FJ_of _Rockaway

Here is my latest article for those that are interested

Sorry about the length - maybe the board needs a formatted feature page as the editorial section is too dense and it is hard to get a sequential flow of discussion with everyone's articles just lumped one over the other

Anyway hope you enjoy but for those that don't I apologise in advance

FJ


DID SOMEBODY HOLLA FOR A MARSHALL?

By Mark Hayes
18/8/2002

There are two schools of thought over this signing

The first : Why was Donyell Marshall signed when all he is going to do is take playing time from our young core ?

The second : Donyell Marshall is a proven vet that not only will make us more competitive straight away but who by virtue of his signing will engender a competitive battle for playing time .

I’m from the second school but then again I always was into Charles Darwin in terms of how things work in the big bad world.

For all those that sweat and fret about your favourite pets , the only way your dawgs will get meaningful minutes is if their bite is indeed worse than the bark. Meaning – minutes for Jay Williams ,Jamal Crawford, Marcus Fizer, Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler and Trenton Hassell , beyond the obligatory developmental minutes we need to invest in them, will all largely depend upon their individual rates of improvement on defense.

So what’s good for the goose is good for the gander – right ?

Not necessarily.

Jalen Rose and Donyell Marshall are our only two proven consistent veteran scorers and for us to be competitive this year we will need them giving us 40 points a night to be in the hunt for the win. So who wants to kill the goose (geese) that lay the golden eggs ?

I am not saying they are exempt from playing defense. They are not. But there is a tendency to beat it up over their lack of defensive prowess. This is largely spread by the sheep who bleat it after they read it without really understanding roles that they play on their team and efforts they make in playing team defense.

And I promise there will be no more farmyard animal references.

The tick tock on Donyell

Most Jazz fans seem remorseful that he is going but are cushioning the blow with the comfort that Matt Harpring is greater bang for the buck after Donyell reportedly turned down a 4 year deal starting at $7M

There are other Jazz fans who insist that :

• *He only became the productive player he was under the Jazz system and that outside of this system he will suck at the Bulls as he did at Golden State
  
  *He is a black hole
  
  *He only gets garbage points.

Mmmmm. Let’s dissect that shall we?

Scalpel.

With regard to the first point and being in the top 3 in field goal conversion I assume this point is based on that he would be nowhere near this mark without John Stockton. A great point guard does make you better- no doubt, but can’t a player just coming into his prime take some credit for his own development as a player?

There are also a raft of issues as to why Donyell was not as productive in Golden State as he was in Utah . When he was acquired by Golden State, they had Mark Price at the tail end of his career in his first year there and he then had such luminaries as Bimbo Coles and non point guards BJ Armstrong and John Starks manning the point, and later , a deteriorating Mookie Blaylock and disappointing 1st round draft pick , Vonteego Cummings. Hardly a stellar point guard crew over seasons.

Clamp .

In addition to this , Golden State’s squad was imbalanced and in disarray – the confusion of roles and as to who was doing what , led to boiling point in the squad when Latrell Sprewell tried to show PJ Carlesimo just how a windsor knot should be tied when a Coach chooses to wear a neck tie to training. Whilst Donyell stopped short of choking his coach he soldiered on in his Warriors campaign sharing the trenches with Chris Mills, Billy Owens ( small forward ) and Jason Caffey and Antawn Jamison ( power forward – until they figured out that maybe Antawn is a 3 too and that they had a pair of tweeners on the forward line in Tawn and Yell . Dang! Why did they do that Vince trade? That’s another story ).

Suction .

What impresses me about Donyell Marshall in his Golden State campaign is that when Antawn Jamison was acquired he could have folded and quit but he actively went out and became more judicious and disciplined in selecting his outside shot . Around 30% of his shots were 3 point attempts in his first few years there as he sought to find his own role at the 3 and differentiate himself in the absence of any real leadership on the team or from the coaching staff. A lot of players on teams like this in this situation just think of scoring points to get their trade value or free agency value up and the compulsion to take the “money” shots from outside to meet this aim can prove tempting for some whilst also being their downfall. Donyell took the high road and went the other way. His 3 point shooting percentage increased in his final 2 years as a Warrior to a respectable 36% , yet he was taking half of the 3 point shots he was taking as a function of his overall shot numbers when he first joined the Warriors 5 years earlier such that his 3 point attempts now only accounted for 15% of his shot output. At the same time he posted career highs in rebounding ( 10 ) , assists, ( 2.6 ) and blocks (1.06) – and maintained over 1 steal a game at 1.06.

