Our frontline of Horford / Morris / Baynes / Theis is starting to look really impressive right now, no matter how we arrange them.
And I was worried about that being our biggest weakness!
I initially thought Morris was the clear cut starter up front, but starting to question that now. If Theis can keep rebounding like this then it might make more sense for him to start alongside Horford, and then bring Morris/Baynes off the bench. I feel they'd be a nice combo with Morris bringing an offensive spark on that second unit.
Banes may well turn out to be a better version of current day Andrew Bogut. Seems to have a similar style of game and similar skill set, but without the health concerns.
Of course this was just one game, so I'll try not to get TOO excited about our 2nd/3rd unit guys - but if they keep this up then this team will be a lot better then I thought.
Baynes had a good shooting night, and played Howard really well on defense. Not sure who should start, but there's no question that Morris is a better overall offensive player. In a lineup with Horford, Kyrie, Hayward, they are ALL getting better looks, more single coverage. Now add Tatum and you've got 5 legitimate scoring threats on the floor. I'm just salivating at that prospect.
Lets not underestimate Baynes' offensive game too much now. By no means do I expect him to break out as a scoring force, but he's not exactly incapable offensively either.
Here are the career shooting percentages (by distance) for...
Baynes:
<3 ft: 60%
3-10 ft: 44%
10-16 ft: 39%
16 < 3PT: 43%
Morris:
<3 ft: 65%
3-10 ft: 34%
10-16 ft: 43%
16 < 3PT: 43%
Horford:
<3 ft: 72%
3-10 ft: 44%
10-16 ft: 44%
16 < 3PT: 47%
Obviously Bayes is not close to the offensive talent Horford is (not even dreaming of suggesting that) nor is he as capable of putting points on the boad as Morris is - but this wasn't exactly a fluke game either. Baynes has shown over his entire career that he's quite capable of finishing inside, and also very capable of knocking down open midrange jumpers.
Way I see it, all we really need him to do on offense is:
* Set good screens
* Attack the offensive boards on missed shots to generate second chance opportunities
* Knock down open jumpers / layups when opponents leave him alone
We have a lot of offensive firepower in Kyrie/Hayward/Horford, so as long as Baynes can do those three things offensively I think he'd be quite ok. I know Morris if obviously a far more capable offensive player, but I have serious concerns about our rebounding with Morris/Horford up front, and I also have concerns about Morris potentially shooting us out of games on some nights...he's known for his tendency to play hero ball and for his tendency to be a bit reckless with his shot selection. Not sure if that's the type of player you want on the court hogging up possessions when you have three accomplished scorers like Kyrie, Hayward and Horford on the court. On the other hand his ability to provide a spark on offense could be extremely valuable on the second unit.
Topic: Hornets (0-0) at Celtics (0-0) Preseason Game #1 (Read 42957 times)