Hey - Rotate On This!

First

Evans, Garcia, Greene, Cousins, Dalembert

I must have more faith in the Garcia/Evans pairing than most, because I’m still convinced it’s the best in-house answer we have. I want to force teams to guard Evans with their PGs, and Cousins with their PFs. It’s time to make teams adjust to us, rather than the opposite. Landry quick off the bench for whatever big is tired/foul trouble first, Casspi first wing off the bench, and Beno as the guard. JT fills out the rotation as 4th big/9th man.

Starters: ’Reke, Cisco, Casspi, Landry, Dalembert

Bench: Beno, JT, DMC

Break seal in case of emergency: Greene, Head

Reke, Cisco, Casspi, JT, and Dalambert

with Landry, Beno, and Cousins getting plenty of time, and sneaking in some Donte.

Reke starts as our primary ball handler/playmaker. We aren’t going to win a ton of games this year, so I put the ball in his hands and force him to improve his game on the fly.

Head, starts as the other guard for all the reasons you listed above.

Donte starts at the three for defensive purposes. He may not be the scorer that Omri can be, but his defense on the perimeter will help establish a solid defense to start games, while Omri has been consistently getting beat early. If we want to play a half court offense (not that I do, but thats how the team seems to play under PW/Tyreke currently) we need to set the tone of the game on the defensive end, and i just don’t think Omri is ready for that yet. Its impossible to set a defensive tone off the bench when you are already down 10. Donte is assigned to guard the opposing teams best 2 or 3, so that Tyreke doesn’t have to guard the Kobe’s/Melo’s etc.

Landry starts at the four for offense. Feed him down low early and often. You live with his defensive deficiencies, in exchange for his scoring.

Sammy D. starts at the five but is the first player subbed out in the 1st quarter. This again helps control the tone of the game from the jump. On defense he plays inside, and on offense he sets picks, and looks for rebounds, thats it. Any post offense runs through Landry. Tyreke and Sammy need to build some PnR chemistry, and I emphasize that players in practice.

My bench is:
Cousins: First of the bench after just about four-five minutes of Dally. While they split minutes, I want a one two punch of Dally’s D and Cousins’ fire in the first quarter. As soon as Cousins shows he can be an above average defender, he takes the starting role. Until then, bench scoring and energy are his assignments.

Omri is next off the bench. We have more to gain from Omri’s future than from Beno or Cisco. Omri brings energy and scoring, and needs the experience only playing time can give.

Cisco is my third guard. With Tyreke playing big minutes we will only have a Cisco/Head backcourt for limited minutes. I know this leaves us hurting for playmakers while Reke is out, but Beno’s defense is just too vulnerable to allow him to play big minutes right now. This was the only tough choice for me, because I know how important Beno is to this team. I love his offense, but we can’t afford to be playing 4 on 5 on D.

JT is my last bench player. As the fourth big he will play most his minutes at the 4, gobbling up rebounds and playing a short range offensive game. His defense is decent enough to play alongside cousins without getting beat down.

Reke, Beno, Greene, Landry, Dal

Omri, JT, Garcia, DMC

Head does nothing for me (print that!). Jackson hustles but not worth wasting minutes. Our defense sucks and will continue to suck for the most part regardless of who we put on the floor – I’m pretty much convinced of that. I’m thinking of offense.

Reke & Beno – play well off each other and both are capable of getting open looks for guys (Greene & SD). Playing DG with those two also eliminates his need (that he feels and no one else does) to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket. Landry gives you the low post scoring threat on the 1st string.

Bench mob – I can see playing all those guys at once along side Beno or Reke. Omri & Garcia are your outside threats, DMC your low post threat. JT the man on the boards.

NOTE – my starters are not my final 5 on the floor at the end of the game. I’d have in Omri over Greene at the end as well either JT or DMC (whomever is playing better that game) over SD.

Tyreke & Landry

And, as Section pointed out

see the current roster as more wide than deep. It is really a compilation of players that have different skill sets, but similar overall talent levels

So, why Cuz offers scoring and passing, Sammy offers defense and shot blocking. The skills at the 3 are similar, in that Cisco offers shooting and experience, Donte offers size and defense, and Casspi offers energy and effort. As pointed out, Head offers defense, Beno offers shooting off the dribble (maybe the only one on the team), and Pooh offers ball handling and court vision.