There is the evidence that he already was on his way to understanding the discipline of shot selection and being a more rounded player by the time he got to the Jazz that supposedly “made” him.

The Jazz didn’t “make” him – they just enhanced him.

Last year, the very stable Jazz averaged 24 assists per game and the Bulls averaged 22. When Jalen Rose and Travis Best were acquired , our assist average per game stayed about the same. But what was evident to people who saw our games, the ball movement was freer and opportunities opened up for Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler and Marcus Fizer . There were also plenty of missed opportunities from the rookies on Jalen’s feeds that could have easily counted in the assists column. On top of this , the guy that was supposed to be our starting point guard , Jamal Crawford was unavailable until late in the season .

Adding up all of these factors, the two assist differential between ourselves and the Jazz coupled with the fact that Donyell Marshall is now a proven, consistent and prudent selector of his shot, mean that there should be very little difference in Donyell’s production .

This is predicated upon two things.

First, he needs to remain injury free. In 8 seasons, he has only completed 1 full season ( not including the shortened lock out season ) and has averaged 58 games a season . More on this later.

Second , we need extreme focus and communication in the definition of the roles that everybody has to play and discipline in their execution and if this can be achieved, our young nucleus will receive time to keep developing and possibly may achieve a winning season with Donyell being a very big part of our immediate puzzle as a genuine second/third option . More on this later too.

Gauze….

Now as to the issue of him being a black hole and only scoring off garbage points…. how does this work exactly? I would hardly call someone who only averages 11.4 shots a game a black hole. If anything, the only thing that you could call someone who is in the top 3 in the league in field conversion who wants more shots - is justified. He has always been a very good offensive rebounder , the mark of which, is someone that can average close to 3 a game. Add this to the fact that he has become more judicious of the 3 point shot which represents only 15% of his shot output and you get the picture of a guy that takes, makes and creates a lot of high percentage shots.

Ok that should do it .. suture up and close for me

Why a healthy Donyell to start the season is important to our win column looking wealthy so we have our best chance to make it to the playoffs to get wise

If only it was so simple as early to bed and early to rise ……

Maybe for the fact that he has only averaged 58 games over 8 full NBA seasons cast doubts in the Jazz’s mind as to his health which led to questions over value in the context of durability in going forward into the post Stockton/Malone era. In this “new economy” of the CBA in which flexibility within cap space is becoming more and more revered, $7M is a lot of scratch to have tied up in a 29 year old player that has only averaged 58 games in 8 full seasons – particularly when that player is never going to be a franchise player and is your genuine second to third option.

I can understand what the Jazz did. But we do not have such reliance on him over time ( and not for that cost too I might add ) as over time our long term investment is elsewhere.

However, in the short term we need Donyell to be completely injury free to be contributing big with Jalen from day one to help get us over the unkind schedule we have through to early December.


Some quick snack facts to help you digest this food for thought :

• *To December 29th last year , Donyell played the full 29 games where the Jazz (who were without Bryon Russell at shooting guard and had to make do with Quincy Lewis , John Starks and Deshawn Stevenson ) were 14 from 29 – a 48% winning percentage
  
  *Over this period we averaged 17.3 ppg and 7.6 rpg on 56% field goal conversion ( 30% from beyond the arc ) and played 36 minutes a game
  
  *He played over 30 minutes in 23 of the 29 games
  
  *Where he played 30 minutes or more he averaged 19.2 ppg and 7.9 rpg on an average of 13 shots or roughly 1 shot every 2.75 minutes – hardly a black hole , and in fact a perfect, consistent , second/third option.
  
  *Early in the New Year, he seemed to be carrying niggling injuries that got worse and he spent one half of January playing limited minutes and the rest of January and pretty well all of February on the injured list .
  
  *He then had to come back ( in March ) and get back into his groove, by which time there was only a month to go in the regular season.
  
  *He saw his minutes from before the injury decrease from 32 to 26 – the major beneficiary in this reallocation was Andrei Kirilenko and to a much lesser extent, Scott Padgett because of his superior 3 point shooting ability

Given the horrendous schedule we have to endure at the start of the season and the necessity of setting the tone in this period if we make the playoffs or not , it is absolutely vital for Donyell to be healthy and giving us 30 minutes a night. If he can do that we have a shot. If not, then it is far more improbable.

