As much time as I've spent worrying about the Sixers starting lineup this season, I really haven't given much thought to the overall rotation. Now is as good a time as any to kick off the discussion. The best place to start is the sixth man.
The way I see it, there are three viable candidates for sixth man: Jason Kapono, Marreese Speights and Jrue Holiday. Forget Willie Green (please), Jason Smith...eh. I think it comes down to those three guys, assuming the starting five is Lou Williams, Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand and Sam Dalembert, as it should be.
Here's a quick look at what each guy as sixth man would or could do for/to the team:
Kapono - He'd probably come in for Sam and the Sixers would transition to a small lineup up front with Brand at the 5 and Thad at the 4, but they'd remain big at the guard positions with either Iguodala or Kapono playing the two. This would be an offensive lineup, with five guys on the floor who can fill it up, and Kapono out there to really stretch the floor and open up driving lanes. This should be a night-and-day difference from the starting lineup, which features great size, rebounding and overall defense (outside of Lou). This lineup will struggle to defend and rebound, but could really push a lead if playing against the other team's second unit. Another option is to go really big by bringing Kapono in for Lou and playing Iguodala and JK at the guard positions. Huge size mismatches here, added shooting from Kapono, but Iguodala isn't the shadow point anymore, he's the only real ballhandler on the floor. The upside is that there are plenty of defenders out there to make up for Kapono's matador impressions on the perimeter. I think I actually prefer this to Kapono for Sam, if he winds up being the sixth man.
Speights - A straight Speights for Sam swap is most likely, and should immediately change the dynamic on both sides of the floor. Brand immediately takes the tougher post matchup, rebounding takes a hit, but the falloff isn't nearly as dramatic as going small would be. On offense, you now have five legit threats on the floor, and a five who can step away from the hoop on pick and pops to do damage. If you start sluggish on the offensive end, but the game is close, I like this move. We won't know if Speights has progressed on the defensive end until the season gets rolling, but sharing the front court with Brand (a great weakside shot blocker) should help hide some of his warts. The added offense should open things up for the other guys in the PO as well.
Jrue - A straight Jrue for Lou sub would simply put the Sixers' best possible defensive unit out there and would be a great way to disrupt the other team's offensive flow. You have excellent size at every position, if Jrue's ball pressure translates, which it should, this unit could go on big runs by forcing turnovers and getting out into the open floor. The biggest question is what happens on offense. Will Jrue grasp the PO enough to run the show, or will he have to defer to Iguodala too much? If the answer is the latter, then we're back in the same situation Jrue struggled through in college, playing off the ball. In order to be successful early on, he's really going to have to hope all those jumpers he's taking this summer pay dividends. If he's up to the task of running the point like an NBA point, the offense will be fine. He's going to have to make smart decisions and force more mistakes from the other team than he makes on his own.
Those are the three options as I see them, give me your thoughts in the comments and let me know who your sixth man would be.
By the by, I think Jordan will go with Speights for Sam as his first sub, just my gut feeling.
Also, here's
an interview with Lou you may find interesting. I don't know about you guys but I can't get enough of this practice footage. Wish it was October already.
I agree that EJ will go with Speights for Sam first, especially if Sam gets an early foul or two.
I was going to say Jrue but I still strongly feel that starting Jrue and letting Lou be the sixth man would be best. But since it seems they are hell bent on starting Lou I'd say Speights will be the sixth man. I reckon the starting lineup will be more than decent defensively but may struggle to score, and that's where Speights could prove his worth.
A 6th man has to bring energy and a spark. Speights can do that.
Brian, your 3 scenerios all got me excited but an offensive move, Kapono or Spieghts makes sense because scoring will be the weakness early on I believe. We still need a physical presence off the bench for certain situations, a screen setter that can give a hard foul, they used to be plentiful but are hard to find now. Dorsey was a guy I liked but he dominated the boards in the summer league ans is probably not available. J. Davidson was let go by G. St. and is a H.Warrick type athlete, he may be worth a look.
Amundson :(
If I had to guess right now, I'd say they're hoping Jason Smith plays this role.
