Would we be better with GH coming off the bench?

[ma_falaa_50]

Who starts doesnt really matter much its more who gets the most minutes. Manu comes off the bench but he gets 32 minutes a night so it doesnt matter really. Grant Hill is rusty and woulndt you be after taking 3 weeks off? I think the suns rebounding and energy problems have been present even when Grant was healthy so I dont see how Hill starting over Diaw really matter much. These guys are not playing for each other and thats what the reason they wont make much splash in the post season. I dont know whose Idea it was for Amare to be our center but whomever that is should be fired. It obvious he cant dominate the paint and why would the suns force him to play a position where it is essential for him to be a dominate force in the paint on both ends.

At somepoint MD novelty act will wear off and Im just waiting for the headline when thing are done to address this matter.

[mkot]

Who starts doesnt really matter much its more who gets the most minutes. Manu comes off the bench but he gets 32 minutes a night so it doesnt matter really.

Ugh, you can't compare Ginobilli to Boris when they come off the bench. Again, this isn't a video game. Ginobilli has the mentality to impose his will in the 1st possession as soon as he comes in (same as LB). The Spurs let him dominate the ball while TD and Parker sits, that's why he is equally effective coming off the bench. But with Boris, not only he needs time to feel the flow of the game and play within it, the ball isn't in his hand when he comes in with the 2nd unit (LB and Hill are our main ball handler), he can't impact the game if we don't give him the ball. Boris is a play maker, when he has the ball, he can make plays, either scoring or passing. With the 2nd unit, he can't get himself involved thus can't get his mind into the game to be aggressive.

[guaves13]

GH looks like he shouldn't even be playing. Last night he went up for a layup and got hit and winced and grabbed his side the whole way down the court. Fact is, MD missed this one. Now he is stuck until GH gets his groove back and he has to hope that Boris can find his game.

[rsavaj]

GH looks like he shouldn't even be playing. Last night he went up for a layup and got hit and winced and grabbed his side the whole way down the court. Fact is, MD missed this one. Now he is stuck until GH gets his groove back and he has to hope that Boris can find his game.

Agreed....Grant may have rushed back in order to shed the "injury prone" label that has unfairly been placed upon him, but dude clearly isn't right.

[guaves13]

I'm not even talking about the rust. That's to be expected. The guy is still feeling pain from his incision. This was a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the momentum we had built and to build on Boris rising confidence. MD blew it.

[KJ7]

I still like the idea of Hill coming off the bench. I think I've finally realised why.

Diaw really needs to play with a smart PG to get him going offensively. When teams switch on him sometimes he's just completely ignored when he has that mis-match.

With Hill, that is less of a factor. He will eventually get the ball and then start looking for his shot (much like LB) in a isolation or coming off a pick type situation.

Plus, the other thing is he's absolute money from the top of the key and with Nash/Amare not in he would pretty much have free reign over that area.

He was really starting to find a rhythm playing with the starters but I think this would be the move that would be similar to Manu coming off the bench (not Diaw). Hill should eat alive a bench defender in iso's and really give the 2nd unit that lift they really need. While we sometimes run the risk that if LB goes cold our 2nd unit takes a major hit, I think having Hill out on the perimeter for him to defer to when things aren't going so well would limit the amount of times we lose the lead.

Another thing is I've lost count of the number of times we've gotten off to a flier only to be reeled in around that 5/6min mark of the first qtr.

[guaves13]

I still like the idea of Hill coming off the bench. I think I've finally realised why.

Diaw really needs to play with a smart PG to get him going offensively. When teams switch on him sometimes he's just completely ignored when he has that mis-match.
With Hill, that is less of a factor. He will eventually get the ball and then start looking for his shot (much like LB) in a isolation or coming off a pick type situation.

Plus, the other thing is he's absolute money from the top of the key and with Nash/Amare not in he would pretty much have free reign over that area.

He was really starting to find a rhythm playing with the starters but I think this would be the move that would be similar to Manu coming off the bench (not Diaw). Hill should eat alive a bench defender in iso's and really give the 2nd unit that lift they really need. While we sometimes run the risk that if LB goes cold our 2nd unit takes a major hit, I think having Hill out on the perimeter for him to defer to when things aren't going so well would limit the amount of times we lose the lead.

Another thing is I've lost count of the number of times we've gotten off to a flier only to be reeled in around that 5/6min mark of the first qtr.

