Besides being able to guard the opposing teams best guard shump is our best ball handler. The league is going to mimick the way Chalmers and the Heat applied full court pressure on Lin to try to get him to turn the ball over or take the ball out of his hands making him ineffective. You need another ball handler in the starting unit. Melo, Amare, Tyson & Fields are not ball handlers. For balance we need Smith & Davis' offensive spark off the bench. What do u think?
The one big issue is we need shooting in the starting lineup to be a balanced team. If you have a stretch-4 then maybe, but not on this current team.
Melo and Amare will start hitting shots again you have to think. Lin has been a pleasant surprise shooting the ball. JR Smith is a streaky volume shooter best suited coming off the bench which he has done for most if his career. Novak is a pure shooter but you are not playing him over Melo & Amare
At least JR and Fields are threats to score. Shump would be left wide open.
airchibundo507 wrote:At least JR and Fields are threats to score. Shump would be left wide open.
During the winning streak, Shump has been knocking down pull up jumpers and 3's. Fields has done a better job slashing to the rim, but the jumper is still broken...
Uptown wrote:airchibundo507 wrote:At least JR and Fields are threats to score. Shump would be left wide open.
During the winning streak, Shump has been knocking down pull up jumpers and 3's. Fields has done a better job slashing to the rim, but the jumper is still broken...
The thing is, Fields knows his weaknesses. He rarely settles for outside jumpshots. His ability to create off the dribble and with the pnr far at least makes him a scoring option. Shump might make a jumpshot here and there, but he has been far from consistent with his jumpshot, he has noticeable trouble finishing at the basket, he isn't comfortable with the pnr and team tend to leave him wide open.
shumperts shot has improved and he is still a rookie with no summer league and regular training camp
airchibundo507 wrote:Uptown wrote:airchibundo507 wrote:At least JR and Fields are threats to score. Shump would be left wide open.
During the winning streak, Shump has been knocking down pull up jumpers and 3's. Fields has done a better job slashing to the rim, but the jumper is still broken...
The thing is, Fields knows his weaknesses. He rarely settles for outside jumpshots. His ability to create off the dribble and with the pnr far at least makes him a scoring option. Shump might make a jumpshot here and there, but he has been far from consistent with his jumpshot, he has noticeable trouble finishing at the basket, he isn't comfortable with the pnr and team tend to leave him wide open.
Yes, Fields does recognize his weaknesses, however that corner/wing 3 is wide open off the pick and roll and defenses recognize this, hence, the packing-the-lane defense most teams display against us. I'm not sying yank Fields from the SL, but he has to knock down that jumper with some consistancy or Melo and S tat will continue to struggle as teams crowd the paint against us.
We know what JR and Shump can do off the bench, not sure if placing Fields on the bench will shatter his confidence. He is a big key to the second half of our season. If he can knock down the open 3 with some consistancy, it will open things up for Melo and Stat to slash.
i'm torn between wanting to start Fields at SG or wanting to start Shump. I think Fields is better for the offense, and Shump better for the defense. But against a team like Miami, a second guy who can handle the ball really well like Shump is invaluable next to Lin.
It's nice to have options to mix and match against teams versus having no guys to fill certain roles though. i think the backcourt depth is good, can be mixed for certain teams and will help down the line.
I'd prefer to let Shump come off the bench and provide a spark. The dude is a rookie and we probably did him an injustice forcing him into the starting lineup to early. The kid needs to learn and do a better job of recognizing the flow of teh game. Now that JR Smith is here, Shump will be able to play with little pressure and find his overall game.
