FanPost

2010 Rotation: Who should start?

With Training Camp coming up and pre-season and we're finally getting somewhat closer to NBA action I think we can have this discussion now.

Centers: Spencer Hawes, Marresse Speights, Tony Battie

I look at our center position two ways, one is that I really like Spencer Hawes. You might be confused since I've lamented how awful our front-court is but that's from a "win-now" perspective, which I don't have with this team. It's lamenting the pathetic half-assed approach to rebuilding. When you get the #2 pick in the draft, the team should be remade that wasn't done here. Meager moves doesn't amount to rebuilding. 1 draft pick, 1 trade and one worthless signing, woppie doo. But I like Hawes ability to pass out of the post and I like his mid-range shot, one thing about Hawes is his 1+ BPG a game. Sacto fans have said Hawes needs to work on conditioning and strength so I very much so doubt Hawes is the type to patrol the paint and box people out. So Hawes is a weak-side shotblocker. If only Brand were 3-4 years younger, Hawes and Brand would work great together.

The other way I look at it, is that if Hawes doesn't improve on his strength and conditioning you got 3 players at that rotation who frankly suck at post defense. Speights doesn't even try, and I've given up all hope and if he's even just a solid bench player I'll take that as an improvement over last year. Battie is worthless.

Power Forward: Elton Brand, Thaddeus Young, Marresse Speights

As I said above, if Brand were 3-4 years younger. If we could have the tenacious body and defender and strong shotblocker. Heck, he played solidly the year before untill he broke his shoulder. Hoping that he returns to that level bodes well for the sixers rebuilding and "win-now" approach. If Brand returns to a level of consistency, then perhaps during the trading deadline a veteran team looking to make a last second push might want to acquire Brand. On the other hand, if he's playing with that level of consistency and if the Sixers are doing well(and frankly, above my expectations) why not keep him? Brand will benefit from the spacing offensively that Hawes brings and he'll be able to station himself at the high post where he makes his 15-17 foot jumper. However, I don't have my hopes too high.

I love Thaddeus Young and what he brings, he can play either the 3 or the 4 but his TRUE position is the 3 and that's where we should be invested in him. Particularly, now that we lost the rebounding and post defense of Samuel Dalembert, Thad at the 4 is increasingly more difficult. Hawes's defensive effort will be quite crucial to the sixers in terms of the rotation. Read above for Speights.

Small Forward: Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Andres Nocioni, Jason Kapono.

I wonder how long it'll be before Nocioni, with his fragile ego will ask for a trade again? Because he's not beating Young out of the rotation short of drugging the guy :D. Nocioni will get likely 15-17 minutes, differing from the 3 to the 4. Kapono equally will most likely just sit on the pine and watch the season. The top-2 of the rotation is where a crucial problem lies. 1)Iguodala's overinflated contract and 2)Young's contract coming up for a renewal.

If we recall, last year there were talks for Iguodala and Stefanski said there wasn't anything on the table that made sense basketball wise. Then look at the Rockets and Trevor Ariza, pretty similar guy in terms of how they play. 6'6, athletic, good defender and not much else. His contract is significantly lesser then that of Iguodala's. Morey basically just dumped him(unless Courtney Lee comes out of nowhere). Billy King also refused to budge on Iguodala's contract demands, could this evidence that's adding up tell us the front-brasses don't think highly of Iguodala like Stefanski and Collins do?

Lastly, we haven't even given Thaddeus Young a chance. We gave him 1 full season as the starter at his proper position, ONE. How fair is that? And in that year, Thaddeus did some pretty nice things. He was a solid spot-up shooter, he was still the active player that he is. He gave our lineup some balance. How can we take a talented perimeter player out of the rotation, just because he's a little less developed at some of the other areas? Young's 6'8 with a monster wingspan and quick feet, I think Young can develop to be a pretty good defender. But, the development process is both with the team and the player and Young's been on the short end of the stick.

Shooting Guard: Jodie Meeks, Evan Turner, Lou Williams

For now and untill Turner proves himself as the minutes and games go on, Meeks is the starter. I've been very impressed with Jodie Meeks, his defense is solid. He doesn't rush shots, he's a natural scorer. He's the anti-Willie Green really. And if/when Turner comes along, perfect! Our SG position will be solved, especially with a talented guy like Lou Williams as the 3rd stringer.

Point Guards: Jrue Holiday, Lou Williams

As I said before, it's unrealistic to expect a Jrue Holiday clone out of nowhere. Very few guards on the market are good playmakers and incredibly fewer are good defenders. So lay off Lou Williams will ya guys? He had a great season last year. The mid-range shot, the 3pt shot all improved. He kept his turnovers down and his APG went up as well, and he was active on the boards(something we'll need from him some more). We have two lead-guards. This is our best position, why fuck with something good?

Hawes/Speights/Battie

Brand/Young/Speights/Nocioni

Iguodala/Young/Nocioni/Kapono

Meeks/Turner*/Williams

Holiday/Williams


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