only start if we can be a tremendous defensive team with him. Because if the result of his insertion into the lineup isn't a tremendous defensive team, then we will be too hurt on offense for him to help the team as a starter. Tim's movement seems good enough to me that he can still defend the paint.

Since I don't know that our defense will that great with Bruce, I think that we benefit more from having a lot more offense (compared to Bruce).
I know that Michael didn't have a great game tonight. However, for most of the recent games, Michael's been on a tear, shooting up until this game better than 50% from 3. And it seems to hurt Michael's game if he does not start.

So, I would start:

Parker
Mason
Finley
Gooden
Duncan

And Manu, due to how easily he gets injured, needs to keep coming off of the bench.


This is also the team that I would close the game with (at least on offensive possessions- for defensive possessions I would take Finley out and put in Bruce, probably).

When Manu comes back, then to close the game, I would have

Parker
Ginobili
Finley
Gooden
Duncan

Mason could possibly replace Finley to close the game.

On defensive possessions, I would have

Parker
Ginobili
Bowen
Gooden
Duncan

or against small ball

Parker
Hill
Ginobili
Bowen
Duncan


Who would you start and close? On offense and defense.

[Mugen]

I am with eventually replacing bonner with gooden in the playoffs if bonner continues to struggle. But our end game lineup in the POs should be:

Parker
Manu
Duncan
Kurt
Finley/Mason/Bowen/Hill depending on the game situation

Kurt is our best rebounder/defender other than Duncan and has to be out there for defensive purposes.

Any big playing with Duncan in the closing minutes is going to be relegated to a spot up shooter role and Thomas plays that part just as well as Drew. Kurt is also a better rebounder and defender and should get the minutes over drew.

with that said, i still think Drew is going to be a key rotational player in the postseason.

[Spursfan092120]

Parker
Mason
Bowen
Gooden
Duncan

with Manu coming off the bench, replacing Mason or Bowen, depending on who's playing better...maybe moving Mason to the 3.

Yep

[Technique]

Finley is fine on offense. No one was complaining when he was putting up 20+ points. 38 minutes on a 36 year old is rough though... Starting Gooden over Bonner is something worth mentioning.

[xtremesteven33]

Parker
Mason
Bowen
Duncan
Thomas


thats my lineup and im stickin to it.

[Spursfan092120]

Parker
Mason
Bowen
Duncan
Thomas


thats my lineup and im stickin to it.

Thomas over Gooden?

[xtremesteven33]

Thomas over Gooden?

Gooden and Ginobili coming off the bench would be an offensive spark that we probably have never seen before.

Id much rather see that than Thomas and Ginobili.

[Mavs<Spurs]

I am with eventually replacing bonner with gooden in the playoffs if bonner continues to struggle. But our end game lineup in the POs should be:

Parker
Manu
Duncan
Kurt
Finley/Mason/Bowen/Hill depending on the game situation

Kurt is our best rebounder/defender other than Duncan and has to be out there for defensive purposes.

Any big playing with Duncan in the closing minutes is going to be relegated to a spot up shooter role and Thomas plays that part just as well as Drew. Kurt is also a better rebounder and defender and should get the minutes over drew.

with that said, i still think Drew is going to be a key rotational player in the postseason.

Kurt is a better defender. He is only slightly better as a rebounder than Gooden, I think.

However, Gooden can create his own shot. You do have to defend Kurt's shot because if Kurt is open, he will make the j. But, he can't create his own shot and you don't have to pay that much attention to him on offense.

I think that Gooden would cause more problems for the other team's defense.
And Gooden is younger and more athletic.


But you make good points.

[mexicanjunior]

Parker
Mason
Bowen
Gooden
Duncan

I would love to see Popovich go with this lineup but it won't happen. We will continue to get a healthy dose of Finley and Bonner in the starting lineup, regardless of how they are playing...