So, it doesn’t seem to be any sure winners here. So here’s mine.
I’d pick Head for his defense, but he gives up the dribble under pressure just as quick as Beno. So, my starters are;
Pooh, Tyreke, Casspi, Landry & Cousins

Bench in order off:

Dalembert, Beno, Greene & Garcia

I start with Tyreke for obvious reasons.

I start Beno because he is A) the best fit with Tyreke offensively and B) Beno isn’t the only hole on this team defensively. I think if you start playing better offense, than your defense is less of a liability.

I start……….not sure who i start at the 3. Greene should be the starter, but hasn’t shown consistency at all up to this point. He hasn’t shown consistently he will do what it takes to get minutes. Omri Casspi, on the other hand, has tried to earn his minutes and isn’t ready yet. I don’t like Cisco at the 3 and never will. He is my backup SG though. I’ll go with Greene because I think Omri’s fire and energy off the bench is necessary.

I would start Dalembert and Cousins at the 4/5. I think that’s been the design from day one to help both the offense and defense with the Kings size in the middle. You gotta play both of those guys in your starting lineup or else I don’t think it’s going to be as effective if you’re playing Dalembert/Landry or Landry/Cousins.

I bring Landry, Garcia, Thompson and Casspi off the bench depending on the matchups.

Reke, Cisco, Greene, Landry, Dalembert

Guys off the bench: Udrih, Casspi, Cousins, Thompson

End of Bench: Head, Jackson, Jeter
Inactive: Whiteside, Wright

Reasoning:
Honestly, Luther Head has been our most consistent perimeter defender. But I see Cisco as the better overall player and shooter, while not lacking too much on defense. I also like the size advantage he gives us in the backcourt.

I’d also like to start Cousins, but I feel that starting Dalembert is the safer option for the rook, who has a penchant for bad fouls, and he can come in off the bench knowing what needs to be done and what the pace of the game is.

Udrih gets minutes because he can be deadly offensively, if a porous defender, Casspi gets minutes to bring energy and shooting, Thompson gets minutes because he can pair up with all three other bigs at either the 4 or the 5.

Head, Jackson and Jeter hit the end of the bench and don’t come in unless we’re really lacking in either defense (Head or Jackson) or need a change of pace on Offense (Jeter). Wright goes inactive because he brings nothing. Whiteside is too raw, probably needs to go to Reno when the Kings get their first long road trip unless they’re are injuries.

Dear Maloof’s…

Please read Sactown Royalty posts in regard to lineups. Although the suggestions may not all be winners, it seems many have at least an idea of what to do, which is more then I can say for PW.

Thank you and please add more cheese to the nachos.

(I like a little trash talk)
Evans Garcia Greene JT Dalembert start
with Cousins Udrih and Casspi off the bench
Landry is my 9th as I hate his crappy ass rebounding (even though he’s been better lately, it’ll come back to the norm) but bring him in if the O gets sluggish.

I’d put him higher on the play order, perhaps before Casspi off the bench.

Starters
Reke: 38
Cisco: 25
Greene: 30
Landry: 33
Cousins: 25

Bench
Beno: 20
Casspi: 25
Dalembert: 20
JT: 15
Head: 9

and Evans is the only unanimous starter, while Wright and Whiteside are the only guys that have not cracked the top 9. Crazy times.

Starters:
PG-Evans
SG-Garcia
SF-Greene
PF-Thompson
C-Cousins

Reasoning: at some point Evans and Cousins are going to have to learn to play together. Thompson, Greene, & Garcia won’t get in the way of that.

Bench:
PF-Landry
PG-Beno
C-Dalembert
SF-Casspi

Reasoning: You can do worse than Landry & Beno anchoring your second unit, Casspi & Dalembert bring more to the table than the rest of the bench.

Head
Evans
Donte
Thompson
Cousins

First off the bench, getting majority of minutes: Landry
2nd off the bench: Dalembert
3rd off bench: Udrih
4th: Casspi

I think that Thompson’s rebounding is very important, and that this move would lead to a fairly balanced (if not foul-prone) starting line. I also feel that Thompson is a “slow burn” sort of player. Landry gets to come in and not have to worry about as many other aspects of the game. Come in and abuse the backup PF.

Dalembert comes in to spell Cousins, and especially with DMC’s fouling, he will still be getting some major burn. DMC brings so much more to the offensive end that I feel his starting is necessary for the success of the team.

Greene is another “slow-burner”, the more minutes he gets, the more you can see out of him. Casspi can come in and provide a spark, much like Westphal had originally intended (supposedly).

