Who will be the starting point guard on opening night?

[George W]

This feels right but I kind of hate the approach. For the opportunities he has taken to yield something they will need to be maximized. I can't see how Collins role is WAY better here (as of right now) and the weird logjam of combo guards (which could be complicated with a Herro acquisition) isn't ideal for increasing their trade value or maybe stumbling on something that becomes awesome.

Complete hindsight... but I would rather have gotten Brown and had a roster that made more sense and assets you aren't as tied into if they don't work out.

Brown is fool's gold. Walk away from the ledge, JC will be a revelation for this squad.

- George

 

[George W]

Our roster is more or less as follows:
Starters:

PG: Dunn
SG: Clarkson
SF: Markkanen
PF: Collins
C: Kessler

Bench:
PG: Sexton
SG: Agbaji
SF: Fontecchio
PF: Hendricks
C: Olynyk

3rd Line:

PG: George
SG: THT
SF: Sensabaugh
PF: Samanic
C: Yurtseven
2-Way: Juzang.
--

Dynamics that will likely play out:
- Sexton or Clarkson being sent out as KG explodes. I'm guessing it's Sexton.
- Fontecchio getting outplayed by some of the other wings on this roster
- THT gets DNPs.
Curious to see Agbaji's next steps, and to see what we have with Sensabaugh and Hendricks. It'll be a fun season -- but our guard play isn't bad.

- George

 

[FrenchJazzFa]

I still think they may be some move before season start. This roster pretty good to compete for 6-10 spot.

 

[Thee Jazz Fan]

Bingo. We shouldnt think the roster build through what works best with a classic slow paced set action offense.

Bulk of our assists last season came naturally through easy read ball movement and thats obviously the way Hardy wants them to play. For that, off ball activity, awareness and IQ is much more important than playmaking or passing skills.

Defense is the real key as you said. Pretty much agree with your assesment on that. Also wanna add that we should be a great rebounding team next year as well. One of KOs bigger flaws was his poor boxouts. Collins does that really well.

I do recall assists coming east for whoever was playing PG last year.

 

[Thee Jazz Fan]

The problem with JC is that he plays the most athletic position in the league and isn't getting any quicker or more explosive (which he's never been anyway).

In the coming years, he'll have to rely even more on various tricks and, frankly, flopping to get his shot off or get to the stripe against physically superior defenders. That kind of stuff usually means stopping the ball, lots of dribbling and upfakes, searching for contact.... while the rest of the players watch. Not the way we're going to want to play with this personnel.

It's not a question of Clarkson wanting to change his game. He has to.

Not sure WTH you’re talking about. He’s never relied on athleticism, but when you’re as crafty as JC you don’t need athleticism, and he’s as crafty as they come.

 

[fishonjazz]

His form doesn’t even look that bad to me. He just seems to lack touch.

I agree about his form. Thing is, if his shot looked horrible and went in a lot then i would be fine with that. I love good looking form for a player but if it doesnt go in then it doesnt really matter. And its not like it was a 1 year funk of bad shooting.

His four years in the league from 3: 30%, 28%, 26%, 28%

 

[NAOS_pt2]

Just like teams knew who Lauri Maarkanen was last year, right? Come on.... players improve all the time in the league. Especially ones that are just 22 years old like THT. Last year, at the beginning of the year, it was painful to watch him. But throughout the year, he improved dramatically imho. His efficiency wasn't amazing, but he started to learn when and where he could get his shots. I can easily see his expiring contract being attractive if he demonstrates he can be a plus value player for a playoff team.

So what kind of asset is a team giving up for THT, midseason, when he'll be a UFA at the end of the season? And how much greater is that asset versus the one we could get right now?





ok... so.... Why would anyone let this issue configure the way they are balancing the roster and envisioning playing time?

 

[NAOS_pt2]

Not sure WTH you’re talking about. He’s never relied on athleticism, but when you’re as crafty as JC you don’t need athleticism, and he’s as crafty as they come.

He has always leveraged his speed with the ball in his hands. If that's not "athleticism" then I don't know what is. He's crafty, too, and his game should age well, but let's not get twisted.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

The starting guards to open the season are likely to be either Sexton/Clarkson or Clarkson/Agbaji.

 

[NAOS_pt2]

For the record, I have no idea what the answer to this question will be. If we imagine our starting 1 as more of a young Tony Parker-type—i.e. mainly as a penetrate-and-kick role—with some secondary playmaking on the wing, then we have a lot of options. If we aren't happy with that role, then we ultimately need to make a trade or settle for Dunn for a while.

 

[Thee Jazz Fan]

He has always leveraged his speed with the ball in his hands. If that's not "athleticism" then I don't know what is. He's crafty, too, and his game should age well, but let's not get twisted.

View: https://youtu.be/QP7doJ_t-Ac


Does this look like a guy that uses pure athleticism to blow by his man. He uses angles and crossovers to keep his man off balance and get to where he wants on the floor for his elite floater game. He’s the closest thing there is to a post player at the guard position. I’ve never just seen him blow by someone and dunk over people. Not his game. He will largely pin you to his hip, use spins and Euro steps to create room to get off his go to move which is a floater.

 

[Park Bites]

Here is how i see it IMHO

PG - Clarkson, George, Dunn

SG - Agbaji, Sexton, THT

SF - Makkanen, Fonticchio, Sensabaugh

PF - Collins, Hendricks, Samanic

C - Kessler, Olynyk, Yurtseven

First I can see a trade happening with these potential players THT, Sexton, Olynyk and/or Fontichhio, Samanic, Dunn

I see George gaining confidence through the year and putting pressure on startin.

I see THT getting more playing time as injuries keep players out.

I see Sexton being that 6th man role and flourishing.

When sensabaugh is healthy he will push for playing time because of his ability to score. Him and Sexton would be an amazing 1-2 punch off the bench.

I feel Hendricks will have the biggest growth curve because he will need to add some weight. I see him getting minutes at the 3 and the 4.

Yustseven is going to push Olynyk for playing time by mid season.

Agbaji is the best starter because he can be a 5th option with the starters.

Just my 2 cents

I would like to see a Tyler Herro trade that looks something like Sexton or THT, Olynyk and a FRP maybe some SRPs