Arguments For and Against (starting SF & PF)

[Pinwheel1]

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...turner_the_starting_s.html#incart_river_index

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...o_will_start_at_power.html#incart_river_index

Right now I am leaning towards ET and Swanigan. (Vonleh if healthy)
Aminu can always come in if the opposing 4 is hot from deep. But we have to remember that a opposing spread 4 may not be able to cover Swanigan either. (i.e if he is an undersized PF)

 

[blue9]

Harkless & Biggie or Harkless & Collins

 

[KingSpeed]

I agree with Swanigan and ET.

 

[Pinwheel1]

"Argument against ET: The Blazers could use Turner’s ball-handling and playmaking in the second unit, which — unless Shabazz Napier plays more — lacks a facilitator outside of McCollum, who serves as the team’s de facto backup point guard. Turner plays best with the ball in his hands and he would have more freedom, see more scoring opportunities and generally be featured more off the bench. On the whole, Turner was not as good as advertised last season and Harkless — his main challenger for the starting small forward spot — improved in most aspects of his game. Also, the Blazers went 6-6 during Turner’s 12 starts, which was no better than their .500 record for the season."

I think Shabazz should be in with the 2nd unit so Sean Meagher's first point against ET is moot for me. Also his last point that we were 6-6 with Turner as a starter....wasn't that before Nurk? So the 500 record was better than what we saw with Moe....

 

[dviss1]

Hark/Notorious

 

[Scalma]

Turner and Swanigan/Aminu. Can play the matchups at the four.

 

[BBert]

Harkless and Swanigan start with Dame, CJ and Nurk. That's better rebounding and shooting.

Shabazz, Morrow, Turner, Vonleh, Meyers/Davis off the bench. That bench is better than people think.

 

[blue9]

Harkless and Swanigan start with Dame, CJ and Nurk. That's better rebounding and shooting.

Shabazz, Morrow, Turner, Vonleh, Meyers/Davis off the bench. That bench is better than people think.

I like this because of an omission!

 

[Reep]

Hark/Notorious

Agreed. I like Harkless better starting as we need the defense and he doesn't need to ball in his hands.

Turner: love him coming off the bench when one of Dame or CJ is out to be the second ball handler. He could start, but the rotation is more challenging then.

Aminu: would rather bring him in off the bench to deal with stretch fours.

Notorious: he needs to earn it, but if he does in preseason then give the kid a shot. He has heart and I would love to see him next to Nurk.

 

[Orion Bailey]

IF you start turner, who off the bench handles the ball other than CJ?(who is also a starter)

Anyone who wants to start Turner, I dont think has a full grasp of how stagnant our bench was last year. Take his ball handling away and they will be even more stagnant.
Turner is our 6th man. Get used to it.

 

[Pinwheel1]

IF you start turner, who off the bench handles the ball other than CJ?(who is also a starter)

Anyone who wants to start Turner, I dont think has a full grasp of how stagnant our bench was last year. Take his ball handling away and they will be even more stagnant.
Turner is our 6th man. Get used to it.

Why can't you start ET and sub him out for Harkless, Then bring him back at SG with the 2nd unit. (CJ or Napier) If CJ starts and plays with the 2nd unit, why can't ET?

 

[santeesioux]

Hark and Swan.

 

[dviss1]

IF you start turner, who off the bench handles the ball other than CJ?(who is also a starter)

Anyone who wants to start Turner, I dont think has a full grasp of how stagnant our bench was last year. Take his ball handling away and they will be even more stagnant.
Turner is our 6th man. Get used to it.

Wasn't he 6th man in BOS?

 

[BrunoSOC]

Harkless and Swanigan.

BENCH: Turner and Collins or Vonleh

 

[dviss1]

Why can't you start ET and sub him out for Harkless, Then bring him back at SG with the 2nd unit. (CJ or Napier) If CJ starts and plays with the 2nd unit, why can't ET?

Because then you have to bring Aminu and Turner in at the exact same time.

Dame/CJ/Turner is our guard rotation. You want as little of Shabazz as possible. Not sure why some in here are clamoring for our 3rd string PG to get more minutes.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Because then you have to bring Aminu and Turner in at the exact same time.

Dame/CJ/Turner is our guard rotation. You want as little of Shabazz as possible. Not sure why some in here are clamoring for our 3rd string PG to get more minutes.