[Mavs<Spurs]

Finley is fine on offense. No one was complaining when he was putting up 20+ points. 38 minutes on a 36 year old is rough though... Starting Gooden over Bonner is something worth mentioning.

That's my biggest complaint.

I can't see starting with Bonner.

I know Bonner is almost never out there at the end of a game.
But I don't think he should start. Gooden is a lot better player.

If I'm picking my team and I have to choose between the two of them, it's easy. I'm picking him.

Who would you want to run with ? And if you think of it that way, like a pick up game, then it's pretty clear who you think is the better player.

[HarlemHeat37]

Bonner shouldn't be starting at all, this experiment should be over..

Gooden shouldn't start IMO..he's a very good offensive player and rebounder, which is something we don't have on the bench..we already have Duncan starting, so Gooden will be the big man spark off the bench..

the lineup should be..

PG Parker
SG Mason
SF Bowen
PF Thomas
C Duncan

this WON'T happen, but it should IMO..

this starting lineup would have a slow tempo and set the tone of the game..Thomas and Bowen help a lot defensively..

the bench would be..

PG Hill
SG Manu
SF Finley/Udoka
PF Gooden/Bonner
C Oberto

this would possibly be the best bench in the NBA, and it would give us a huge spark offensively, and defensively when Hill or Ime come in..

[anonoftheinternets]

its not so easy to replace bonner with gooden. Watching the game, duncan+gooden on the same floor means gooden has to operate from outside on offense. Because we would rather have duncan in the low post. At that point ask yourself, gooden can only move up to the high post (he cant shoot threes) reducing the spacing on the court. Bonner can spread the offense all the way to the three point line and he is shooting threes at almost 50%. (Even today 2/5).

On defense gooden did not seem so much better than bonner. He fell for a couple of pump fakes quite easily and I was not impressed. But the thing Gooden can give you is much much better rebounding. Because Bonner does not crash the boards or rebound like Gooden. So the equation is rebounding or more space for Timmy to operate. If the other guards help out on defensive rebounding, we may be able to neutralize Gooden's rebounding edge (this needs to drilled into the 2,3,5 positions). When Duncan is out, Gooden provides a duncan-lite clone who can hit the pick and pop, and operate in the low post, and provide good rebounding. So I think having Duncan and Gooden on the floor at the same time, will make the paint very crowded further reducing TP, and manu's effectiveness in driving the lanes.

[Austin_Toros]

I would love to see Popovich go with this lineup but it won't happen. We will continue to get a healthy dose of Finley and Bonner in the starting lineup, regardless of how they are playing...

Yeah, no matter what happens to Finley he's gonna get minutes. , he could brake his leg and Pop would be -bent on starting him.

[Mavs<Spurs]

Gooden and Ginobili coming off the bench would be an offensive spark that we probably have never seen before.

Id much rather see that than Thomas and Ginobili.

I was thinking about that too.

If Gooden and Ginobili were coming off the bench, that would be staggering to the second unit of most other teams.

A lot of times you get the good lead after your second unit has abused the second unit of the other team.

So, I could kind of see that. But Gooden's the much better player than Bonner or Thomas. And you want talent at the end of the game. You can't play offense 4 on 5 or 3 on 5. It just makes it too hard to score the basketball.

[Mavs<Spurs]

Bonner shouldn't be starting at all, this experiment should be over..

Gooden shouldn't start IMO..he's a very good offensive player and rebounder, which is something we don't have on the bench..we already have Duncan starting, so Gooden will be the big man spark off the bench..

the lineup should be..

PG Parker
SG Mason
SF Bowen
PF Thomas
C Duncan

this WON'T happen, but it should IMO..

this starting lineup would have a slow tempo and set the tone of the game..Thomas and Bowen help a lot defensively..

the bench would be..

PG Hill
SG Manu
SF Finley/Udoka
PF Gooden/Bonner
C Oberto

this would possibly be the best bench in the NBA, and it would give us a huge spark offensively, and defensively when Hill or Ime come in..

