Lineup move that could work?

[Need4Sheed]

Me and a buddy were chatting about the team and he brought up an interesting point.

 

The comment was moving Evan to the PG while shifting Jrue to the SG.

 

Thoughts on this and could it work?

[Real Deal]

Turner would get torched at the point, and given Jrue's size, I would imagine he would struggle significantly at the two. Almost every two-guard in the NBA is bigger than he is, including Wade...and getting his shot off against them, or defending them, would be three times the challenge.

 

Jrue hasn't played a single minute at the two-guard position, by the way...and I'm pretty sure that's why.

 

Haven't seen Evan run the point once this year, either. He probably has, late in games, but he's usually at the two or three when I watch Philly play.

 

Just a big risk for a team that's currently seeded at fourth right now. Plus, they are arguably the top defensive team in the NBA, and moving those two out of position would certainly change that.

[Need4Sheed]

Yeah good points.

 

I know Collins is getting on Jrue about being more aggressive and start to look to be more on the offensive than being a typical pass 1st PG.

[Real Deal]

Yeah good points.

 

I know Collins is getting on Jrue about being more aggressive and start to look to be more on the offensive than being a typical pass 1st PG.

Right. Well, Collins is noticing how passive he has been, and it's a big reason why the Sixers are losing games. In five of their last 10 games (four resulting in losses), Jrue has shot the ball less than 10 times. Before these last 10, he only did it once.

 

If you go back and look at some of those games:

 

vs. Clippers: 2-8 FG

vs. Magic: 1-8 FG

vs. Mavs: 0-9 FG

vs. Rockets: 3-9 FG

 

That's against CP3, Howard as the anchor, Kidd and an excellent Dallas defense, and Lowry.

 

Granted he played less minutes, he still wasn't as aggressive as he could have been, if you consider the fact that the Sixers really needed something out of him in those games.

 

I noticed he does get into foul trouble, or he turns the ball over, and that seems to put a weight on his shoulders a bit and causes him to lose confidence in his play...which is something he's going to have to change if the Sixers want to advance deeper into the playoffs.

[Nitro]

For right now, while Hawes is out, I think they should move Brand to center, and Young to starting PF. They are deep enough and explosive in the 2nd unit to where they can afford moving Young to the starting lineup, and I think Brand is strong enough to play against most centers (I saw him shit on Demarcus Cousins in person defensively). Without Hawes, Philly is desperately lacking talent at the 5, and instead of sticking with a traditional lineup, I think they should make a roster move that will cater to their best talent. I saw it with Miami last year...everyone (including myself) thought it was necessary to have a big-bodied center start, even if that center lacked athleticism and talent. Everyone was wrong. It's better to play your best talents, and adjust the system accordingly.

[Built Ford Tough]

Turner would get torched at the point, and given Jrue's size, I would imagine he would struggle significantly at the two. Almost every two-guard in the NBA is bigger than he is, including Wade...and getting his shot off against them, or defending them, would be three times the challenge.

 

You wouldn't have to actually have Turner defend the point guards and Holiday defend shooting guards, though.

 

Just play Turner at the point on offense, let him run their stuff, initiate the offense and move Holiday off the ball and into a more scoring role. Defensively, Holiday would still match up with opposing point guards and Turner would take opposing shooting guards/small forwards (whichever one Iguodala isn't matching up against).

 

I'm sure the opposing defense would have similar matchups as well. I can't see them actually having their point guard defending Turner and putting their shooting guard on Holiday.

 

So really, the lineup probably wouldn't change. Just change the role that Turner and Holiday have in the offensive system.

 

 

Haven't seen Evan run the point once this year, either. He probably has, late in games, but he's usually at the two or three when I watch Philly play.

 

I haven't caught too many Philly games as of late, but earlier in the year when I was watching a vast majority of them, he did a lot of running the offense. When him and Williams were on the floor together, I'd say Turner ran the offense 70% of the time and Williams did 30% of the time. A lot of the times I thought that the Sixers offense was most effective when Turner was running things and it certainly brought the best out of Turner as it is no secret he is at his best with the ball in his hands.

 

Just a big risk for a team that's currently seeded at fourth right now. Plus, they are arguably the top defensive team in the NBA, and moving those two out of position would certainly change that.

 

I do agree that if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but the Sixers have hit a bit of a rough patch as of late so a shake up may be the kick in the ass that they need.

[Real Deal]

Well, when I say a player is "running the point" in an offense, I'm literally talking about the PG position. My issue would be the match-ups, and like you said, they don't have to defend the assigned positions. However, that's not always how things work out. Back down the court, many times, you would see Turner matched up with the quicker PG, and I think those mismatches would happen more than enough to really hurt the team, defensively.

 

Now, if we're talking strictly letting Evan Turner run the offense once they are set in the halfcourt, okay...that's a bit different, because teams won't need to switch. I was assuming this idea was hinting that Turner actually takes over the PG position, even when Jrue wasn't in the game (or vice-versa, Jrue at SG with Turner on the bench), and that would not work.

[Need4Sheed]

O hai der guys!

 

Looks like Collins took my advice and its working tremendously.