Who will start at PF (2014-2015 edition)
- Thread starter jcwkings
- Start date
For me, it's got to be Thompson. He's bigger than the other options, more athletic than the other options, and is a better defender than the other options. Not to mention he is a good midrange shooter who apparently has extended his range. His rebounding is also solid. He's a good roleplayer who is the best fit we have for Cousins offensively and defensively.
With the signing of Hollins, it allows us to start Thompson. If Cousins gets into foul trouble early, sub in Landry to keep a low post presence and shift Thompson over to center. If both Thompson and Cousins get into foul trouble, sub in Hollins to keep a correctly sized center on the floor and sub in Landry to keep a low post presence. I still see Hollins only averaging ~6-8 mpg where he plays all of his minutes in the second quarter (to either come to the aid of our bigs who are in foul trouble or to give our bigs a break early while reducing the risk of them getting in foul trouble later.
I think this minute spread could work well: Cousins - 35 min / Thompson - 28 min / Landry - 21 min / Hollins - 8 min / Evans - 4 min
And I think this rotation could work :
1st Quarter
Start - Thompson (PF) / Cousins (C) (Best PF & C tandem we have)
6:00 - Evans (PF) / Cousins (C) (Energy and toughness boost. Also, eats up fouls early)
10:00 - Landry (PF) / Cousins (C) (Helps maintain low post presence with Cousins starting to tire out)
2nd Quarter
Start - Landry (PF) / Hollins (C) (Give our two starters a rest while still maintaining size and a low post presence. Hollins can be aggressive defensively and not worry about fouls as this is his only floor time)
8:00 - Thompson (PF) / Cousins (C) (Get our two best bigs in the game to finish the half)
Halftime
3rd Quarter
Start - Thompson (PF) / Cousins (C) (Start off again with our best tandem)
6:00 - Landry (PF) / Cousins (C) (Give Thompson a rest for a big fourth quarter and help Cousins with the scoring and floor spacing as he gets more tired)
4th Quarter
Start - Landry (PF) / Thompson (C) (Give Cousins a break before letting him close out games. Keep a legitimate sized big man duo out there while Landry keeps the low post presence and Thompson does the dirty work.
5:00 - Thompson (PF) / Cousins (C) (Get our two best bigs in the game to finish it off)
With the signing of Hollins, it allows us to start Thompson. If Cousins gets into foul trouble early, sub in Landry to keep a low post presence and shift Thompson over to center. If both Thompson and Cousins get into foul trouble, sub in Hollins to keep a correctly sized center on the floor and sub in Landry to keep a low post presence. I still see Hollins only averaging ~6-8 mpg where he plays all of his minutes in the second quarter (to either come to the aid of our bigs who are in foul trouble or to give our bigs a break early while reducing the risk of them getting in foul trouble later.
I think this minute spread could work well: Cousins - 35 min / Thompson - 28 min / Landry - 21 min / Hollins - 8 min / Evans - 4 min
And I think this rotation could work :
1st Quarter
Start - Thompson (PF) / Cousins (C) (Best PF & C tandem we have)
6:00 - Evans (PF) / Cousins (C) (Energy and toughness boost. Also, eats up fouls early)
10:00 - Landry (PF) / Cousins (C) (Helps maintain low post presence with Cousins starting to tire out)
2nd Quarter
Start - Landry (PF) / Hollins (C) (Give our two starters a rest while still maintaining size and a low post presence. Hollins can be aggressive defensively and not worry about fouls as this is his only floor time)
8:00 - Thompson (PF) / Cousins (C) (Get our two best bigs in the game to finish the half)
Halftime
3rd Quarter
Start - Thompson (PF) / Cousins (C) (Start off again with our best tandem)
6:00 - Landry (PF) / Cousins (C) (Give Thompson a rest for a big fourth quarter and help Cousins with the scoring and floor spacing as he gets more tired)
4th Quarter
Start - Landry (PF) / Thompson (C) (Give Cousins a break before letting him close out games. Keep a legitimate sized big man duo out there while Landry keeps the low post presence and Thompson does the dirty work.
5:00 - Thompson (PF) / Cousins (C) (Get our two best bigs in the game to finish it off)
K
If there is any truth into JT's extended range improving than it has to be him since he has two assets no other PF on the team has and that's long range shooting and he's a huge PF size wise. If he's hesitant and the jumper is not there than it should he him or Reggie starting depending on the match up. Carl Landry is a good bench player and he prior to this season is the only big we have that can nail that mid range jumper with consistency so that could make him an option as well. But I would prefer to see Carl paired with JT, I think we always have to have either JT or Cousins on the floor at all times.
They all are a flawed and good in there own way, which is frustrating and intriguing at the same time. Also with Carl and Reggie they have pretty much everywhere they have been made there team better (with the exception of Carl here with us), Hollins should under no circumstance get playing time over any of the big's including Moreland.
They all are a flawed and good in there own way, which is frustrating and intriguing at the same time. Also with Carl and Reggie they have pretty much everywhere they have been made there team better (with the exception of Carl here with us), Hollins should under no circumstance get playing time over any of the big's including Moreland.
