Who should replace Tucker in the starting lineup for the first 3 games?

[sunsfan88]

Tucker is suspended for 3 games so who do you think should replace him in the starting lineup for those games?

The games that Tucker will miss will be 10/29 vs LAL, 10/31 vs SAS, and 11/1 @ UTA.

IMO, it should be Green. I'm not a super huge fan of his but match up wise, I think Green gives us the best chance against those teams than Marcus or Warren.

The 1st game will be "Kobe's return" and you better bet that game will be super hyped up by the media everywhere. Even though he's not really a good defender, I think the 6'8 athletic Green has the better chance against the 6'6 Kobe Bryant than the 6'1 Bledsoe. Now, I don't doubt Bledsoe's skills against guarding bigger players especially 45 year old Kobe but still, having Bledsoe guard anyone else will keep him more fresh for us offensively imo. Kobe will try to do that Kobe baseline post-up on Bledsoe and it could wear him out.

Green is also a better shooter than Marcus or Warren and that will be very important against SAS when we try to spread the floor.

That's just my thoughts on this. Who do you think should start at SF for the Suns for the first 3 games of the season?

 

[JCSunsfan]

Maybe. It depends on how TJ does in preseason.

 

[Phrazbit]

Green is a horrible defender, they will not put him on Kobe, and Kobe is not the athlete he was anyway, guarding him is about knowing his fakes and guile, not about being fast. Bledsoe's primary strength is his defense, they are not going to put match him against the scrubs to keep him fresh. He will match up against the other team's top guard.

 

[FutureSuperstar]

I was actually just going to create a thread titled "Who should start at SF?" - Then I saw this ... I vote "Marcus Morris"

After thinking about it a lot, I really don't think PJ Tucker should be in the rotation even when healthy. The unfortunate thing is because he's making so much (enough) money, he'll probably have to be ...

But I just think Marcus Morris and Gerald Green are better players for the 3' position. And if you believe that, then where does Tucker fit in? (Not even accounting for Warren).

Also, I have seen a lot of people (including myself) say that Marcus Morris will play the 4' a lot ... But if he did this, this would basically ensure that the Morris twins NEVER play together, which would take away a great strength of the team !

I just think the ideal lineup for the Suns for the 1st 3 games and really for the whole season, is to start the Morris Twins at the forwards ... Then have Gerald Green back up the 3' and Tolliver / Warren back up the 4'

Tucker gets squeezed, but he NEEDS to get squeezed to play the Morris Twins together in my opinion.

TLDR version: I think people have overlooked the fact that if Marcus Morris plays the 4', he'll never play w/ Kieff ... So he must play the 3' ... and if Green plays the 3' because IT / Dragic / Bled get all the guards minutes, then where does that leave Tucker ?

 

[elindholm]

How come Isaiah Thomas isn't listed as an option?

 

[JCSunsfan]

How come Isaiah Thomas isn't listed as an option?

At the 3. Sure! Surprised BC suggested it yet.

 

[SirStefan32]

Green is a horrible defender, they will not put him on Kobe, and Kobe is not the athlete he was anyway, guarding him is about knowing his fakes and guile, not about being fast. Bledsoe's primary strength is his defense, they are not going to put match him against the scrubs to keep him fresh. He will match up against the other team's top guard.

Bledsoe cannot guard Kobe. Kobe will post him up all night and go for either 40 points or 20 assists if the Suns start double-teaming. I am all for a little bit of homerism, but this is ridiculous.

Also, Green is not a horrible defender. Nobody will mistake him for Ron Artest in his prime on defense, but he is no Steve Nash.

After thinking about it a lot, I really don't think PJ Tucker should be in the rotation even when healthy. The unfortunate thing is because he's making so much (enough) money, he'll probably have to be ...

Are we talking about the same player? PJ tucker makes $5.5M per year, shoots almost 40% from the three-point range, and is by far (along with Bledsoe) the best defender on the Suns roster. He is also a very good rebounder on his position.

Green is superior offensively, but not nearly as good on defense, and Marcus Morris is not even close to Tucker in anything (offense, defense, shooting, rebounding, etc.)

 

[elindholm]

At the 3. Sure! Surprised BC suggested it yet.

