The Lineup Game
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The Lineup Game
The leadup to the 76ers season is coming to a close. If you missed any of the preview coverage, here are a few links.
To read about the Sixers' mis-matched roster in the latest Inside the Sixers, click here: Round Pegs.
To read about the necessity of a hybrid game from swingman Andre Iguodala, click here: Iguodala v3.0.
To read about Evan Turner, star or bust, click here: The rookie.
To check out the comparison between Iguodala and the rest of his salary class (i.e. making around $12 million this season), click here: Peer Group.
The Sixers are one practice away from opening the 2010-11 season against the Miami Heat on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center. Iguodala participated in only non-contact drills today in practice, but expect Iguodala to play on Wednesday. Still, there is still no set starting lineup. Here are five options, with pros and cons.
1.) PG Jrue Holiday, SG Andre Iguodala, SF Thaddeus Young, PF Elton Brand, C Spencer Hawes.
Pros and Cons: Solid defensive unit, on paper. Big lineup, which should be able to defend the interior (although Hawes' post defense remains to be proven). A fast backcourt of Holiday, Iguodala, and Young that should score a ton of points in transition. No outside shooting, so halfcourt execution would struggle.
2.) PG Jrue Holiday, SG Evan Turner, SF Andre Iguodala, PF Thaddeus Young, C Elton Brand.
Pros and Cons: Small lineup with very little interior defense. Would struggle defending on the block, but a quartet of Holiday, Turner, Iguodala, and Young should create turnovers and attack the rim. Transition effectiveness would be hightened, but the ability to run would be hindered by lack of rebounding. Still no outside shooting and an abundance of players (Holiday, Turner, and Brand) that need to dominate the ball.
3.) PG Jrue Holiday, SG Andre Iguodala, SF Jason Kapono, PF Elton Brand, C Spencer Hawes.
Pros and Cons: Added shooter would open up the offense, both in transition and in halfcourt. Kapono spreads the defense in a fastbreak (he's a great trailer and runs wide) and in the halfcourt. His presence would open up lanes for Holiday and Iguodala, something only Kapono's shooting ability could do. One less rebounder on the floor, Kapono, would give the opposing lineup an advantage on the boards as well as in attacking the rim. But this could be the best of all the lineups.
4.) PG Jrue Holiday, SG Andre Iguodala, SF Jason Kapono, PF Elton Brand, C Tony Battie.
Pros and Cons: The good and the bad with this lineup is very similar to the previous. Kapono still spreads the floor, but Battie gives you veteran presence inside. He knows how to defend the pick-and-roll as a big man, he knows how to get hard rebounds, and he's a smart defender. It's unlikely he'll start, because Doug Collins needs to limit his minutes, but later in the season Battie could be an option if things fall apart inside.
5.) PG Jrue Holiday, SG Evan Turner, SF Andre Iguodala, PF Elton Brand, C Spencer Hawes.
Pros and Cons: Still no shooting with this lineup. Turner's addition would make this a very strong-rebounding lineup, but there would still be no halfcourt offensive execution because there is no shooter on the floor.
We'll be in Boston for tomorrow's NBA season opener between the Boston Celtics and the Heat.
--Kate
If it were up to me, I would pick and choose depending on who they were playing. That being said, my favorite lineup to start the season is number 4, with number 3 after Hawes gets back in the flow. I don't know how effective he will be after missing a few weeks. Battie gives more rebounding, though I agree he is unlikely to start the whole year.— Llamaboy1375
I would be surprised if #3 ended up being the starting lineup, but it does make a lot of sense.— dpcoz- Most of these lineups have AI at shooting guard, which is tough since he is not a great outside shooter. The Sixers lack outside shooting or strong rebounders; no mixing and matching is going to solve that problem. I hope Doug can get them to play strong defense and a young team will improve over time.— JohnFC
Defense and rebounding is the only way to win consistently in basketball. Brand, Hawes and Holiday are supposed to be able to shoot. Iggy and Thad have too much talent to be on the bench. Play Battie when Hawes' man is scoring too much. Williams is still the sixth man, followed closely by Nocioni. Turner needs to earn his way to minutes. Kopono can get minutes when the other team packs the D in tight.- Defense and rebounding is the only way to win consistently in basketball. Brand, Hawes and Holiday are supposed to be able to shoot. Iggy and Thad have too much talent to be on the bench. Play Battie when Hawes' man is scoring too much. Williams is still the sixth man, followed closely by Nocioni. Turner needs to earn his way to minutes. Kopono can get minutes when the other team packs the D in tight.