Out of all the options I like the kapono for Sam option. One thing I think your overlooking with the kapono version is that the only place were small is actually the 5. Brand Thad and Kapono are all 6'8 so even though a 6'8 center is kinda small a 6'8 3 and 4 is about average height or mabey even a little tall. If Thad can bulk up a little I don't think a smaller lineup will be a problem (not to mention the quickness advantedge it will also give us).
I probably should've said you have mismatches at three positions, rather than undersized. Brand is undersized to play the five, I guess Thad is technically tall enough, but he was exposed by Rashard in the playoffs and he just doesn't rebound well enough to hold down the four and Kapono is a mismatch anywhere. On defense, Iguodala's going to defend the best wing player in this lineup, so it's not as much of an issue, but I'm still not all that comfortable with this lineup defensively. Offensively, they should be able to score.
I wish it was going to be Louis Williams
As long as it isn't willie green
I believed all along that if Lou started, his sixth man replacement would be Speights. He could be a potential spark on both ends, if he commits to getting better on the boards & defensively. A possible dark horse might be if they get a Flip Murray type.
I would think it's also going to be situational as well I would think, you got a 'big man' sixth man and a 'back court' sixth man so you go as the situation defines. If Sam Dalembert continues his history of 2 fouls in the first 6-8 minutes then the first guy off the bench is probably going to be speights, but maybe out of necessity as much as desire from the coaching staff.
Ideally - of the first 3 names the coaches think of regardless of position, none of them are willie green.
Speights, Kapono, Holiday should all be ahead of willie in the rotation
Speights, Kapono, Holiday should all be ahead of willie in the rotation
I think only Willie Green would disagree with that statement.
Who gets the most minutes off the bench? I say Speights.
Did you see John Schuhmann's article on espn.com today? Listed the Sixers as one of five playoff teams from last season that might not make it back in 2009-10.
Writer John Schuhmann's list included the Rockets, Pistons, Heat, Sixers and Hawks.
"The questions with the Sixers start at point guard," Schuhmann wrote. "Williams is talented, but not a true point guard, which will make things tougher for Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young. Further, Philly's running game won't be as potent without Miller leading the break.
"The Sixers will be getting Elton Brand back, but the questions continue there. Will the addition of Jason Kapono help give Brand the space he needs in the post, or is Brand just a bad fit with slashers like Iguodala and Young?"
Yeah, I saw that. The only part I can really argue with is saying the team needs speights to take over the starting spot for Sammy.
It remains to be seen what type of spacing Brand will have in the PO, you have to assume it'll be better than whatever offense Cheeks was running.
In the debate about the point guard issue, people are overlooking the fact that the team is now running a non-PG centric "democratic" system. Dala and Lou will be sharing primary facilitating duties. Plus, of all the complaints I've had about Lou, him on the break is not one of them.
Regarding Brand, I remember conversing with numerous Clipper fans who said Brand would not be as effective as people thought while playing with Miller, because their preferred optimum styles of play clash horribly. Miller is not a great screen/roll guy. Meanwhile, Lou, with his ability to shoot it and turn the corner, could help Brand.
Barring injuries, I cannot see them missing the postseason
If Speights got stronger this summer, I'd say him.
Who does he think will REPLACE the sixers in the playoffs? He's got three eastern conference teams missing it who made it last year.
Which three make it that didn't?
Aside from the raptors and bobcats being maybes - i see no one who is vastly better
He's a big believer in Toronto and Washington. Not sure who he thinks the third team would be. Didn't he have 4 playoff teams on his list?
I loved Amundson...
check this out, Nba.com says we're one of the 5 teams to free fall OUT of the postseason:
"The questions with the Sixers start at point guard, where they lost Andre Miller and will now need to count on Louis Williams and rookie Jrue Holiday. Williams is talented, but not a true point guard, which will make things tougher for Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young. Further, Philly's running game won't be as potent without Miller leading the break.
The Sixers will be getting Elton Brand back, but the questions continue there. Will the addition of Jason Kapono help give Brand the space he needs in the post, or is Brand just a bad fit with slashers like Iguodala and Young?
With a lot of youth, this team still has room for improvement, especially if second-year big man Marreese Speights can step up and take Samuel Dalembert's spot in the starting lineup. But with a lot of questions to be answered, a third straight trip to the postseason is not a sure thing."