So who gets shafted ?

No one need be actually.

There should be a working roster of 10 players set with plenty of opportunity for everybody on that list of 10 so long as they play their role and have the capacity and willingness to improve themselves defensively within the team scheme

In addressing who gets what minutes the most logical position is start off on a base of Jalen Rose at say 36 minutes and Donyell Marshall at 30 minutes.

Their roles then need to be defined as principal scorers one and two and equal secondary creator/initiator of the offense ( with Jamal Crawford ) for Jalen , and equal secondary rebounder (with Eddy Curry ) for Donyell

That then addresses the roles of principal creator/initiator of the offense and principal rebounder / help defender . I would think that these roles need to be assumed by Jay Williams and Tyson Chandler respectively – Tyson Chandler having specific responsibility for clearing the defensive glass

We then need a guy who goes in hard and is responsible for boxing out and marshalling others to do so and who is also a capable man on man defender in the post. That guy is Corie Blount .

So that takes care of our starting 5

Blount
Chandler
Marshall
Rose
Williams

Marshall is our principal inside /outside scorer and Rose is our principal perimeter scorer. Tyson is the secondary offensive option inside but who will get the majority of his points from running the break with Jay, Jalen or Jamal. Within this starting 5 , Jay is the secondary perimeter threat . Corie Blount , at this stage will rebound and box out and represents the best of our big men in terms of capability in playing man on man defense in the post. On this basis , and for balance, given that the majority of the set offense would go to Rose, Marshall and Williams in this line up – he and Tyson are probably the two best big men defenders we have ( Tyson still has a way to go but is a superior help defender than Marcus Fizer and Eddy Curry )

This definition of roles really puts the onus back on to Jay Williams to adapt to a different role he had last year at Duke and focus on getting Donyell Marshall and Jalen Rose going , and , looking for the fast break to get Tyson involved early. I like Jay’s aggressiveness over Jamal and see a better capacity to get his own shot if nothing is doing and more of a preparedness to take it in strong and initiate contact. I also like Jay’s strength over Jamal’s and whilst shorter than Jamal , his lower sense of gravity combined with his strength and quick hands should not see him posted too often from opposing points even of they are two inches taller. This is Jay’s chance to run the team without being the team as some have criticized him on in his tenure at Duke.

Our specialist perimeter defender is undoubtedly Trent Hassell and he will see his share of minutes. He is a rebounding guard that can pass and run the break with the best of them which further strengthens his claim to be more than just a roster spot who plays mop up minutes

That leaves us with an exciting trio of designated bench scorers in Eddy Curry, Marcus Fizer and Eddie Robinson.

Eddy Curry should be used as our principal big man low post option followed by Marcus Fizer . To earn extra minutes , both guys will have to improve their team defense and rebound the ball more aggressively as well as doing the little things like boxing out and looking for ( and becoming better at ) passing out of the double team to find the open shooter – which is where Jamal Crawford and that sweet stroke of his at point in the 2nd unit comes into play. The deference to inside production off the bench with either Eddy or Marcus and the threat of Jamal there outside to hit the open look could work very well.

Eddy and Marcus are kind of similar in how they need to be positioned within a rotation. Both can be dynamic scorers in this league that have the capacity to be one of three options in a legitimate three pronged offense – where any member of such a trio is capable of taking a game over offensively . I cannot see them spending much time out on the floor with each other as they both command the ball to be able to contribute in the best way that they can at the moment - and this makes the 2nd unit imbalanced if they are both on the floor at the same time. In this regard , a defender (Blount or Chandler) or a vet ( Marshall ) would need to be with one or the other at the 4 or 5 spot without them ( Fizer and Curry ) playing a lot of time together.

Eddie Robinson should be our athletic , fast paced wing option that will be employed if we want to turn the tempo of a game upward and run the legs off a slower older opposition like the Jazz , Heat , Knicks etc.