Playing devils advocate....maybe Shabazz should be our 2nd pG and keep CJ at SG as much as possible. (and ET at SF as much as possible)

 

[dviss1]

Playing devils advocate....maybe Shabazz should be our 2nd pG and keep CJ at SG as much as possible. (and ET at SF as much as possible)

@Blazer4ever is that you?

 

[Scalma]

IF you start turner, who off the bench handles the ball other than CJ?(who is also a starter)

Anyone who wants to start Turner, I dont think has a full grasp of how stagnant our bench was last year. Take his ball handling away and they will be even more stagnant.
Turner is our 6th man. Get used to it.

You're probably right about him being the sixth man, but who starts or doesn't start at the beginning of the game shouldn't matter as much as who finishes it. I see Turner in the closing lineup.

 

[BonesJones]

Why can't you start ET and sub him out for Harkless, Then bring him back at SG with the 2nd unit. (CJ or Napier) If CJ starts and plays with the 2nd unit, why can't ET?

You could match Turners minutes with CJs, but Turner shouldn't be playing 36min a game. If You didn't play him the last 6 minutes of each half (When McLillards in) then he'd be at 24min.

However, in that scenario Turner wouldn't play with Turner and CJ would be out at the same time, leaving Dame out there to struggle.

 

[Scalma]

Playing devils advocate....maybe Shabazz should be our 2nd pG and keep CJ at SG as much as possible. (and ET at SF as much as possible)

That's a really small lineup. Don't see that happening except against other similarly small lineups.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Why can't you start ET and sub him out for Harkless, Then bring him back at SG with the 2nd unit. (CJ or Napier) If CJ starts and plays with the 2nd unit, why can't ET?

I personally dont think we should be doing that with CJ, but even still one is more than enough. Because then there will be spurts with Dame CJ and Turner all on the bench....
Wanna see how many turnovers we can get in the beginning of the 2nd and 4th quarters? to me this is a good way to find out.

 

[Pinwheel1]

That's a really small lineup. Don't see that happening except against other similarly small lineups.

Which part? The backcourt? Napier and CJ would definitely be based on the opposition, but if Morrow makes the team and plays...he and Napier would not be too small against other 2nd units.

If you are talking about ET being too small at SF to go with CJ and Napier...is it really that much of a difference than having Harkless in there? ET and Harkless weigh the same at 220 (per blazers.com) and ET has a longer standing reach.

 

[Scalma]

Which part? The backcourt? Napier and CJ would definitely be based on the opposition, but if Morrow makes the team and plays...he and Napier would not be too small against other 2nd units.

If you are talking about ET being too small at SF to go with CJ and Napier...is it really that much of a difference than having Harkless in there? ET and Harkless weigh the same at 220 (per blazers.com) and ET has a longer standing reach.

Yeah I meant Napier and CJ with Turner at SF. Turner is fine at SF but when you add two more undersized guys it makes it tough. But it really just depends on matchups.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I personally dont think we should be doing that with CJ, but even still one is more than enough. Because then there will be spurts with Dame CJ and Turner all on the bench....
Wanna see how many turnovers we can get in the beginning of the 2nd and 4th quarters? to me this is a good way to find out.

You lost me. Which part should we not be doing with CJ? Keeping him at SG? And when would all three be on the bench? Dame plays the whole first and 3rd quarters..... CJ and ET start the 2nd and 4th (Or at least one of them does)

 

[BBert]

I like this because of an omission!

Uh-oh. Haha. Forgot your man Aminu

Also forgot Zach

What can I say I was preoccupied

I say again our bench is going to be better than people think.

 

[calvin natt]

Harkless and Aminu

 

[ripcityboy]

Harkless and Aminu for me too. Not the most appealing combo in the league. More like Blazer Blue Plate Special.

 

[Denny Crane]

Ideally, you want to win Q1 by a lot. I say play the best 5.

You don’t have to sub a bunch of guys all at once. Sub Mo for ET at 6:00, bring ET back for the last 3.

 

[Scalma]

Dame
CJ
Shump
Aminu/Biggie
Nurkic

 

[Blazers Roy]

The rookies are not the solid choice, they need to prove themselves from the bench first.

Turner is not needed as a creator alongside CJ and Lillard, he needs the ball in his hands with the second unit (which is horrible).

We need two guys who will be able to balance CJ's and Dame's defense.
Because Vonleh is hurt i'd say Harkless and Aminu are the only choice. When Vonleh comes back Aminu returns to the bench unless he's a good matchup against certain players\teams.