Well, not exactly, Dragic would move up. It's a lineup we're all expecting to see a lot of, so we might as well end the suspense and have it open the season. D'Antoni would do it. Didn't he have Raja Bell or someone like that jump center once?

 

[FutureSuperstar]

To SirStefan32:

I would say straight up PJ Tucker is a slightly better player than Marcus Morris, although assuming Morris is younger and could improve even more this season, it's arguable ...

But it's about fit - Next to Markieff, I would rather have Marcus Morris playing instead of Tucker ...

Either way if Tucker plays or not, 1 good player will be left out of the rotation. Me saying Tucker shouldn't be in the rotation isn't a dis to him. What is your stance on minutes? Whatever your stance is, someone will have to sacrifice (if everyone's healthy) ... Is it Marcus Morris not playing, or "The Morris Twins should not play together" (Meaning both only play PF) , "Or XXX Player shouldn't be playing much" ?

 

[Hoop Head]

The first 3 games without Tucker will be telling. If the Suns play really well without him I would hope they plug him into the starting spot long enough to show other teams he's at least the player he was last year and try to trade him for future picks. I don't see him returning a quality PF or C but his off the court trouble I'm sure has management regretting signing him for the next few years. If they can get a late first rounder out of him then I think it would be best for the season as a whole. It would open up more minutes for Warren, Marcus, and Green.

 

[Mainstreet]

I voted for Gerald Green to start in Tucker's spot. IMO, starting TJ Warren is asking too much of him early in the season. I like Marcus Morris coming off the bench because of his versatility.

 

[AzStevenCal]

The first 3 games without Tucker will be telling. If the Suns play really well without him I would hope they plug him into the starting spot long enough to show other teams he's at least the player he was last year and try to trade him for future picks. I don't see him returning a quality PF or C but his off the court trouble I'm sure has management regretting signing him for the next few years. If they can get a late first rounder out of him then I think it would be best for the season as a whole. It would open up more minutes for Warren, Marcus, and Green.

Maybe but they acknowledged they knew about his incident before they signed him.

Steve

 

[AzStevenCal]

To SirStefan32:

I would say straight up PJ Tucker is a slightly better player than Marcus Morris, although assuming Morris is younger and could improve even more this season, it's arguable ...

But it's about fit - Next to Markieff, I would rather have Marcus Morris playing instead of Tucker ...

Either way if Tucker plays or not, 1 good player will be left out of the rotation. Me saying Tucker shouldn't be in the rotation isn't a dis to him. What is your stance on minutes? Whatever your stance is, someone will have to sacrifice (if everyone's healthy) ... Is it Marcus Morris not playing, or "The Morris Twins should not play together" (Meaning both only play PF) , "Or XXX Player shouldn't be playing much" ?

I would say Marcus was a slightly better offensive player and Tucker was a far superior defensive player, making PJ much more than "slightly better" overall. Yes he's younger but I think Marcus is just a little too slow to ever excel at the three so I'm looking forward to his move to the four - assuming it happens. Not that I expect him to excel there but I think he has the best overall chance on this roster to give us much of what we've lost with Channing.

Steve

 

[Superbone]

I would say Marcus was a slightly better offensive player and Tucker was a far superior defensive player, making PJ much more than "slightly better" overall.

This. Tucker is significantly better at the position and at making an impact on the team.

 

[Phrazbit]

Bledsoe cannot guard Kobe. Kobe will post him up all night and go for either 40 points or 20 assists if the Suns start double-teaming. I am all for a little bit of homerism, but this is ridiculous.

Also, Green is not a horrible defender. Nobody will mistake him for Ron Artest in his prime on defense, but he is no Steve Nash.

Green IS a horrible defender, and Kobe won't go for 40 and/or 20. Its not homerism at all to think a guy who has proven to be very good at guarding just about any other guard in the league would a better option against Kobe than Green, who is absolutely an awful defensive player.

 

[Folster]

I voted Green. I think Marcus will be playing a lot of 4 this year considering how thin we are up front. He'll likely be the first "big man" off the bench much like Markieff was last year.

 

[Folster]

Well, not exactly, Dragic would move up. It's a lineup we're all expecting to see a lot of, so we might as well end the suspense and have it open the season. D'Antoni would do it. Didn't he have Raja Bell or someone like that jump center once?

