Posted by Nalod:

Posted by knicks1248:

Why doesn't mike D get heat for changing his starting line up just as many times as larry B did.

I'm curious as hell and wonder why not to many people seem to take notice with that. Obviously I'm going weigh in the trade factor last season, but well after that he was still shuffling guys in and out of the starting line up at a larry brown pace.

I really don't have a problem with Darko starting ( gives us a traditional starting line up) putting al at the sf and chandler at the 2g seems solid.

With that being said, this roster is filled with good players who primarily have an equal amount of talent. The one thing I can say for sure, is if he starts juggling line up's through the early parts of the season(and were losing), that will certainly kill the morale, and considering the amount of 1 year contracts on board, that spells disaster.

The team last year was traded in and out and was not a train wreck. Morale was good.

I think that you give the paid vets the chance to start and once its apparent the younger player is out playing you its time to gracefully step aside and collect the big paycheck and support the team.

THe veteran player then respects the younger player and the coach. If you just hand it to them you leave doubt in everyones mind.

Lets not compare MDA to Larry's team. The circumstances are completley different.

You can seperate the circumstances, but shuffling a line up for any reason has never done any thing but lose more games. Consistancy is the recipe for success in any thing you do, identifying some roles early gets guys clicking. At this point Duhon and Lee are the only 2 players that know there roles and know there starting no matter what, everyone else is in limbo, and i dont think MDA is going to figure it out before the season starts either.

Posted by franco12:

Posted by nixluva:

How can MDA know what he's got when Gallo and Chan are both coming off surgeries and Darko is new and he's trying to work in TD and Hill? You have to give him a chance to evaluate what he's got.

I like what Darko brings defensively. He's not soft and he actually looks to block shots. If you can avg 2 blocks that legit in this league. The only issue for me is if he can fit in on O well enough to warrant PT. We don't want another 4 on 5 deal on O. He's got to be a decent threat to score. We need Darko and Hill to play more like Lee on O. Both have enough athletic ability to work pick n roll and finish strong.

4 on 5 on offense? Most teams play that way where not all their guys are go to on offense.

But, I counter that we end up playing 4 on 5 on defense too with Lee not holding his own.

Its a ripple affect, I think, potentially with Darko.

He solidifies the interior, erases mistakes on the perimeter, and lets the perimeter guys be more aggressive knowing he is back there.

He ain't Mutumbo, but he could average 4 blocks in 20 minutes on this squad.