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Who would be your starting lineup?
Posted by: jason michael crannell on September 4th, 2012
The author's views are entirely his or her own and may not reflect the views of the Utah Jazz.Who would you like to see start this coming season for your Utah Jazz?
I agree that who finishes games is more important then who starts, but putting the right five players on the floor to begin each game really sets the tone, and is vital to the success of the team.
For sometime, I’ve been going back and forth on two possible starting lineups, and weighing the pros and cons of each. One lineup consists of Jefferson, Favors, and Millsap up front, with Hayward and Mo Williams in the backcourt. This “big” lineup was dominant last season defensively, according to the stat keeping of David Locke. I really like this lineup defensively (Jefferson doesn’t seem to be exposed quite as often with Favors and Millsap on the floor alongside him). Paul Millsap showed he could guard most small forwards, and even some guards (he really hounded the Hornets Eric Gordon way out on the floor in a game toward the end of the regular season). Favors, and Hayward are both strong defenders, and Mo Williams won’t be afraid to set a hard pick, or take a charge, unlike Devin Harris (who played the game like he was in a tuxedo most nights). How would this lineup fair against the elite level teams…I’m not sure. But, there is no doubt in my mind, that this group would more then hold it’s own against two third’s of the NBA. My second unit would consist of Foye at the point, Burks at the shooting guard, Marvin Willams at small forward, Evans at power forward, and Kanter at center.
The other lineup I like would be Jefferson, Favors, and Marvin Williams up front, with Hayward and Mo Williams in the backcourt. If Millsap was willing to accept a sixth man role, this lineup could also be very effective. I’m not sure if it would be quite as tough defensively (since you lose a great deal of grit and toughness when Paul isn’t on the floor), but it would be a bit more versatile offensively, and possibly harder to guard for the opponent on the defensive end. My second team off the bench would be Foye at the point, Burks at the shooting guard, Evans at the small forward, Millsap at the four spot, and Kanter in the middle.
Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts on who you would like to see Corbin start this coming season, and your reasoning behind your choices.
Replies: 33
Views: 1123
33 Responses
Mo Williams
Alec Burks
Marvin Williams
Derrick Favors
Al Jefferson
I like how Hayward really stepped up his game when delegated to the bench. I think that Burks would win the starting job by the end of the year anyway.
Jefferson
Favors
Millsap
Hayward
Mo
… Kanter and Marvin Williams get minutes in the frontcourt and Foye and Burks at the guard spots …a little Evans and Carrol here and there.
Mo
Gtime
Marvin
Millsap
Favors
Millsap has already held he PF for us. Hayward plays his best games when he is at the SG spot because he is a natural gaurd. This would be a very tough lineup for opponents. Marvin played PF alot of the season last year for the Hawks. It is a lengthy lineup and virtually no problems with help defense in the post. Anyone but Mo could could play the switch on defense, and that is a major weapon. Watch out on fast breaks we would kill
IMO , Al coming off the bench will put up real good numbers against opposing 2nd units and tired opposing starters. Eventually if Kanter starts using his mid range and Favors has a coming out party, a decision will have to be made about moving one of the bigs. IMO Millsap stays, Al’s contract is too big. Marvin is the same size as millsap and not much worse in the post, but Marvin is more natural at the 3. So we have our Big 3 and it is better than last year.
Mo
Hayward
Marvin
Favors
Kanter
Honestly Ill do whatever I can to trade Big Al, hoping a better pg.
I like the idea of the first unit being a ‘movement’ offense unit, getting out and running, and using their athletecism.
So:
Favors
Millsap
Marvin
Hayward
Mo
With Hayward and Mo being the play initiators. Al doesn’t fit in this group, but he does have a place.
Then, you have the post-iso and kick to spot-up shooter/perimeter slasher 2nd unit:
Al Jeff / Kanter
Kanter / Evans
DeMarre Carrol / Evans
Alec Burks / Foye
Randy Foye (Tinsley and Watson)
Al Jefferson would be the focus of the 2nd unit with Alec Burks being the main 2nd option. Kanter for rebounds and some offensive development (High post P&R with Burks or Foye), Evans for putback dunks, DeMarre for Hustle, Foye for spot up 3s.
