Sixers- Suns game thread.

[matt_whitlock]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
One thing D'Antoni has done that I really don't care for is this "only play 2 centers per game" thing. I especially don't like it when one of the two centers is Scott Williams because he has done such a good job nailing that 15-18 foot shot... and the occasional three-pointer

Joe Mama

Yeah. Honestly that's just stupid, and when D'Antoni was talking about it, he didn't even give a reason for it. I'm not saying that he has to explain everything to the fans, but I would like to know why he would do something like that.

Right now, we have 3 centers who are okay, and who have their nights that they actually look good. For instance, Jahidi White has played some very solid basketball games for us, but he's also played some real stinkers as well. During those bad games, why not be open to seeing if our two other centers can contribute something positive? It just doesn't make sense to keep a potentially positive contributer on the bench just because.

Obviously, I've said that I'm an advocate of consistency, and simply juggling the lineup of centers every night to find a good player isn't consistent at all. But you can't just play somebody 30 minutes one night, and zero the next. It doesn't work.

I can understand that Scott Williams might need some rest, and I'm all for not having his old body break down. However, again the key is consistency. It's not good for his body playing 30 minutes one night and not playing at all the next night out. It's not good mentally because it's tough to be ready if you might be taking the night off, and it's certainly not good physically. From a conditioning standpoint, especially at his age, it doesn't work. It doesn't take a 37 year old man very long to get out of basketball shape, and to just throw him in a game and expect him to compete for 30 minutes after not playing the previous game isn't healthy. If you want to limit his minutes, play him for 20 minutes on a game-by-game basis, give or take a few minutes on his on and off days.

At least Frank Johnson tried to establish some consistency. His lineup patterns during games were static, sometimes to a fault. But D'Antoni has to get a good starting lineup, center included, and stick with it. All this nightly shuffling is dumb.

 

[SirStefan32]

Originally posted by BC867
You've made a good point, matt. It's amazing how most fans don't prioritize the benefits of consistency, comraderie, and chemistry, which you mentioned.

For years, the Suns (and now the Diamondbacks, too) have chosen their lineups based on that night's opposition, rather than our strengths.

You play match-up . . . you play catch-up. You're just not going to dominate.

Basketball, more than any other sport, benefits from its players (who are free to roam all over the court) feeling where their teammates are going to be, on both offense and defense. It's great to watch and, I'm sure, it's great to be part of.

I, too, would love to see the Suns pick their best, and most well-rounded, rotation when Amare and Zarco return and stick with it 90% of the time. Let's make things happen, rather than try to react.

Excellent post!

 

[Joe Mama]

I don't really have a problem with only playing two centers per night, but when the team is hurting for size so badly they should play the third seven minutes at power forward. At least Harvey got some decent playing time and responded well. It does lead me to believe that when Amare Stoudemire and Zarko Cabarkapa return we will see mostly traditional lineups.

Joe Mama

 

[Chaplin]

FYI, word is that Z will be back Jan. 9th, and Amare soon after around Jan. 15th.

 

[Dr. Dumas]

So much talk about consistant line-ups, but the fact is that the Suns have a couple of key players who would be in the nightly line-ups on a consistant basis. Since Z & Amare are down, D is going to scramble to make line-ups work with what he has.

Lets wait till D has a full deck before the complaints start in on the line-ups.

 

[George O'Brien]

I would like to see the Suns use Williams when opponents go to a zone and the Suns offense stagnates. The zone works against the Suns because the center stays under the basket to stop the Suns when they drive, forcing them to take jump shots.

Putting Williams at the high post against the zone leaves him wide open. Getting it to Scott is a lot better than throwing up contested 3's.