Can Thomas play those kind of minutes?

He would make the team much better on defense, but he's kind of older.

But if you just wanted to shut down a team with 2 post threats (like the Lakers), then I could see that.

Also, wouldn't your offense be less than with Gooden in place of Thomas?

just asking

[Manufan909]

I am with eventually replacing bonner with gooden in the playoffs if bonner continues to struggle. But our end game lineup in the POs should be:

Parker
Manu
Duncan
Kurt
Finley/Mason/Bowen/Hill depending on the game situation

Kurt is our best rebounder/defender other than Duncan and has to be out there for defensive purposes.

Any big playing with Duncan in the closing minutes is going to be relegated to a spot up shooter role and Thomas plays that part just as well as Drew. Kurt is also a better rebounder and defender and should get the minutes over drew.

with that said, i still think Drew is going to be a key rotational player in the postseason.

KT deserves the starting spot, and Drews game is too similar to Duncan for both to be fully effective.

I can't wait for Manu to bump Ime out of the rotation. Hope Pop reactivates Hairston, or puts him back on the Toros if he doesn't see a possibility of playing Hairston in the POs.

[Mavs<Spurs]

Yeah, no matter what happens to Finley he's gonna get minutes. , he could brake his leg and Pop would be -bent on starting him.

Yeah, I think that Pop decided two things at once (and this was like 2 years ago I think): coming off the bench hurt Finley too much and he needed to manage Manu's minutes and so Manu should come off the bench.

And ever since then, Michael has always started.

For better or for worse.

But Michael's had some good games for us, including playoffs.

[xtremesteven33]

I was gonna say insert Oberto back in the starting lineup but i dont think Pop would do that right now.

Hes not a good offensive player but he knows how to keep the offense flowing with the first unit.

[lefty]

TP
Mason
BB
Bonner
Oberto

[HarlemHeat37]

Thomas starting doesn't mean he'll play 30 minutes a game..

this is just the starting lineup..Manu doesn't start, but he finishes the games..starting a game is meaningless when it comes to the rest of the game..

I want Thomas and Bowen starting and playing 25 MPG to establish an early defensive and slow tempo for the game..they don't have to play big minutes..

[Mavs<Spurs]

KT deserves the starting spot, and Drews game is too similar to Duncan for both to be fully effective.

I can't wait for Manu to bump Ime out of the rotation. Hope Pop reactivates Hairston, or puts him back on the Toros if he doesn't see a possibility of playing Hairston in the POs.

Okay, I need someone to tell me that Kurt Thomas can play those kind of minutes. I don't think he could do that over the regular season (82 games).

I'm not sure that he could do it in the playoffs for more than a couple of games, at most.


He hasn't played that many minutes most of the season.

So: Do you really believe that Kurt Thomas can play 30 + minutes a game?
If so, tell me why you think he can do it? Because I have serious doubts because of his age.

[Mavs<Spurs]

TP
Mason
BB
Bonner
Oberto

Don't give Pop any ideas. Pop is struggling enough with the lineup.

[Mavs<Spurs]

Thomas starting doesn't mean he'll play 30 minutes a game..

this is just the starting lineup..Manu doesn't start, but he finishes the games..starting a game is meaningless when it comes to the rest of the game..

I want Thomas and Bowen starting and playing 25 MPG to establish an early defensive and slow tempo for the game..they don't have to play big minutes..

Good points.

[Mavs<Spurs]

I was gonna say insert Oberto back in the starting lineup but i dont think Pop would do that right now.

Hes not a good offensive player but he knows how to keep the offense flowing with the first unit.

In 2007, that worked well with Oberto and Duncan in the Finals against the Cavs (game 4).

[peskypesky]

Parker
Mason
Finley
Gooden
Duncan

subs:
Hill
Manu
Bowen
Bonner
Thomas