Udrih is able to spell both positions, and so I feel that he would be the best guard off of the bench. He can be another instant offense option (along with Landry and Casspi). Head and Tyreke has already been explained by pretty much everyone else.

If the young, foul-prone super rebounders get themselves in trouble, you can bring in the vets (Landry and Dalembert) to play the majority. If the Rebound Brothers stay out of trouble, I think that it could turn out really well for us.

how many more DNRs (did not report) does Jim Gray throw up before we get Kayte back in the starting lineup?

1: WaBeno / Head / Cisco / Evans
2. Cisco/ Casspi/ Greene
3. Evans / Greene / Casspi
4. Landry / JT/ DJ
5. Dalembert / Cuz

I think Evans will thrive playing off the ball a little more, and with two shooters on the floor. I’m personally tired of seeing him bring the ball up and go 1-1. And how many 3’s can overpower Evans? Not many.

The big flaw here is that there’s no dependable backup point guard. I still can’t believe Atlanta wouldn’t trade Teague for JT.

Starting Five:
Evans
Garcia
Greene
Landry
Dalembert

Bench:
Udrih
Casspi
Cousins
Thompson

The starting five consist of two main offensive options in Evans and Landry. You get penetration from Evans when needed, and you can also throw the ball to Landry to give Evans a relative rest. Garcia and Greene get the green light to put down threes when open, and…uh, Dalembert can receive the ball when Evans is in mid-air and doesn’t know who to pass to.

Defensively, you have Greene and Garcia to tie up the opponents SG-SF. Evans will have to learn how to guard the quicker PG’s of the league, but gets the help of Dalembert when he chooses to not run through screens (which is most of the time). Landry isn’t a great defender, but he’s not detrimental on that end either.

As far as the subs go, if Westphal decides to sub the masses and brings in all four subs I mentioned at once, we’ll have an overwhelming amount of offensive firepower from the bench. Well, overwhelming if the other team is playing their bench. And as long as Chris Paul/Steve Nash isn’t also on the floor.

I admit we’ll be a little lacking on the defensive end with the subs, but I think it’ll help DMC and Casspi learn how to be better defenders. We can also leave Greene or Dalembert in the game with the bench, so long as we don’t have another Thompson-at-SF sighting again.

Also, the starters should get significant rest with Thompson and DMC on the floor at the same time from all the fouls they give (it’s like a free time-out, but not really!).

Right now, I would go with Beno at point, Tyreke at 2, Greene at 3, Cousins at 4, and Dalambert at 5.

 I would have Landry coming in fresh when Cousins gets tired or gets in to foul trouble. I would have Beno playing the majority of minutes at point until I traded him for another pg or got another pg that can do a decent job at guarding players like; Nash, Williams, Rondo, Rose, ect… I would give Thompson minutes sparringly but would definately be open to trading him if there was something there. I would want Tyreke playing almost always at the 2 because he would be my franchise 2 guard for the future, unless his ankles sabatoge his career. I would want him to get experience going against players like Kobe and Wade while he continues to learn and develop. Casspi would play whenever there was someone that he matched up ok with and could defend. Right now, I wouldn’t be considering Casspi or Greene as my starting sf of the future to go with Tyreke and Cousins, and I would definately be open to also involving them in a trade. I like Landry a lot, I would try to resign him because I think he is a player you definately want on your Chapionship seeking team, a great player to have coming off the bench. I would definately be giving Whiteside minutes so that I could see what we have there, and I don’t know if I would want to resign Dalambert for the amount he may want.
 
 So, at the moment, I would be considering Tyreke and Demarcus as my two main pieces to building a championship caliber team. I would also be leaning towards Whiteside as my 2nd Big over Dalambert. I would be more interested in finding out about Whiteside then trying to make Dalambert a fan favorite.

Tyreke and Head in the back court, Green, Landry and Dalembert in the front court.

Dalemberts not much of an offensive player but can pair nicely with Reke as he drives into the lane and dishes off for a dunk etc. The Alley OOP is also.

Reke is too ball dominant and is typically the 1st option on offense. If Cousins and Beno coming off the bench it puts too great offensive players against weaker defenses and allows more room for their short comings on defense.

The big off the bench has got to be Thompson and my pick for wing is Garcia. Casspi’s lack of consistency and bad defense put him behind Garcia in my opinion.

Thompson, Garcia and Udrih have played together for years so there should be some chemistry. I also think Beno is a better floor general which is something Cousins needs.

