So did last night against the lakers prove casspi should start?

[Demarcus Cousins]

And have donte come off the bench??

 

[Amaranth]

In my opinion, the combination of Cisco starting and Omri as the 6th man worked best, but I think if Omri can keep it up he's certainly capable of being our starting SF for the rest of the season.
I don't think Donte is even in the running for the long-term starting SF, or else Westphal would have started him more than two games. Omri's been getting a ton of minutes since Cisco's injury, he had the most on the team with 40 last night.

 

[rainmaker]

For future development, both for our young core and Omri individually, I'd prefer him to start the rest of the year. With our capspace heading into next summer, now is the time to try to figure out if we can groom Omri into our future starting sf, or if we should go after a bigger name sf this summer. Make the wrong decision, and you waste the future potential of Omri.

Cisco is important to this team, but IMO more as a veteran presence than a player on the court. Sure we could start him, and maybe win an extra few games, but we're not that much better with him starting, and given he doesn't mean much to our future young core, I'd rather find out sooner than later what we have with Omri.

If it looks like he'll be better as a 6th man down the road, then go get the best sf we can this summer. However, if you do that, you need to be damn sure Omri won't be starting material in a year or two, which I personally think he will be. Now is the time to try an figure it out. We already know what Cisco can bring, but we have yet to see what Omri can do as a starter if given a chance to start 30 consecutive games. I can say fairly confidently Omri has improved every month of the season, and as he picks up steam and confidence, which is vital for young players, why throw a roadblock in the way?

 

[Spok22]

^ Agreed. Development of omri and the team is really all that matters now that we are out of the playoff run. Having said that, I really hope omri learns to be consistent because his hustle and heart is amazing and it brings a lot to our team.

 

[Glenn]

One game proves nothing. In the long run, I have always seen Omri as the ideal 6th man type. He has energy and can play in that situation. We still need a more reliable scorer at SF.

 

[bajaden]

I think I agree, that I'd like to see Casspi start the rest of the season, to see if he's the guy we want as the long term starter or not. Whats left of this season is the perfect time to see what our needs are going forward. If Casspi can play defense on a regular basis like he did in the fourth quarter, then he's our guy. There's never been any question about his offensive abilities. There has to be a reason why there are several teams around the league trying to aquire him. Other than being Jewish.

 

[rainmaker]

One game proves nothing. In the long run, I have always seen Omri as the ideal 6th man type. He has energy and can play in that situation. We still need a more reliable scorer at SF.

The op was talking about one game, but I wasn't. Omri is averaging over 12/8 in his last 5 as a starter. And yes, we need a more reliable scorer at the 3, but the question is can Omri develop into that player? You need to be sure he won't be if you go out and get another sf who will eat up 35 mins a night.

 

[bajaden]

One game proves nothing. In the long run, I have always seen Omri as the ideal 6th man type. He has energy and can play in that situation. We still need a more reliable scorer at SF.

Glenn, mi amigo, you have to allow for players to improve. This is only his second year in the league. Very few players are finished products in their second year. Patience! lets see how he turns out.

 

[Glenn]

Glenn, mi amigo, you have to allow for players to improve. This is only his second year in the league. Very few players are finished products in their second year. Patience! lets see how he turns out.

I understand that very well. I also understand we need more than one SF and at this point he's the only one I have faith in. He has the burning desire to compete and to improve which is very unlike Greene. My point is that I would not shy away from acquiring a 28 or younger SF. I KNOW Omri will be very good but I wouldn't turn down an all star.

The same situation exists at the center position. Do you give Cuz as many minutes as he can last? Yes. Do you get rid of Dalembert because we already have a center? Not so sure. Look at how he has performed since he went into whining mode.

People get injured. That is a given. We have been fortunate this year.

 

[pshn80]

Casspi is the starter. It's OK with me. What other options do we have on this team?

After a big win like this, naturally everything we do is perfect. It's never going to happen but when Casspi screws up, start somebody else.

 

[ArcoKings]

I prefer Casspi starts over Cisco. I think if Casspi got the minutes/experience he would most certainly develop his full potential and flourish. To be fair with Cisco I know he has had injuries and especially that freak one before the start of last season with the weights. All of the down time has decreased his playing time and chance to improve but Casspi has a higher ceiling than Cisco. I don't think Cisco can get that much better.