I’d finish the game with Al in.
In my opinion we need to stop losing so many points in the first quarter like we have been doing for 2 years now. Coincidentally the same amount of time we’ve had Jefferson who scores a lot of points but his lack of defensive effort in first quarters kills us early in games. So I would start with Favors at Center and Millsap at PF. In the long term Favors might well be better suited to the PF position, but his lack of offensive range means that starting games at the center position is ideal for him now. He pretty much needs the same areas of the floor that Jefferson uses and so his offensive game isn’t best suited to playing when Jefferson is on the floor. He isn’t going to score as much as Jefferson is capable of during this part of his career but the Jazz should not be giving up so many easy points in first quarters. Playing Favors at center allows Millsap to play in his best position, as much as he is willing to play the SF position in a 3 big line up its not where he is most effective. Despite his lack of inches he is ultimately more suited to the PF and often outplays his opposing man especially if he thinks his man gets more plaudits than he deserves. The PG position is predictable, with other options next year I’m not sure I would want to see Mo as the starting PG but for now we don’t have other options. With his defensive effort and selfish team play Gordon has more than earned his starting SG place, I do want to see him step up and take the ball in hand more. Thats when I think he is most effective and has a bigger impact on the floor. It would also help the team to be less predictable and help Mo’s effectiveness too. With Jefferson being the six man it should also be achievable, less time for the ball being stuck in the hands of one big man for 4-5 seconds should allow players such as Hayward to move with the ball. At SF its got to be Marvin, he didn’t set the Atlanta world alight but thats not what the Jazz should be asking from him. We didn’t get him as a top 3 pick in the draft we are getting a good solid pro who should address some of the Jazz deficiencies almost from the get go. With Jefferson as a six man ready to knock the ball in the basket against weak defensive units this should be a starting 5 that can establish a lead and keep ahead with players such as Al, Burks, Foye and Carroll able to come on and help at any time. It will have the added benefit of Kanter playing with Jefferson meaning that he Kanter will have to develop his range, that he supposedly already has but we saw precious little of last season when he seemed content to play from underneath the basket. We saw too many times that players could disrupt the ball from his hands as he pulled it down, if he does have a longer range game he could be more useful as the seasons pass and playing alongside Jefferson may well force that game out of him.
I would clone Big Al and play 5 of him. Then i’d force Omar and Dallan to watch every minute of every game.
Mo,Hayward, Marvin, Millsap, Favors
Great defense and run run run
And two or three of the clones would be lucky to touch the ball.
It would be church ball Steven…
Dibs on Al for my church ball team.
I love all these line ups that don’t have Big Al in them. If we are going to trade him or get rid of him we shouldn’t start him but heck let’s let him dominate off the bench against second units while he’s here.
Best I’ve Seen Here:
Mo Williams
Hayward
Marvin Williams
Paul
Favors
@Steven LOL!!!!
If we dont trade Al by the end of camp, he needs to move to the bench, cuz it wont matter about his trade value at that point, so who cares if he looks less valuable cuz hes a bench player then.
Favors
Millsap
Marvin
Hayward
Mo
Jazz will be a top five defense, easy.
Though it’s a sense of pride for players to start, and yes, it’s important how the Jazz starts a game, I’ll be interested in seeing who ends up on the floor at the end of the game. Who will be the closers? The finishers? Especially in the close games.
With the versatility Corbin has this year, I do hope he will be accordingly and appropriately throughout the game. The players need to know the bottom line is to win each and every game with whomever is at their best against any given opponent at any given time.
Go Jazz!
closers “should” be the same as the starters. why start the game from behind. But i have a feeling Ray is right. It is unpredictable who our finishers will be.
if favors plays like he did in the playoffs , he will finish games. Marvin and Gordon are my other picks.
