So far Jeff has said the only starting players that are locked in are THjr and KP.
He's also mentioned going small and talks glowingly about Lee. I suspect he's a starter as well.
Some good tidbits from P&T guys:
https://www.postingandtoasting.com/2017/...
OMFG - a thread about basketball
The most interesting decision will be who starts at SF, but I think it will be the last decision made. I think if we have four guys with scoring ability start then Lance starts. I think if we try to 'recreate' last year, Beasley starts (he is a tweener who can play bully ball, a poor man's Melo).
But it could also be a bunch of other guys based on what Jeff wants to do with the second unit... just kinda going off the top of my head here but Frank, Kanter/Hernangomez, Kuz/Lee/Lance/Baker, and (hopefully) Noah or KOQ would seem to be a pretty decent second unit
Lee will turn 32 next week and realizes the post-Phil Jackson vision is of youth and rebuilding.
Courtney Lee wrote:
“I’m young-hearted,” Lee said. “You can’t defeat Father Time. That happens, especially when you trade a guy such as Melo, who was a big part of what the vision was last year. The only thing we can do is start young. We got a good, young core group. It’s going to be my job and everybody else who’s in that 30 club to push these guys and come out here and compete and show them the right way and lay down that blueprint, so they can take it and go forward with it.”However, Lee wants to win now. When asked if it meant a lot for him to start, Lee snapped, “The thing that would mean the most to me is if we make the playoffs.”
...
“I had talks with Coach,’’ Lee said. “I’m going to let him tell you all what he plans to do with that. One thing I do know is we’re going to play faster. That’s one thing they’ve been stressing, is to make sure we’re in shape. We’re going to get out and run people, and we’re going to wear on teams. The pace of the game is definitely going to be faster.”
Citing this new age of position-less basketball, Hornacek acknowledged that smaller alignment will be heavily considered.
starting lineup will change about 20x throughout the year. That's fine with me. I want to see everyone get a chance and learn who can do what.
anrst wrote:starting lineup will change about 20x throughout the year. That's fine with me. I want to see everyone get a chance and learn who can do what.
usually when it's not obvious what the starting lineup should be, it does change night-to-night based on match ups
I would love to see Noah come off the bench as the first big and provide the energy boost that he can. As a bench player, him rebounding and dribbling up the court and deliverig a pass is Ok with me, if it’s a spark. Not as a starter though. I would love to see Hermy win tht starting spot but I guess if he’s still not ready for tht load, then he’s not ready.
Awesome! I really want Willy and Frank as the 5 and 1. My only question is who will be at the 3. Kuz, McDermott, Beasley and CLee are the ones on the running for me. I am leaning towards McDermott due to his sharp shooting ways. I really think Frank will stabilize our defense. Defense always starts in the perimeter. Hopefully, THJr can continue improving defensively. We have our rim protector in KP and Willy can clean up the glass.
Kanter and KOQ will be on a 4 man rotation for the 4/5 spot.
Baker will be the backup PG.
Dotson and CLee will backup the SG spot.
Kuz and Beasley will backup the SF spot.
I am torn about LT.
roster needs to be thinned out.
Allanfan20 wrote:I would love to see Noah come off the bench as the first big and provide the energy boost that he can. As a bench player, him rebounding and dribbling up the court and deliverig a pass is Ok with me, if it’s a spark. Not as a starter though. I would love to see Hermy win tht starting spot but I guess if he’s still not ready for tht load, then he’s not ready.
Totally forgot about Noah. His lack of outside shot is just a killer for me. He lost a step on the defensive front. I think he is Phil's biggest mistake. Worst than the NTC. I don't know what to do with him. He is a pro though and a good teammate. He might be OK with being a bench mentor.