Starters:

Head – PG
Evans – SG
Greene – SF
Cousins – PF
Dalembert – C

Bench:

Udrih – PG
Garcia – SG
Casspi – SF
Landry – PF
Thompson – C

Odd ones out

Darnell Jackson – I REALLY DON’T LIKE THIS
Pooh Jeter – I REALLY DON’T LIKE THIS EITHER
Hassan Whiteside – Either play him or send him to Reno
Antione Wright – ………….

On Sundays. – Tyreke, Beno, Casspi, Landry, Cousins

On Mondays – Tyreke, Head, Cisco, Landry, Cousins

On Tuesdays – Tyreke, Beno, Wright, Landry, Dalembert

On Wednsday – Tyreke, Beno, Casspi, Cousins, Dalembert

On Thursday – Tyreke, Beno, Casspi, JT, Dalembert

On Friday – Tyreke, Beno, Greene, Landry, Dalembert

On Saturday – Tyreke, Beno, Greene, Cousins, Dalembert

I’d like to give a special thanks to the “Paul Westphal School of Coaching”, from which I have learned the art of the starting rotation.

Head
Evans
Casspi
Landry
Dalembert

First off the bench, Beno, Cousins, then JT and Donté together, because they play really well together.

Bringing Cousins off the bench should help mitigate a lot of his early foul trouble and help him see what’s going on in the flow of the game and what he needs to not do (as in, what are they calling heavily that night).

Having Beno guard the other teams’ back-up guards should work well, and give him more chance to do his pull-up stop & pop.

The starter I watch closest is Head. It worked well against the Knicks, but if he proves to be inconsistent or ineffective, out he goes, and Beno gets a chance to earn his starting role back.

Cousins earns his way into the starting lineup by the all-star break by staying out of foul trouble. It takes him out of contention for ROY, but I don’t care.

Cisco comes in when nobody can hit a shot, or we’ve seen that their outside defense is really bad.

Casspi starts because he plays best when he’s been in for a few minutes and gets amped, and also because he plays well with Landry and disguises some of Landry’s rebounding problems.. But he REALLY needs to be able to hit that outside shot consistently.

Darnell Jackson comes in when there’s a big man nobody else can stop, and we need a bruiser.

Jeter comes in in garbage time.

Wright is in a suit, Whiteside is in Reno.

I have been an StR reader for a while and under the advice of various post peeps I think this is reasonable:

Never Jason Thompson, no Cisco, and forget Landry. Head can’t shoot, Wright could never shoot. Landry can’t rebound but we have already forgotten about him. Beno can’t defend. Cousins fouls too much. Dalembert has no skills on offense. Jackson only does the little things.

Backcourt – Evans and Greene
Frontcourt – Casspi, Cousins, Dalembert

Jackson first off the bench for DMC or Sammy, Beno to run an offense, Luther to defend. The rest ride pine, find blowout minutes for Pooh and Hassan Upside after he wears a BigHorns jersey.

I put most of the blame on Mario Elie because it is the ones you don’t talk about who are quietly doing the most severe damage.

I think the only position even up for debate in your lineup is at the 2, and Head is as good a choice as any there. Your primary scoring options are Cousins, Landry and Tyreke, so you really don’t need a lot of scoring from the 2, just solid play and D.

Dalembert is the defensive big off the bench, and Udrih fits better off the bench as well. Casspi, Garcia and JT battle for the rest of the minutes.

Seems like this was pretty much what Westphal did tonight, at least in the second half, which was all I was able to watch tonight. And you can’t argue with the results. Let’s keep it up.

C: Samuel Dalembert
PF: Jason Thompson
SF: Donte Greene
SG: Tyreke Evans
PG: Beno Udrih
6th : Carl Landry
7th: DeMarcus Cousins
8th: Francisco Garcia
9th: Omri Casspi

10th: Luther Head
11th: Darnell Jackson
12th: Pooh Jeter
-—————————
13th: Hassan Whiteside
14th: Antoine Wright (Why did we sign this guy to guaranteed money? And why was he chosen over Marcus Landry?)

for an upgrade at PG defensively(preferably one that’s as good as Beno on Offense, but better defensivel.

except swap Donte’ with Casspi. I just think Casspi will end up being the better all around player and should be given the chance to get steady minutes in the role. If you say a guys’ role is to take 3 ptrs when they’re available you also have to accept that 3 pt shots come and go a bit from game to game.