Hello everybody
seems almost unanimous that our starters should be
Favors
Millsap
Marvin
Hayward
Mo
and the 2nd unit:
Al Jeff / Kanter
Kanter / Evans
DeMarre Carrol / Evans
Alec Burks / Foye
Randy Foye / Tinsley
Let’s hope Ty think the same.
the more unpredictable will be rotations of Ty.
This year with the options that we have is not a good idea to have at the same time Paul,Favors and Big Al.
Paul is our best finisher, but Mo and Foye are good 3pt finishers, and Hayward have a good efort on defense and need to improve is shot. Maybe this year Burks have opportunity to show is slasher abilities at the end of the game.
Favors
Millsap
Marvin
Hayward
Mo
It’s so perfect that Tyrone will obviously not do it, or he’ll trot it out there and then run the same post-up play for D-Fave as we do with Jefferson. Let’s hope not though.
Favors will provide tougher defense.
Millsap is a great, efficient scorer and meshes better with D-Fave than Jefferson.
Marvin is a true three that has the size to guard top SFs.
Hayward is better at SG, and his size creates problems for other SGs.
Mo brings toughness and better defense than Devin.
All the guys are good defenders. Millsap against big PF’s might be the only defensive weakness, but he usually makes up for it with active hands and steals.
I think all these guys are also perfect for getting out and running the floor in transition, running the pick and roll, and driving and slashing to the hoop. Favors shot like 65% on cuts and p&r, but only 38% on post ups, so that should tell you right there what kind of offense Corbin should be implementing.
IMO the starters should be:
Mo
Haywood
Marvin
Favors
Jefferson
Then in my opinion sometimes line ups will be adjusted by the match ups of who they are playing.
I’m loving the idea of Jefferson coming off the bench. We’ve always talked about bringing Millsap off the bench, but it actually makes more sense to keep Sap in the starting lineup, and have Jefferson come off the bench.
Of course, it’s pretty ridiculuous to have your highest paid player come off the bench.There are lots of egos and money at play when determining the starting lineup.
But can you imagine Al Jefferson in the 6th man role? Being what Lamar Odom was for the Lakers? He could be 6th man of the year for sure.
We could have a fast paced starting lineup, and an iso-oriented 2nd unit. Jefferson would destroy second units. Opposing teams would have no choice but to leave some of the starters in to defend Big Al.
This would REALLY wear down the opposing team FAST. They would actually have to play 48 minutes of defense instead of just 30.
I don’t think it’s going to happen, but it should at least be experimented with.
By the way, Corbin, Lowe, and Hornacek are now the only assistant coaches on this team. I’m hoping Mark Lindsey can find a good one to sign on before the season starts.
Start of the season i think you go with
mo
foye
hayward
favors
al
Hayward gets to play his real position which is small forward so quicker shooting guards cant burn him you have a back court that can push and pass the ball i love thier court visor and leadership then you have the twin towers down low with al and favors favor great on defence and, i know alot of jazz fans dont like al but he can put the ball in the bucket. You got a great bench milsap who is use to contributing coming off the bench. Williams is a great back back up for hayward and, kanter can also develope more. I for got burks for this reason i think midway thru the season he will take over the starting spot for foye this year so the end of the year your line up will be
mo
burks
hayward
faavors
Al
@Trevor Just a question why Foye in your starting lineup? What do you see from him that would make you think he should be there?
The Jazz coaching staff really have their work cut out for them. I think Utah will attempt to start Milsap and Al. If for nothing else to pad their stats for a potential trade. I think our starting lineup will be:
1. Mo
2. G-Time
3. Sap
4. Favs
5. Jefferson
Utah will start Jefferson and he’ll get a lot of time especially because we have good shooters now. Utah really could have a special lineup. We’ve never had such a deep inside and outside game. The fact that many of the media outlets have the Jazz not going to the playoffs or at the bottom of the WC baffles me. Being that Utah has Marvin under contract and it’s not a contract year I anticipate that he won’t start unti we’ve traded away one of our bigs, which will likely be around December unless some injuries to the bigs around the league happen sooner.