No doubt we'll see that line-up throughout the season. I think the raionale for bringing in IT was to have 2 of Dragic, Bledsoe, and Thomas on the floor at all times. The trio could work at key times to try to gas the opponent maybe late in the 3rd quarter or early in the 4th.

It will be interesting to see how Jeff works it.

 

[FutureSuperstar]

Well, not exactly, Dragic would move up. It's a lineup we're all expecting to see a lot of, so we might as well end the suspense and have it open the season. D'Antoni would do it. Didn't he have Raja Bell or someone like that jump center once?

Although I don't think IT should start, I agree that the IT-Dragic-Bledsoe will all play together for some stretches this season (w/ Kieff and Plumlee/Len still up front for rim-protection). It all depends on the other team's opposing SF. Against a team like the Clippers for instance - They run out Reddick and Matt Barnes at SG/SF ... PHX can easily put in that lineup - How would the Clippers exactly take advantage of Bledsoe/Dragic? Post-up Reddick and Barnes? ... Doc Rivers would probably be the one making adjustments, putting in their own small-ball lineup to match up.

 

[elindholm]

How would the Clippers exactly take advantage of Bledsoe/Dragic? Post-up Reddick and Barnes?

But defense isn't played only one-on-one. Any competent offensive team can force the defense into switches, rotations, and other adjustments. The more little sacrifices you're making along the lines of a Barnes/Dragic or Reddick/Thomas matchup, the more opportunities you're giving the offense to parlay those small advantages into one big one.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Its kind of amazing to me how many players certain fans label as HORRIBLE defenders. I have a hunch its not quite that extreme.

 

[sunsfan88]

Its kind of amazing to me how many players certain fans label as HORRIBLE defenders. I have a hunch its not quite that extreme.

Especially Green, I think he's about average/below average.

 

[Phrazbit]

Green is really freakin bad defensively. Its no coincidence that when he entered the starting lineup after Bledsoe's injury that our defense went to the crapper. His value comes as a shooter, if he is not hitting his shots then his is a serious hindrance.

His on court off court defensive splits are hideous.

http://www.82games.com/1314/13PHO7.HTM#onoff

His defensive split was the largest of any rotation player on the team, and by a huge margin. He is very very bad on D. That anyone is surprised by this assertion is... surprising. The guy has always had a rep as a inept defender, our defensive struggles with him in the game vs Bledsoe were well publicized last season.

I am not saying Green sucks overall, he just sucks on defense, last year he was more of a positive than a negative, but thats because he was very effective on offense. But he was easily our worst defensive rotation player.

 

[SirStefan32]

Green is really freakin bad defensively. Its no coincidence that when he entered the starting lineup after Bledsoe's injury that our defense went to the crapper. His value comes as a shooter, if he is not hitting his shots then his is a serious hindrance.

His on court off court defensive splits are hideous.

http://www.82games.com/1314/13PHO7.HTM#onoff

His defensive split was the largest of any rotation player on the team, and by a huge margin. He is very very bad on D. That anyone is surprised by this assertion is... surprising. The guy has always had a rep as a inept defender, our defensive struggles with him in the game vs Bledsoe were well publicized last season.

I am not saying Green sucks overall, he just sucks on defense, last year he was more of a positive than a negative, but thats because he was very effective on offense. But he was easily our worst defensive rotation player.

Well, of course it's not a coincidence. You lose one of the better defensive guards in the league (by far the best defensive guard on the roster) and your defense goes down the crapper. Why is any of this a surprise? It just means Bledsoe is a damn good defender.

 

[Phrazbit]

Yes, Bledsoe is very good defensively, much much better than Green. But Green is also very bad. Again, the worst defensive split of our rotation players on the roster, and by a huge margin.

And didn't this start specifically as a comparison between Bledsoe and Green as defensive options vs Kobe? Bledsoe is the better choice without any question.

 

[SirStefan32]

Yes, Bledsoe is very good defensively, much much better than Green. But Green is also very bad. Again, the worst defensive split of our rotation players on the roster, and by a huge margin.

And didn't this start specifically as a comparison between Bledsoe and Green as defensive options vs Kobe? Bledsoe is the better choice without any question.

Let's just put Bledsoe on Dwight Howard and Anthony Davis too, since he is the best defender on the team. Someone who is barely 6 feet tool will not be able to guard a 6'7 player who happens to have low-post game.