i agree with bringing Manu off bench when gets rhythm back. His play with Gooden looks effortless. That would make our bench arguably the best when that happens. Who do you like as the 2nd unit then?
And since when a basketball team needs a creator that comes off the bench? tell me the "bench creators" of the other contender teams. In the playoffs no matter who starts we'll have at least one member (probably two) of the big three at all times, that's all we need.
Ginobili starting or not ranks outside of the top 100 issues facing the Spurs. I expect Pop to keep Manu in the starting lineup until he wants to "shake things up" after a loss. Just like he's done the past 500 times.
It will likely fluctuate in the playoffs. Parker is going to play a lot of minutes, so for me the second unit boils down to who will run the show when he is on the bench. If Parker goes to the bench, I would probably go with Hill/Manu/Finley/Gooden/Thomas. This will depend completely on who is on the floor for the other team though(Finley could be exchanged for Bowen depending on the SF match up). For the most part I think this lineup gives us the best mix of offense and defense. And for the record, Gooden and Bonner should never play together. Ever.
A lot of teams look for an energy guy off the bench and I think Manu best fits that bill. Couple that with the potential to combine his play making with Gooden's ability to score in the post and it's a no-brainer. I don't think all scenarios are ideal as long as "one of the big three" are out there. The players still have to compliment each other and you still need enough defense to keep the opposing team honest. For example, you wouldn't want to trot out a lineup of Parker/Mason/Finley/Gooden/Bonner if you had a team that could beat you to the rim. We would get murdered in the paint.
whether Manu starts or not, the Big three are going to play major minutes in the playoffs.
So, imo the most important issue is to find out which combo of players are the best compliment to the big three depending on various situations.
big 3 + bowen & thomas = best defensive unit.
big 3 + mason & bonner = deep threat unit
big 3 + finley/bowen & mason = small ball lineup
etc...
I'd vote for the majority of the minutes going to Bowen and Thomas, and the Spurs once again committing themselves to the defensive philosophy that's got them 4 championships.
Well maybe Pop's thinking about keeping Manu healthy until the playoffs and thinks it's important to get a lot more playing time with Tim and Tony where he doesn't have to have that much of a scoring load and can let his game slowly come back to him.
So who will have the scoring load off the bench then? Besides Gooden, I hope Hill is in there too, and he doesn't have to defer to Manu, or TP, and be a Parker style PG, get some chem with Mason, and have Bowen/Fin for 3 balls.
Putting your best players and strongest players at the start?? Wow what a concept.“It's time for the three of them to play together. They're our best three players. They're going to make each other better on the court.”
J/k, I think Pop feels he can do this now because our bench isn't filled with ALL old guys like the last two years. I don't agree with others saying Manu starting means our bench will have no offense, since there's always gonna be one of the big three on the court in the playoffs.
Also, we've gotten spoiled and used to Manu bailing out our sorry ass bench. It's not just about a couple players like Fin being too geriatric to adjust. Mason, Udoka and the rest of the subs, etc. should be stepping up their game now.
If only pop would run his back up PG, I'd respect him more for starting Manu...but Manu's 6th man role has really been a non-factor this year, since we're a little deeper on the wings, so hopefully he has Hill in mind for spot minutes now that Manu is starting.
I would LOVE a starting five of TP, Manu, Bowen, TD, and Thomas. It's a good mix of O and D out there at the same time. Off the bench use Hill, Fin, Mason, Bonner, and Gooden. No Udoka or Vaughn.
booooo. all this does is up the rotations more and leave us relying on gooden and a rogermason whose proven hes an effective starter but not effective off the bench, for bench points. boo this man. boo
If ginobili is on the starting lineup, then I hope that doesn't mean that Mason runs the 2nd unit offense as point guard!
yeah. and think about the fact that JV is our other choice since Pop doesn't trust Hill anymore as a PG.
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