Oh I agree that's his value. I just wonder if that value brings enough to off-set the talent differential.
Numbers may show that Pope is a better defender, and he does well in passing lanes, but watching him defend on ball last year was really disappointing. He's not very physical and can get taken into the lane quiet easily. I give Lance the edge with his tenacity. It may not show up on the scoresheet, but he's going to be a major spark off the bench. I'm sure KCP will be much more in line with his shots with Bron on the floor, and he does very well on catch and shoots. Either way, it's nice to have both options and Hart to roll out there as well.
With the way we switch everything, it doesn’t matter whether Lebron plays the 3, 4, or 5. He won’t take a beating playing on the front line and playing at the 4 or 5 might actually give him more of a break. If we were able to run a lineup of IT/Zo/KCP at times last year, then Lance can definitely play the 3. Positionless basketball is a very real thing.
Real, you got the Svi thing right...don't push it bro haha. Wcsoldier...useless...really? Lance averaged 9pts, 5 rbs, 3asts, 0.6 stls on 22 mins of play last year. We paid him basically the vet min (2.4m) and added a crazy irritant incentive clause that pays out the rest to get him to 4.5m. Its just reported as a 4.5m cap hit cause its an incentive that classifies as "likely" to achieve. Lance is going to be a fan favorite...also likely.
Their Drtgs are similar, but Pope is better by other defensive metrics. Stephenson is more of a nuisance than a real defender, but that's valuable. I'm not trying to say he's not valuable. I'm saying Mykhailiuk is better than him and probably more valuable. At some point in the season we're going to be frustrated that Stephenson is getting minutes that Mykhailiuk might utilize better.
Yeah, I hope we avoid that frustration. If this season is about winning, toss the feelings to aside, and put the best players out there that win us games.
We are one deep team. I feel like most rotations, playing time will come from who is having a better game and the hot hand.
LeBron can lobby to try out for the back up PG duties just to see if he could handle it. If it works OK then like BI we have two more TALL point guards. But what do you mean we have no real back up PG??? We have 2 of Lonzo, Rondo and Caruso in the depth chart behind whoever is starting. Formally. Caruso's not deserving of a whole lot of flak. He's got height, can pass with both hands, runs the offense, has defense that gets mentioned on the broadcasts, is reasonably athletic. Pretty strong for a 3rd string position.
Opening roster based on news: Rondo Hart Ingram LeBron McGee Death lineup: Zo Hart Ingram Kuz LeBron Super bench eventually once Zo is back: Rondo Kcp Svi Kuz Wagner Closing lineup at the end of the season Zo Kawhi Ingram LeBron Bosh ....../pipe
I think we have enough players on our roster that can shoot. James, Ingram, Kuzma, Hart, KCP, Wagner, Svi, even McGee, Stephenson and Rondo at times. We're apparently saving the 15th spot. It is what it is at this point.