Apart from the necessity to prove himself defensively and the impact that this will have in how many minutes he may play , the other crucial factor that will drive Robinson’s involvement with this team is this ; he needs to learn how the create opportunity off the ball. This means learning how to get open off screens and finding lanes to drive, or when the lane is closing to convert that pull up mid range jumper. It also means looking for the big man anchoring the defense at the back to be overplaying his man out front - where the back door is ajar. If anyone is best suited to kicking down the back door off a super quick cut to the hole and getting up there to drag it down, or in burning his man off a screen just through sheer speed – its Robinson. This is what he needs to focus on to get his opportunity.

So as to who gets what minutes and in what position - might look something like this :


Jalen Rose- 6mpg at PG, 24mpg at SG and 6mpg at SF = 36 mpg minutes

Donyell Marshall - 20mpg at SF and 10mpg at PF= 30 mpg

Tyson Chandler - 14mpg at PF and 12mpg at C = 26 mpg

Jay Williams -26mpg at PG

Eddy Curry 24mpg at C

Marcus Fizer - 24mpg at PF

Eddie Robinson - 22mpg at SF

Jamal Crawford -16mpg at PG and 4mpg at SG = 20 mpg

Trenton Hassell -20mpg at SG

Corie Blount - 12 mpg at C



So there you have it – one big happy family

The key to happiness in this multi talented , multi faceted Bulls line up resides in Bill Cartwright and his staff assigning specific roles to these players and each of them being prepared to sacrifice individual goals for the common good – from which springs growth and the way forward for this team

Maybe its time to dump the Alan Parsons project thang and replace it with a bit of the Partridge family thang

A whole lotta lovin is what we’ll be givin – C’mon get happee!!

Uh Oh … head spins… I just had visions of Jerry Krause as Reuben Kinkade trading the rights of Lonny Baxter for Brian Scalabrine ( Danny Partridge )

C’mon get happee!!

Agent911

FJ-

I don't much like your pairing of Chandler/Blount starting and Fizer/Curry on the second unit. The first two rebound well but won't score much, while the second two score well but don't rebound so well. Would it not make more sense to break up the pairs to better balance skills?

Right now your first unit's offense is primarily perimeter, though Jalen and Donyell have good inside/outside balance.

Then, your second unit comes in and must play a completely different inside style. Neither Fizer nor Curry are yet adept at passing out of the block, so I would expect to see a lot of deep shots thrown up by Crawford and Hassell with the shot clock winding down - there is no one to really challenge the defense and make something happen with 5 ticks left.

I think that Cartwright would rather attack from inside out, with early post up plays (pick Fizer or Curry to start). Balancing the squads would lend more continuity, and require fewer mid-season role adjustments when injuries occur. With the youth of the team, I think that steadiness is crucial to success.

I'm also thinking about starting Jamal. I think that he will benefit more from sharing the court with Rose and Marshall; Jay is more ready to call the shots and run the second unit. When time is short, I think Jay can still get all the way to the rim and make good things happen. Jamal in that instance is too content to pull the crossover/20-foot jumper that he learned from Mercer.

OK, I just re-read your article and saw that you made the same observations yourself. I also think your evaluation of Donyell is right on. It still puzzles me as to how and why you intend to both not start Fizer&Curry and also not play them together? Wouldn't it be so much easier to start one of them?

k^2

Good job. I'm not really a bulls fan, so I didn't really care about most of what you said but it was still very well written.

__________________
The history of human opinion is scarcely anything more than the history of human errors. - voltaire

FJ_of _Rockaway

My thinking was that in order for Rose and Marshall to be putting somewhere between 35 and 40 points for us on the board every night they would need to be taking in the vicinity of 30 or so shots between them.

This makes them the primary focus of our offensive output

Jay is the most credible 3rd offensive option we have that can create for himself out of nothing to bail the offense out but his primary role will be to work Marshall and Chandler and to a lesser extent, Jalen , who can obviously create for himself

Chandler and Blount are the two best defensive big men we have and whilst Blount will not get a ton of minutes the message has to be sent that it is all about a) defense and b) being disciplined in playing your role - if you want to win more minutes.

I do not believe that on closer examination it is a perimeter based attack . Jalen can post up and play outside, Jay has shown throughout his collegiate career that he is aggressive in attacking the rim as well as being a proficient 3 point shooter and Donyell can play inside/out as well.

