Desk chairs, Titanic, some rearrangement required.
Other than Cousins and IT, how do you set up a winning squad with this personnel?
Winning .. I don't know about winning, but these lineups aren't balanced. We can't defend. We got outrebounded 47-31. We CAN create a better version of this team, I think.
I've said it before a million times at this point. I'd start IT. Aside from what I think he brings on the court I think he brings a certain mentality that we need to start a game. He isn't a great defender, but I think he is an upgrade over Vasquez.
I still honestly think Thornton and Ben is a wash. I'd be ok with either guy. My heart wants Ben, but I think Thornton is capable of pulling out of this major slump. This also gives Vasquez time with Ben on the bench unit.
I'd start Outlaw at SF for a few reasons. At this point I think he's a better defender than Salmons. He is a better rebounder which we sorely need. And while he does tend to take a few too many bad shots, at least he doesn't handle the ball like Salmons does. Salmons takes bad shots AND he eats up shot clock time. Outlaw is also the better spot up shooter. Just stick him in the corner until a better option comes around.
I'd also start Jason Thompson because Patterson isn't giving us any offense right now. JT is vastly superior rebounder, and an overall better defender. He also scores the ball without using up possessions, meaning a lot of his points come off of tip ins and offensive rebounds.
These ideas largely come from the same place. Right now we are starting all of our offensive options at each position. We are sacrificing defense at every opportunity. Well guess what? the offense isn't very good, so they clearly aren't giving us an advantage on that end. Might as well swap them out for the defenders, and our second best scorer (IT).
That's just me. I watch a lot of basketball, but I'm nobody.