Starting Lineup Change?

[KKell2507]

I know its still early, and we are technically 3-2, but watching these 5 games so far plus what we saw last year, I feel the starting lineup needs to be changed. Just beacuse they are our 5 best players doesnt necessarily mean they fit best in the starting lineup together. I honestly feel like Thaddeus Young should go to the bench and start Rodney Carney. Have a starting 5 of Lou, Iguodala, Carney, Brand, Dalembert. Carney has proven he can knock down the open 3pt shot, and has really done well on perimeter defense(much better than Thad has shown thus far this year). He just fits so much better to me with Iguodala and Brand than thad does.

I just feel like having Iguodala, Brand, and Thad in together just doesnt fit. Iguodala is a slasher, Brand is a post player, and Thad is a slasher who can also play in the post. Its just too much of the same thing to me. Sometimes starting the 5 best players isnt the best way to play. The best coaches in the league obviously know this.

Theres a reason why Keith Bogans and Matt Bonner start over Ginobli and McDyess in San antonio. theres a reason Perkins starts over Rasheed in Boston. theres a reason ariza started over odom for the champion lakers last year. Theres a reason why Jason terry comes off the bench for Dallas. Why JR Smith came off the bench and Dahntay Jones started for Denver last year.

I can go on and on with examples around the league where there is a starter quality player coming off the bench because it helps the team so much better. Once the Sixers learn this I think they will be better off both offensively and defensively.

[youngcrev]

Thought this was going to be another Speights over Sammy thread.

If Thad continues to struggle we may need to replace him in the lineup, but I'd think they'd go with Kapono (or even Willie) before looking at Carney. Either way, doubt we see any changes until they've had at least 10 games under their belt.

[KKell2507]

Thought this was going to be another Speights over Sammy thread.

If Thad continues to struggle we may need to replace him in the lineup, but I'd think they'd go with Kapono (or even Willie) before looking at Carney. Either way, doubt we see any changes until they've had at least 10 games under their belt.

O trust me I will never be an advocate of the Speights over Dalembert stuff. I do just feel however that we have all of the slashers in the starting lineup and then allof the shooters in the 2nd unit. It just seems like it would make so much more sense to mix and match them, especially since EJ seems to like playing the entire 2nd unit together with no starters on the court a lot.

I think your right though about Kapono or Green over Carney, I just personally feel like Carney fits the perfect complimentary starter role. the Trevor Ariza role if you will. And with Thad coming off the bench he can worry less about defending the other teams SF and just score, which is what he is best at. he and speights could be dynamic together off the bench I think.

[IversonsMother]

My starting 5 would be

Daly (Speights is just too weak in the post on D to start IMO)
Brand
Iggy(the guy is just better at the 3)
Kapono
Willie

Let Thad and Speights be the two best bench players. Thad just isn't comfortable starting at the 3, it shows on the court. A bench of Ivey-Green-Carney-Thad-Speights and Smith sometimes isn't too bad at all. This allows our bench to get stronger and lets us utalize Kapono much better.

[dbodner]

Replacing Dalembert with Speights would be the way to go for me. Speights range would really open up the post for Thad and Iguodala. Dalembert is a huge negative offensively right now. 13 turnovers (with only 1 assist) considering how little he handles the ball is just mindboggling. Forget the Speights being too weak in the post. There aren't many big 5's in the league, Brand would actually be better off defending the bulky post threats than perimeter 4's anyway.

[tk76]

I agree. I think Speights/Brand and Smith/Sam works best for all players involved. You don't have to change total minutes, just the combinations.

1. Speights and Smith just does not work. A huge negative +/- so far and they just can't rebound and defend well together. Also, their outside shooting is redundant so does not maximize the positives.

2. Barnd/Sam is not working because Sam gets too many touches and Brand not enough. Maybe that can be fixed, but with Brand/Speights the extra touches for Speights would be more productive and Brand could start to operate more in close. Also, Sam and Brand both are + defenders, so they would complement and help cover for the relative weakness of Smith and Speights.

3. Smith would really benefit from playing next to Sam. he could be more of a weakside blocker and rebounder and free him up to be more active. Smith is good as a free energy guy, not so good as a primary post defender/anchor- which fits Sam better.

4. Lou/Iguodala/Thad/Speights are the best offensive players on the team and the future (+ Holiday.) Best to get them playing and practicing together. Also, Speights jumper might be the additional shooter the starters need to open up the offense, and would take a lot of stress off the other starters.

[Typeical]

Thad is struggling right now but I'm all for him breaking out of it and finding is shot it. If its 25 games into the season and he's still playing like this than it might be best for him to go to the bench. The only problem with him going to the bench it is might hurt his confidence being that it has happened to him so many times already. But it can also do the opposite and put him in gear.

Then there's no one on the bench that can really replace him....Thad defense is bad right not but kapono defense is atrocious and for that he simply cant start. Carney hasnt show anything to warant him starting over thad but his defense is a upgrade and he can hit the open shots(he's my choice but he atleast has to produce before he gets shoved into the starting lineup, willie green is always a option all though most dread him playing him at all- he gets put @ sg, dre slides back to sf than we have the smallest backcourt in the league-not good.

Bad Thad after 20 games:
Starters
Louwill/dre/carney/brand/sammy. Carney ofcourse is a downgrade but a better fit. Carney will spread the floor a little more, he's also quicker so cuts and backdoor passes might be more effective and he's a better defender. This also leaves more shots for brand to see if he can get on a roll.

Bench
Jrue/kapono/thad/smith/speights. Let speights and thad be the scoring options and kapono and smith will spread the floor. The floor will be spread open for thad to do damage and jrue will have many options.