I do not think that this starting 5 is a namby pamby jump shooting team like the Bucks or Mavericks

Another factor to take into account is that Tyson and Blount are the better rebounders - and particularly , the better offensive rebounders than Curry and Fizer

So in terms of inside production we get this variance in the 1 - 3 spots , some capacity for Tyson to work a couple of staple moves , and , we get greater mop up capacity on garbage points from the offensive rebounding capacity of Donyell, Tyson and Corie

Not necessarily. Blount will not get a ton of minutes and with a bit of luck Jalen and Jay can get the interior defenders in foul trouble early in the game by attacking the rim . If this can be achieved then this opens up the game a bit more for either Eddy and Marcus . I would see Eddy Curry as first from the bench for Blount and then Marcus for Tyson - which would leave some minor overlap of Eddy and Marcus - but not a lot . The impact of this would be mitigated by leaving Donyell at 3 to ensure rebounding production and Trent at 2 for extra rebounding production and to tighten up perimeter defense. While there is slight overlap of Eddy and Marcus I would prefer to see Jalen at PG and defer the offense to Eddy and Marcus

I would see ERob getting minutes late in a quarter and late in games - particularly against veteran teams or teams with short rotations where fatigue is more a factor and he is able to use his speed and athleticism to ( ideally ) maximum effect

This should also trigger Jamal's involvement who may have an easy time strength wise on a fatiguing defense - where this factor is exaceberated by the pace which is turned up . This is where I could see Jay and Jamal in the backcourt with Jalen and ERob at forward and Tyson at the back - not a physically strong line up but a line up that could punish teams like the Knicks and wear them down with speed but still with Rose there in the mix to settle it down and temper it. Its not a line up that you could leave on the floor for an extended period of time with Jamal and ERob playing out of position but it would be a super quick line up to run in spurts when the opportunity warranted. Jamal also gets his opportunity within the structure of the triangle as being our specialist 3 point shooter from outside. This is also how we can work him in at the 2 without overexposing him and being compromised there.


See earlier comments as to how defense wins starting positions (except for Trent due to consistent offense required in Rose and Marshall )

Could not agree more which is why you draw the line in the sand so that everybody knows the tick tock in what it takes to get minutes - defense and playing your roles. Whoever does this the best will mean meshing the higher productive roles as the season develops which further enhances our ability to compete

Good point but I would still start Jay as I view him as a better defender - a physically stronger player and more aggression to set the tone early ( and with a bit of luck , together with Jalen ) get a couple of quick early fouls on one of their big men to maybe open up an opportunity for Eddy or Marcus.

Thanks for your comments. I hope this provided further rationale to the issues

transplant

Outstanding piece of work, as usual. In truth, I see it as two outstanding articles (one on Marshall and the other on the Bulls' possible rotations).

You should write more often.

FJ_of _Rockaway

Thanks Tom

Right back atcha

I enjoy reading your work too

truebluefan

Needless to say Mark You did good. I wrote you a pm and now in public. Yes Transplant is right, you need to write more often

Transplant...We cant wait for another one from you either!

Electric Slim

Niggling? Expect a PM from Jesse Jackson!

MichaelOFAZ

Wow! That was some article. I am worn out from just reading it. Although I don't agree with everything, I applaud you for doing your homework, the time, effort, and thought that you put into it, and your use of medical metaphors. I was waiting with bated breath for you to bust out with a "foley catheter" or "D-Fib Stat!". In any event, you win the award for the longest post ever.

For what it's worth (which is probably not much), I agree that acquistion of Donyell was in the best interest of the Bulls, both short-term and long. I also agree that there is hardly ever a case of too much competition and the 2002 Bulls are no exception. As you eluded, competition brings out the best in everyone.

As for why the Jazz decided not to re-sign Marshall ... I guess the Jazz only know the real answer to that question. While I not accusing the Jazz' organization of racism or anything, Donyell would stick out like a sore thumb in most Salt Lake City establishments. There's probably a legitimate reason why Scott Williams and Dennis Rodman were not that fond of Utah. I suspect that the Jazz have a certain type of image that they look for in a player, perhaps Donyell wasn't that type. What I always say, one teams' loss (or ignorance) is another team's gain. It may not have anything to do with that at all .. it might be because Donyell doesn't play D that is suitable to Jerry Sloan. I guess only time will tell if he is a capable defender or not. From the few games that I saw him play in last season, he seemed decent enough to me. But what do I know?

