Yeah the ballhandling is a concern, and I think Lee would be at the 5 with Johnson at the 4, but with a lineup like that we'd be feeding it to the low post 9 out of 10 plays anyway, and I don't think we need ET's blackhole to make that work.
fair enough. Amir and Lee would be interchangeable between the 4 and 5 when on the court together I think. the ballhandling is what concerns me. no issue keeping turner off the floor or moving him but we're really lacking a really good ballhandler. IT's the closest we have and he's mediocre at best. I know a lot of people here bashed Rondo but one thing no one could argue was that the guy was a top ballhandler/passer and the difference between him and what we have now is significant
I think your right about Lee and Johnson being interchangeable. I think Johnson's ability to hit the open three and his superior athleticism make him a better fit at the 4 offensively, plus Lee has a deft post game that allows him to camp near the block, and on defense Lee isn't good at guarding either position, but he's not really better at one than the other and is big enough to do both. Johnson is a good enough interior defender to play the 5 a lot. So pigeonholing them into one of those slots doesn't reflect what's really going on.
The ball handling is a legit concern, but as Dos said in certain line ups (like most featuring Lee) we won't require an elite ball-handler. Plus, I think we're confusing Smart's ability as a ball-handler/playmaker with the opportunities he had last year to do so. Stevens had him playing with Turner or IT almost all the time last year. He wanted Smart to play elite defense, get comfortable with the speed of the NBA game, and develop his shot to a respectable level. He can handle more PG duties than he was allowed to last year right now, without further development. Plus, with Thomas, Rozier, Hunter (who seems like at the least capable of initiating offense) and KO's shoot/drive/pass game we have enough talent elsewhere to make up for it.
It is pretty clear we don't have anyone near prime Rondo's level of playmaking/passing ability. But we saw with him just how perfect the fit around him has to be to cover all the things he couldn't do at all. That's why the Rozier pick makes sense. Assuming his shot develops some (which it should) he, Smart, Thomas and Hunter can all play both on and off the ball, and defend at a pretty good to elite level. Having guys who are pretty good at playing multiple positions on both sides of the ball is, IMHO, a better strategy than having one guy who's a elite facilitator, but is a detriment without the ball in his hands and doesn't defend well.
I think Turner, Jones, Sullinger and Bradley are the most likely to go at this point. Unless they're sure Sullinger is in the best shape possible, with Lawson gone and Chandler re-signed, I wonder if Denver would be interested in a Jones/Turner/Sullinger package for Gallo. I'm not huge on him, but If the price is right he fits what we need. Maybe include the Minny pick or our '16 1st if you have to. Then you can kinda shop around AB, Zeller, Lee etc as the season goes on and see what's available. But I don't think you trade IT, not for anything less than a kings ransom anyways. He's too important to this team right now to realistically trade him for someone more valuable. Sure would like to find some time for Mickey though. If Johnson, Lee or Zeller gets banged-up, I think Mickey could give this team a dimension they just ain't had recently as soon as this season.
Topic: What starting lineup do you like for this team? (Read 12047 times)