- Easy, #4 gives you best chance to win Q1. Battie sets tone, plays 8 minutes Q1, 10 minutes rest of way. Ease Hawes and Speights in. Williams, Nocioni and Young others in rotation. Turner gets garbage minutes first 10 games just like Jrue did last year.— JBP
- All of those lineups stink— azsixerfan
- Agree with JBP on #4, but disagree with Kate on #1 as a solid defensive unit. Hawes is soft, Brand and Young can't defend, the three of them together can't board. Collins will need to mix and match and keep players on the floor who provide consistent energy, particularly at the defensive end. Great defense in every sport generally trumps great offense. The guards need to pressure the ball to disrupt the opponent's offensive sets and will need to crash the boards, when Iguodala, Holiday, or Turner are in the game. Nocioni will also provide some toughness, so Collins needs to get him time on the floor. Williams, Hawes, and Speights can provide some instant offense, albeit with bad defense, off the bench, and Turner can add some defensive intensity and rebounding, but does not look ready offensively. In any event, defense, particularly on the perimeter, and rebounding will be the keys.— chuckw
- How about Jrue, lou, AI, Brand, and Hawes. Use the rookie sparingly and alternate Elton and Thad at PF depending on the other team. Let Lou fire away.
— jskrad - Chuck, agree #1 is NOT a defensive unit. Best defensive unit, albeit small, may be Iguodala, Holiday, Nocioni, Battie, Turner. In short spurts, that could be interesting line-up. Young and Speights better learn to play defensive or Doug and Rod will trade them while they still have the "potential thing" going. I would love to see Turner be eased in over the season much like Jrue was. Tell Turner to bring defensive energy and rebounding in short minutes and don't worry about anything else.— JBP
- I think Turner needs to come off the bench as the first backup to Holiday. Pair him with Lou at SG and you can have him defend the SG with Lou covering the PG. Kapono as part-time starter would be OK against certain teams. If I recall the bench guys outperformed the starters in many pre-season games which makes starting lineup projections almost meaningless.
Thad Young's best position (SF or PF) needs to be determined for this team to progress.— Rick Wise Guy - Also like #4.
Join "Sixers Fans For Change" on Facebook.— ArtMooney - Rick Wise Guy: agree about Young. Collins needs to figure out Young who also needs to figure himself out at both ends of the court. He plays poor defense, but shows flashes of offensive talent, although he does not finish well and is inconsistent on his jumper. My guess: he is trade bait.— chuckw
- OMG,,with Thorn And Collins running the show and the lineup of players they have here this is going to be the worst 76er team of all time,,what a crying shame..— TheRod
Any lineup that has TooManyDala as your shooting guard is delusional and ignorant of all the lessons of history. Repeat after me: "You can't start a shooting guard who can't shoot." You can't start a shooting guard who can't shoot. I am Oppressed.— Nutron-
I would definitely have Lou Williams and Speights starting because they can score and the Sixers are going to have problems defending as a team and scoring so let them light it up.— BCRock - I agree with BCRock, more or less. The Sixers have to make the best of what they have, and their best post scorer is Mareese Speights. He's really the only one Doug can build an offense around, so it's stupid to not start him and get him used to that roll. Basketball isn't hard, you just have to figure out how to score against the other team's defense. It generally takes a big man that you can dump the ball into when you really need another score and the other team is trying to put you in a hole. It makes all the difference in the world when you have a reliable half-court option. Either Speights can do this or he can't. If he can the Sixers have a chance this season, if he can't it's good to know he either is unable or unready. The team will win by forcing turnovers and running, so Jrue and Andre will do a good job, and so will Lou and even Evan- who at least pair together with good size. The focus needs to be on who compliments Speights best in the middle, giving the Sixers more rebounding and defensive presence. C'mon Doug, play Mo and see what you can do with him. You really don't have another strategy for scoring in the half-court, all your fancy plays don't work unless the other team is already scared of somebody.— ricky
It's a fresh/refreshed season, with a team full of young fellers. Let's reserve judgment till the end of the season, or at least the all-star break. We all know it doesn't matter who starts the game -- it matters who's in there at the end! Similarly, basketball in the fall doesn't compare to basketball in the spring. Time to root root root for the home team and urge 'em on. Everyone loves an underdog, right?! LET'S GO SIXERS!— Leegles- Leegles: we warned you before not to go off your meds. I agree to wait at least until the All-Star break to pass judgment, but what worries me is this: Kate Fagan and Bob Cooney have seen the practices and all the pre-season games and have predicted the Sixers will win from 30 to 33 games. Hard to get excited about a 32-win season. Of course, they are not infallible, so who knows?— chuckw
John Mitchell is in his second year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.
ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI
Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.
