 A Quick Question
This thought just popped into my head as I was walking back to the office from lunch and I thought I'd throw it out there for you guys:
How much of a drop-off would the Sixers see if they put Marreese Speights into the starting lineup for Samuel Dalembert? Typically the reasons for not starting a rookie go as follows:
Speights doesn't have a ton of minutes, but so far their shot blocking rate is just about even. Speights turns the ball over at a lower rate and fouls a bit more, per 36. Now, this isn't your typical rookie vs. veteran argument. I'd say Speights has a higher basketball IQ right now than Sam does. On offense, it isn't even close. The kid can shoot, and he knows how to score. Inserting him into the starting lineup could be an alternative way to fix the spacing issues the Sixers have in the half court. A center who needs to be guarded out to 18 feet can unclog the lane not only for Brand in the post, but also for Iguodala, Miller and Thad to drive to the hoop. Not to mention the fact that Speights doesn't have hands of stone, which should help cut down the number of team turnovers. He's also a deer on the break and sticks his nose in the passing lanes (1.5 steals/36 min). He could help the Sixers get back to their running ways. After seeing him in limited action in the preseason I thought there was a chance that Speights would eventually make Dalembert expendable. I'm now starting to wonder if the team wouldn't be better served to move in that direction now. It's hard to argue that inserting Speights into the starting lineup wouldn't make them a more potent offensive team. If it works out, then you have a spare part in Dalembert and you can start looking at a swap of bad contracts to bring back a player whose skill set would help the team in an area of weakness. So what do you think, worth a shot? 
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Brian,
I think this is a good idea and that it would be wise for them to try it. I don't think everything is Sam's problem either but Speights is another guy the other team will have to guard.
I think they need an offensive scheme. Most of the guys are just standing around on offense (when Elton has the ball) or pounding the ball before taking a contested shot (LouWill, Iggy, Green). It seems a bunch of them still don't know their role which shouldn't be the case this late in the season.
Removing Sammy is going to provide less shots for this team and give the other team more and that is just rebounding. Teams are going to get better shots one on one against Speights since Sammy is superior in one on one D. Tema sare going to get to the rim more easily as well since Sammy is a better help defender.
I think this would work out to be a one step forward, 3 steps back as of this point in Speights' career.
Also, from what I saw in the preseason/summer league, Speights isn't ready for 25+ minutes a night or anything like that.
I don't see why Cheeks can't just give Speights more minutes though. Stop messing around with the small line ups when you have depth at the 4 and 5, while having little depth at the 1, 2, and 3. There should be close to 30 minutes out there at the 4-5 a night after Sammy and Elton get theirs. Why can't Speights get 20 of them?
How about just letting Speights run w/ the starters for 5 or 10 minutes/game in the interim? He's played 7 minutes all season with that group. The bulk of his minutes have come with Lou, Willie or both at the guards. Not sure how you can flourish under those circumstances, or grow as a player.
I've been calling for Speights to start over Dalembert for about 10 days now - he's just better than Sam - Sam defensively is over rated and offensively he sucks - thus the sixers start off at a disadvantage playing 4 on 5 offensively, speights has already shown more offensive skill this year than sam has his entire career - will he make rookie mistakes? Probably but at this point his mistakes can't be any dumber than sams.
I'm not sure how removing sam provides 'less shots' - as sam can't dribble or pass or post up and has no shooting skill - speights is a real big man - he would draw a double team down low (since brand seems allergic) and be all the things offensively sam isn't - and speights has a basketball iq higher than sams (which isn't tough) and the rebounding wouldn't take as much of a hit as people think but I bet there'd be less defensive three seconds called.
I think the first step - since Mo is still the head coach - won't involve a rookie - Mo is still old school in his idiocy and approach to rookies
Absolutely worth a shot, this kid can play. It's time to get him in there and get experience now so it pays off later.