[76ers76ers]

Replacing Dalembert with Speights would be the way to go for me. Speights range would really open up the post for Thad and Iguodala. Dalembert is a huge negative offensively right now. 13 turnovers (with only 1 assist) considering how little he handles the ball is just mindboggling. Forget the Speights being too weak in the post. There aren't many big 5's in the league, Brand would actually be better off defending the bulky post threats than perimeter 4's anyway.

I don't mind Speights starting too. I don't mind Speights as the first big coming off the bench also. He could be a huge spark for us. But what I don't like is Dalembert touching the ball on offense (messing the flow) therefore I would either start Smith or Speights.
I guess the role for Smith would be like Greens role when he started for us........Scoring early......
And then we can give key minutes to Speights when the game is on the line........and ending the game.

[is1531]

I agree. I think Speights/Brand and Smith/Sam works best for all players involved. You don't have to change total minutes, just the combinations.

1. Speights and Smith just does not work. A huge negative +/- so far and they just can't rebound and defend well together. Also, their outside shooting is redundant so does not maximize the positives.

2. Barnd/Sam is not working because Sam gets too many touches and Brand not enough. Maybe that can be fixed, but with Brand/Speights the extra touches for Speights would be more productive and Brand could start to operate more in close. Also, Sam and Brand both are + defenders, so they would complement and help cover for the relative weakness of Smith and Speights.

3. Smith would really benefit from playing next to Sam. he could be more of a weakside blocker and rebounder and free him up to be more active. Smith is good as a free energy guy, not so good as a primary post defender/anchor- which fits Sam better.

4. Lou/Iguodala/Thad/Speights are the best offensive players on the team and the future (+ Holiday.) Best to get them playing and practicing together. Also, Speights jumper might be the additional shooter the starters need to open up the offense, and would take a lot of stress off the other starters.

What going on TK? The 76ers will not have the luxury of waiting too long to make some changes, since it is evident fans are not stormtrooping the turnstiles to attend 76ers basketaball.

When you have a team like the Nets playing without Devin Harris , how could you not beat the Nets by 20 points,especialy knowing they are 0-4 against the Nets last season. I 'll take the win from last night, but that game last night was as ugly as it gets

Lately Thaddeus Young looks like he is shooting with a medicine ball rather than a basketball. I wish he would at least get a better grip on the ball before he releases the shot. At this point I don't know where Thad's shots are going to land.

If Thaddeus Young is the only way to unload Elton Brand I am all for it. I would love to have Anthony Morrow and their ist round pick land in Philadelphia. The 76ers are one of the most boring teams to watch in the NBA. Thanks Ed!

[tk76]

I hate to admit it, but I would throw in just about any one other player to get out from under Brands contract. That way they would still be left with young talent and financial maneuverability to improve. I'd hate to waste a good player like that, but also hate seeing the team being stuck between rebuilding and overspending for the next 4 years.

But Brand will be a Sixer for at least the next 2 years, so we just have to hope he has better days ahead. He has to be a star.

It seemed like yesterday we were waiting to get out from under BK's bad signings...

[Foshan]

I haven't really gotten to see many actual game minutes, so i can only see on random nba.com checks to see who is playing together, or how many minutes played... anyone know if any of these combo's have been on the floor together (obviously not starting, just in together)

LWill/Carney/Iggy/Thad/Brand
Jrue/LWill/Iggy/Thad/Brand

I hear a lot about EJ going smallball to match up to other teams line ups, but always seems EB is on the bench in those situations, has he run him at center at all? I like the above two line ups (not necessarily as starters), because it gives us athletic wings who can cover/stop perimeter shooting/penetration, making it a bit easier on an undersized center.

[freshie2]

Speights for Sammy makes sense, but I think you then lose any production from Sam. He seems happy right now, and despite the turnovers has been productive defensively. Just tell him that every backdoor cut doesn't deserve a pass...seems he's trying to be too cute with the passes.

[ankle420breaker]

I hate to say it, but I'm starting to warm up to the idea of starting Kapono and bringing Young off the bench.

In just about every game, 3 of our 5 starters have been coming up empty, and just about every game so far those 3 have been Dalembert, Brand, and Young. Today, we only had one starter show up. We keep hearing about the 2nd unit beating the 1st unit in practice. Something needs to change here. Moving Kapono to the starting lineup would open the floor for Brand, Lou, and Iguodala. We also desperately need someone who can knock down a jumper with consistency in that 1st unit.

I would also start Speights over Dalembert as others have mentioned before. He's the 2nd best shooter on the team if you ask me, and I thought we looked good with him starting the 2nd half today.

So when its all said and done, I'd like to see what a starting lineup of Lou, Iguodala, Kapono, Brand, and Speights could do. I think there's much better balance there offensively.

We'd also have a spark off the bench and a legitimate 6th man in Young, and I'm sure coming off the bench would light a fire in his game. He'd still obviously play starters minutes. Bringing Dalembert off the bench as the 1st big would make it easier for him to stay out of foul trouble, and would provide a nice change of pace defensively for us.

[dond]

Lot of ideas.

Gives you an idea of what the coaching staff is going through. They have to try coming up with the right combination that will work and actually put it on the court to see if it works. Then they get criticized for trying it if it doesn't work.

The ideas presented here just get talked about and assumed they work.

Lot of ideas.

In my opinion, you can mix these players up anyway you wish. They still add up to mediocre.

Check back with the Sixers in a few years and you might see something better.

[ottey321]

daly/smith
speights/brand
iggy/thad
kapono/carney/green
lou/holiday/green

Let brand/young come in as C/PF then sub smith in for iggy since smith should play the less of the 5 bigs and iggy would sit the lowest amount of time. In an ideal world and maybe halfway through the season we can do this.. we start holiday and have lou off the bench. Holday/iggy/daly are strong enough on defense to make up for speights and kapono. Mins can stay the same, just would be more balance throughout the game