 

[Prince_XY]

And have donte come off the bench??

We already know what kind of a veteran player Cisco is. Good veteran voice in the locker room, boneheaded in games. Just let him do his work at the bench, in the locker room, or during those trips.

I wish we could play Landry more at the 3, because he seemed quick enough to play and defend the position during those times Westphal experimented. But if we could not afford to experiment on Landry because we believe we are 'playoff-bound' and cannot afford to lose some more games, then I am okay with Casspi being developed into our full-time SF starter. Greene just doesn't have the desire to be the starter SF for this team and we cannot wait forever for him to wake-up. At least with Casspi you can see the desire and the hardwork that he puts in his game. He clearly deserves it for now.

 

[bajaden]

I understand that very well. I also understand we need more than one SF and at this point he's the only one I have faith in. He has the burning desire to compete and to improve which is very unlike Greene. My point is that I would not shy away from acquiring a 28 or younger SF. I KNOW Omri will be very good but I wouldn't turn down an all star.

The same situation exists at the center position. Do you give Cuz as many minutes as he can last? Yes. Do you get rid of Dalembert because we already have a center? Not so sure. Look at how he has performed since he went into whining mode.

People get injured. That is a given. We have been fortunate this year.

I agree on both counts. We certainly need depth at both positions. We do have Cisco of course, but I wouldn't mind an upgrade over him. The center position is interesting. I think we all agree that Cousins is the guy for the future, and it appears that the future is now. But we do need depth other than JT, who is nice to have to fill in when needed, but I'd rather have a legit center. I'd love to retain Dalembert, but who knows if he wants to come back knowing that he's the backup. And of course who knows what his asking price is. We could of course draft another center, but this draft is weak in centers, and I'm not sure thats the way to go.

There will be some centers available through freeagency. Guys like Tyson Chandler and Marc Gasol. Not to mention Cousins new buddy, Joel Przbilla. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out..

 

[bajaden]

We already know what kind of a veteran player Cisco is. Good veteran voice in the locker room, boneheaded in games. Just let him do his work at the bench, in the locker room, or during those trips.

I wish we could play Landry more at the 3, because he seemed quick enough to play and defend the position during those times Westphal experimented. But if we could not afford to experiment on Landry because we believe we are 'playoff-bound' and cannot afford to lose some more games, then I am okay with Casspi being developed into our full-time SF starter. Greene just doesn't have the desire to be the starter SF for this team and we cannot wait forever for him to wake-up. At least with Casspi you can see the desire and the hardwork that he puts in his game. He clearly deserves it for now.

Well, I don't think were playoff bound this season. But that aside, Landry can play some SF at times. It just depends on the matchup. Last night was one of those times because he only had to guard Artest, who is very strong, but I doubt is quicker than Landry. By the way, it was an interesting night for Artest. I had to keep reminding myself that he was actually in the game, because he seemed invisible at times

 

[PurpleHaze]

Well, I don't think were playoff bound this season. But that aside, Landry can play some SF at times. It just depends on the matchup. Last night was one of those times because he only had to guard Artest, who is very strong, but I doubt is quicker than Landry. By the way, it was an interesting night for Artest. I had to keep reminding myself that he was actually in the game, because he seemed invisible at times

I lot of the criticism of Lakers play of late by Phil Jackson was pointing to an "aging" team. No wonder the elder ZenMaster is finally hanging it up after this season. Most thought he was mainly directing his "Lakers are slowing down" at Artest (31) and Fisher (36), less about Bryant (32). Lakers also have a slew of well over 30 reserves. The mileage on Bryant is unreal considering all the minutes he's played over his 14 year career. Seems even Odom is getting old rapidly as well. Lamar had an absolutely horrible game last night against Kings - even worse than invisible Artest. As far as Carl Landy at SF - sure it works at times. I can't believe some Kings fans howled when he played a bit of SF last season. With the Rockets he was in at SF from time to time especially when starting PF Luis Scola was on the floor.