Good points KJ. Especially the part about Boris and mismatches. I couldn't put a finger on it but it is obvious that he looks more comfortable as a starter. The ball needs to be in his hands more period.

Nobody knows how GH would look as a reserve. The point is that MD can use these injuries as an opportunity to give it a look. Personally I think he will be fine.

If it doesn't work he can always go back to his original starting 5. It's worth it to see if Boris can remain engaged in the game. He is better in all facets when he is involved. Maybe we will begin to see more glimpses of the guy the team just invested $45m in.

[mkot]

And more importantly, we get inside-out play that helpes the 3pt shooters with Boris. With Amare, we get muscle and scoring, which we really need, but with Boris, we seems more willing to play inside-out because Boris fits the bill of 'sharing the rock' for this team. That's just who he is - pass first, pass second, score last. What I want to say is that we are better in the half-court when Boris is there because we are more willing to throw it in the post and Boris is a good passer, not just pick and roll pick and roll all the time. That's not a knock on Amare, his mentality is to score when he gets the ball, he is the power player inside for us, we need that too...we desperately need both - at the same time, in the same game. It seems like Amare and Boris may finally be able to co-exist (not just this game and the previous fews). Please don't mess with that, Mike. That is our future - we got big money invested on them. I love Hill, but he is not our future.

[-SDU-]

i agree totally that diaw should start

personally, this year hill > diaw for sure, but the bench needs a leader a floor general, diaw isnt cutting it and barbs is just going wild out there on his own

hill would settle that bunch down

diaw on the other hand seems to have a great chemistry (or greater than he does with the bench mob) with the starting unit and i think we should just embrace that and roll with it

[-SDU-]

I'm calling Mike's freakin* head - you f**ked up by bringing Hill back, not only too early, but inserting him into the starting line-up and completely screwing chemistry. Now what do you do? We had Boris lost again, and Hill isn't 100% yet. Ugh.

Obviously this loss isn't entirely on this issue, the overall effort tonight sucks a**. Nobody can grab a defensive board to save their lives because of flat feet.

i think hill may have had more to do with himself playing than mike by the sounds of it

i think hill may be being stubborn to his own detriment not wanting to miss many games through injury this season to prove a point

[ClosAZ]

Count me in for the Start Diaw bandwagon. Diaw's making 9 mill per year now and we need him for the long run to produce. Chemistry between him and Amare are absolutely necessary.

I say sit Hill until he's absolutely healthy and if B(D)B(D)oris is consistently Boris than Mike can't mess with a good thing and he should bring Hill off the bench for the remainder of the season. Plus let's face it, it probably wouldn't hurt to play Grant a little less during the regular season. Our boy is 35 years old and we will need him at peak form in the playoffs.

[magee]

Definitely start Diaw. It makes Marion play small forward, which he likes more. Hill can come off the bench, along with Barbosa, for any combination of starters. Hill should be used, from here on out, against teams where his slow-it-down, midrange game comes in handy (San Antonio). Match-ups. It's all about match-ups.

[mkot]

Yes, SDU, but at the end of the day, Mike has to know that he should have the final saying of how long a player should rest, not the players. Player always hate to sit out games, so it's his responsibility to manage them.

[-SDU-]

yeah but if hill says he is ready, what can mike do "stop lying grant youre not ready!"

i see both sides, its just a tough situation

[mkot]

I just read today's article, and you're right, Hill really was pushing the issue so I shouldn't put all the blames on Mike. But still, he takes the blame for inserting him right back into the starting line-up where Boris was thrived in. I know it's probably not an easy decision for him to make for I don't think it's fair for Hill to lost his starting job becasue of injury. But still, I think he can at least bring him back *slowly* and then he can get the chance to experiment different rotation and go from there.

[-SDU-]

agreed

[guaves13]

There really isn't anything to lose by trying GH off the bench. We already know that Boris looks better as a starter. Now all he has to do is see how GH looks as a reserve. Come on MD, try it for a couple of games and let Grant get healthy. You have more options that way if it doesn't work.

[Mr. Sun]

Insane idea: Start Marks @ PF

[-SDU-]

haha, NO!

[impulsenine]

Insane idea: Start Marks @ PF

YES! How's he gonna get his MIP award otherwise?!!!


I'm actually a little serious.


In other news, it looks like GH wasn't ready after all, and we'll have Boris starting anyway. I'm not especially encouraged by his box score from Chicago, but nobody really played well. Anybody who actually watched the game able to provide some insight why he shot 4 3-pointers?