I’m excited as hell. Utah has nearly everything that you need to be a serious contender. We have several guys that can make something happen when the game in on the line, we have slashers, shooters, inside and out game and potentially great defenders. The ONLY thing that is slightly concerning is not having a pass first point guard. It will be interesting to see what Mo does handling our O.
Michael Sanders is the new coach. Jones comming back to take his place .Domino effect from KOC moving up.
Dallan the way i look at it is hayward plays better against small forwards so thats where he need to be. Burks isnt ready to start yet and, mo is a scoring guard as well so it would help to have some one that can pass the ball just as good if not better than mo in the back court. I know everyone is going to say mo averages more assist so he has better court vision but, foye played shooting guard more and dint run the offence and still got 2.5 assist a game and mo had 3.5 assist a game playing pg. So i think it would be good to have anther passing threat in the starting line up. He also can put the ball in the basket we asked to so why not put him in the starting line up. Its him or we can bring back raja haha. Hayward can play sg some times but i think your asking for trouble having him play the position all the time. If you are going to talk about pure talent my starting line up would look like this.
mo
hayward
williams
favors
al
thats are strongest players on the team but, foye i think is better at shooting guard and, hayward plays alot better at small forward. So why not have your players play the positions they are best at.
Thats and like i said before it make are bench alot stronger you can put in players off the bench and not skip a beat. Williams and paul both excelled coming off the bench in recent years. So theres your scoring threats kanter and burks can both develope and, provide valuable minutesoff the bench as well. So you can go 9 players deep foye can backup mo when needed at pg and your set and all 5 spots watson and tinsley arent to bad either.
The only problem I have Trevor Is that if you start in the NBA then you get a lot of minutes. I mean if your coach could handle that and only play the person about 15 minutes that is fine but I do not see it happening with Corbin since he struggled with lineups the most last year
Just a thought, wish I have shared before, but I dont think the Jazz should set a starting line up in stone. Play the best match ups. With the Jazz roster they can go big or small depending on who they are playing. I hope Corbin is smart enough to work it out
@disco
The team with the better players usually dictates the matchup, and then its up to the other coach to try to adjust by tweaking his lineups.
For instance, in last year’s playoffs, San Antonio had the players and schemes to dictate the matchup. Thus, Corbin needed to adjust (namely Favors in over Al, who would combat the P&R on defense and use his athleticism to take it to TD on offense). Corbin didn’t, of course, and we got swept in four games. There were other dictated matchups like Bonner as a stretch-four.
Really, Al had no place starting in that series. He would have been GREAT against Tiago Splitter or DeJuan Blair or Boris Diaw, however. All of whom played some backup minutes to Big No-Emotion.
To me, it seemed Corbin was appeasing veteran and higher-paid Egos over trying to win games. (Similar story with starting Josh Howard coming back from injury). And if we didn’t actually care about winning, we should have just played our scrubs against Golden State, lost, and gotten two more lottery picks. Honestly, I don’t blame the players much because I think they did what they were capable of. Ty just put a lot of them into situations where their weaknesses were exposed and made it hard for them.
I do hope to see some flexibility from Ty in the lineups, but I think you have to start with a stable base first. This season to me is all about Ty either succeeding or failing as a viable future coach of the Jazz.
@kc …this season is for sure about Corbin proving himself as an NBA head coach. He really struggled with lineups last year, especially at the end of the season. He had some ridiculous challenges for a first year coach, like no practices for one.
…I posted earlier that I would like to see the big lineup starting …but I have been persuaded otherwise by reading other’s opinions. Bringing Big Al off the bench is genius, its not video games though, he may not like it…He would be the sixth man of the year, it wouldn’t even matter too much who was on the floor with him – he can score on his own, just get him the ball on left block
starters:
mo williams
alec burks
paul millsap
derrick favors
al jefferson
2nd string:
randy foye
gordon hayward
marvin williams
jeremy evans
enes kanter