Well other than I think JT should start at PF, It is going to be very interesting this year
Its just not the logjam at PF , I agree with twslam07 that JT,Landry and Evans would normally get all the minutes at the 4
But with all this talk about Putting Rudy,Dwill, or Casspi as stretch 4's , Its gonna be a smorgasboard of players at the 4 position this year
2 Cs, 4 PF, 3 SF That is 9 players, Send Moreland to Reno, Use Rudy and dwill at the 3 position, but that still leaves 6 players
Maybe leave Hollins on bench , unless we need his Height off the bench
Split JT Time 14 min PF 14 Min Backup C (with Big Cuz 34min)
Evans, Landry, and casspi split the other 34 Min at PF
Landry when JT is at C
Casspi to spread floor for Cuz
Evans fills in the rest
Its just not the logjam at PF , I agree with twslam07 that JT,Landry and Evans would normally get all the minutes at the 4
But with all this talk about Putting Rudy,Dwill, or Casspi as stretch 4's , Its gonna be a smorgasboard of players at the 4 position this year
2 Cs, 4 PF, 3 SF That is 9 players, Send Moreland to Reno, Use Rudy and dwill at the 3 position, but that still leaves 6 players
Maybe leave Hollins on bench , unless we need his Height off the bench
Split JT Time 14 min PF 14 Min Backup C (with Big Cuz 34min)
Evans, Landry, and casspi split the other 34 Min at PF
Landry when JT is at C
Casspi to spread floor for Cuz
Evans fills in the rest
Reggie's getting minutes guys, no way he just plays 4 mins a night after the rebounding performance thus far in the preseason. I think it's going to be a tight rotation of DMC, JT, Evans, with Landry sprinkled around that. Hollins has to show more of what he did last game here on this trip to China to warrant more playing time imo. I like the idea of a Hollins/Evans reserve lineup if we go with like a Collison/M16/Stauskas back court; length, hustle, grit, and rebounding to go with a shooters type lineup.
Reggie should start at PF. He is an elite rebounder. When DMC or Reggie get their two fouls JT can play either spot. Then Landry can spell the other starter. Hollins and Moreland can be spot players unless Moreland takes the minutes away by playing great.
That is actually a pretty nice 5 man Big rotation. An Elite Center, a great rebounder who is as tough as nails, an all around good player at the 4 or 5, a steady back up center and a pretty good shot blocking defensive stud prospect.
That is actually a pretty nice 5 man Big rotation. An Elite Center, a great rebounder who is as tough as nails, an all around good player at the 4 or 5, a steady back up center and a pretty good shot blocking defensive stud prospect.
My vote is for JT. I could go with either Evans or JT, and both have pluses and minuses. But since the Kings seem determined to trade JT, and no one else has jumped to the head of the class, then what better way to showcase him. Especially since he's earned it. Evans is superior in only two areas. Rebounding, and JT isn't far behind in that area. And in post defense, and once again, JT isn't far behind. In just about every other area, JT is better. Other than those two, no one else is in the picture as far as I'm concerned. As Prince noted, you could throw out Cousins and Hollins together, however I don't think the Kings see them as a starting combo, but rather as a combo they might use in certain situations.
Positionless basketball.
It does not matter if you put your best C at the PF position, because in reality the C and the PF can function interchangeably from time to time. This is especially true if one of the pairing is very skilled. I hope this is how the coaching staff thinks about positionless basketball and not just the positionless small ball.
Ala-San Antonio Spurs with Duncan and Splitter.
Cousins is our Tim Duncan.
Hopefully, Cousins and Hollins can be paired to start and function interchangeably and accordingly without sacrificing size and quality of the frontcourt bench. And maybe it will help Thompson's game - if we believe that Thompson tends to play better if he does not play at the same time with another ball-dominant big like Cousins.
It does not matter if you put your best C at the PF position, because in reality the C and the PF can function interchangeably from time to time. This is especially true if one of the pairing is very skilled. I hope this is how the coaching staff thinks about positionless basketball and not just the positionless small ball.
Ala-San Antonio Spurs with Duncan and Splitter.
Cousins is our Tim Duncan.
Hopefully, Cousins and Hollins can be paired to start and function interchangeably and accordingly without sacrificing size and quality of the frontcourt bench. And maybe it will help Thompson's game - if we believe that Thompson tends to play better if he does not play at the same time with another ball-dominant big like Cousins.
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I also think JT suites a lot better as our 3rd big just because we don't have one. He can score, rebound, and defend. He would be great for our bench. I don't think he fits in the starting lineup. Cuz grabs all the rebounds and JT doesn't get a lot of offensive touches. The 2nd unit would work a lot better for him and everyone else. I hope we can trade D-Will and Landry for a nice PF/C. Pete should call up his friends down in Denver. They have too many of what we need.
Would they be kind enough to give us Mozgov? They currently have Darell Arthur, Faried, JJ Hickson, Bonsu, McGee, Mozgov and 1st rounder Jusuf Nurkic. It seems very likely that at least one of their big men would be available.
I think Mozgov would fit perfectly here in Sac. McGee has a 20mil 2 year contract. I'd happily take that in for a swap of D-Will.
I think Mozgov would fit perfectly here in Sac. McGee has a 20mil 2 year contract. I'd happily take that in for a swap of D-Will.
I think that would hurt our team a lot because of Gallo. I think the Magic have a pair of good SFs.. Harris and Harkless. I'm not sold completely on Gallo's health.
I think a fair trade for both sides would be Rudy+Landry+ for Gallo+Chandler+Mozgov on condition that Rudy resigns there. I think he would. They can be a playoff caliber team.
I think a fair trade for both sides would be Rudy+Landry+ for Gallo+Chandler+Mozgov on condition that Rudy resigns there. I think he would. They can be a playoff caliber team.