Lastly, I am doubtful that JWill and Blount will start at the beginning of the season. In fact, I don't think Blount will ever start as a Bull. Although he has years of experience, his role (and paycheck) is clearly one of a reserve. JWill will start eventually, but not to begin the season. If Krause is reconsidering his no-trade stance with respect to JC, then the best way to raise his trade value is to start him. "I'll see your one starter, and raise you another". JWill is locked up for several years and would benefit from learning the game as a reserve. Furthermore, I suspect that Fizer will rightfully earn the starting PF role. I expect Marcus to improve greatly in rebounding, passing, and defense this season. Otherwise, he'll see very little playing time and his next contract will be disappointing.

To begin the season .... I forsee the starting line up to be as follows:

PG: JC
SG: JR
SF: DM
PF: MF
C: EC

Against certain teams, the line up could be ...

PG: JC
SG: TH
SF: JR
PF: DM
C: EC

Salvaged Ship

There is never a problem with competition for jobs when you are coming off a 61 loss season. Bring in as many players as you can and let the best performers play.

I never understand how people can say we don't have room for more players. The team won 21 games last year!! Letting young players get their rear ends handed to them night after night with no veterans to guide them is not the way to do it.

Curry and Chandler are children. It took Kobe several years to develop into a starter. These two should be brought along slowly.

Pippen and Grant were 4 year seniors and top 10 picks. They did not start their first season. Sellers and Oakley were the starters. Curry and Chandler should get decent minutes, but only a gradual increase as they learn.

I really think those two should only get 20 - 25 minutes a game, some nights less when they stink and some nights more when they are playing well.

Leaving those 19 year olds on the court to get their butts kicked night in and night out is not the best way. If they were blended in with Jordan and Pippen in their primes then fine. But playing along side so many other unproven players is asking for trouble.

Marshall and Rose do need to play heavy minutes. The rest should play as many minutes as their performance merits.

I trust Cartwright to do the right thing.

BamaBull

...to ..ahem...keep it short, FG, great article...I DID read it thoroughly and found it very informative and creative. There is a LOT of speculation, (as that is all we can do not knowing what the penguin is thinking or planning with these players we have or might acquire) as to who will play where for how long, but I think we all agree...the first 10 games or so, will show the "trend" as to how that will fall in place. Enjoyed your article.

TomBoerwinkle#1

FJ, you make for some fantastic reading.

For those out there who have questioned a certain word FJ used, have no fear -- there are no racial overtones in the word niggling, to wit:


nig·gle Pronunciation Key (ngl)
intr.v. nig·gled, nig·gling, nig·gles
To be preoccupied with trifles or petty details.
To find fault constantly and trivially; carp. See Synonyms at quibble.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Perhaps of Scandinavian origin.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
niggler n.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

nig·gling Pronunciation Key (nglng)
adj.
Petty, especially in a nagging or annoying way; trifling: a pointless dispute over niggling details.
Overly concerned with details; exacting and fussy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
niggling n.
niggling·ly adv.

Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Its all good.

__________________
You can't fake the funk.

ToddBrowder

Wow, impressive post!

I think that the Bulls will and should start Curry at center. Blount is a garnish. Curry is a main course. He is the best low post scorer we have (I consider Fizer more of a bullying, slashing wing player than a true post up player) and in a centerless Eastern conference you throw him in the deep end from day one and hope he learns not to leave his feet on every ball fake. If he continues to get in quick foul trouble then Cory B. earns his money. But, if Curry stays out of foul trouble he will score, and I thought he rebounded a lot better as last season wore on. IF he turns from acorn to oak you REALLY have the foundation laid and the rest of the league says, "UH OH!"

Your reasoning is sound and your writing impressive, but I just think you have to let Curry learn on the job. You know Blounts limitations, but nobody knows about Curry's ceiling... yet, which is the key to keeping the fans entertained.

.

CHawk

I agree totally with Your assesment of Fizer, I think he and Curry will be the most improved players on this team, and they will both be starters this year. Tysons energy off the bench can be more valuble than Fizers scoring, and I think Fizer will out-play Chandler in Camp, and earn that starting job.
Also, I have the exact same starting lineup of...
Curry
Fizer
Marshall
Rose
Crawford

Crawford starts the season because there won't be much of a gap between he and Williams in talent. But JC gets the start because he is the incombant.

Electric Slim

I was just kidding Tom-Tom. The my joke was geared mostly towards Jackson. BTW "*****rdly" is a fun word too.