NBA Basketball Position Battles 2010-11: Players Jockeying for Starting Roles
A few years after I graduated high school I had finally saved enough money to replace the dilapidated four cylinders I called “my car”. Blame it on sentimentality but I begrudgingly made the switch to the new ride after both nostalgia and loyalty weighed on my conscious and gave way to practicality. The old tin was reliable and laden with memories but the switch needed to be made. Welcome to the world of the Detroit Pistons. Detroit has a similar decision to make in when it comes to replacing their longtime star and team captain Richard Hamilton.
Richard Hamilton has delivered an NBA championship, a trio of All-Star appearances, and handful of deep playoff runs to the Motor City, but behind Hamilton lurks Ben Gordon who comes off the first year of his freshly inked $55 million dollar five-year contract.
Detroit will ultimately make the switch to featuring Gordon as their headlining star and bumping Hamilton to a reserve role, but the new burning question is when? When will general manager Joe Dumars pull the plug on the 32-year-old Hamilton and pass the torch to Gordon?
Expect Detroit to answer that question this year. Following a dismal ’09-’10 season that handed them their worst record since 1994, it’s time for the Pistons to make the transition to a backcourt without Hamilton.
Both players are proven champions winning titles at Connecticut, Hamilton in 1999 and Gordon five years later in 2004. Both players bring elite level skills to the team along with abundant athleticism.
If the Pistons falter again this year look for Dumars to deal Hamilton to a contender thus allowing Gordon to have unlimited offensive looks playing alongside backcourt mate Rodney Stuckey. Last season Gordon attempted a career low 11.3 field goals per game, leading to a dismal scoring output that had Detroit fans scratching their heads. Without fellow Uconn great Richard Hamilton, Gordon can return to the form that heralded him as one of the game’s best offensive players.
Richard Hamilton has delivered an NBA championship, a trio of All-Star appearances, and handful of deep playoff runs to the Motor City, but behind Hamilton lurks Ben Gordon who comes off the first year of his freshly inked $55 million dollar five-year contract.
Detroit will ultimately make the switch to featuring Gordon as their headlining star and bumping Hamilton to a reserve role, but the new burning question is when? When will general manager Joe Dumars pull the plug on the 32-year-old Hamilton and pass the torch to Gordon?
Expect Detroit to answer that question this year. Following a dismal ’09-’10 season that handed them their worst record since 1994, it’s time for the Pistons to make the transition to a backcourt without Hamilton.
Both players are proven champions winning titles at Connecticut, Hamilton in 1999 and Gordon five years later in 2004. Both players bring elite level skills to the team along with abundant athleticism.
If the Pistons falter again this year look for Dumars to deal Hamilton to a contender thus allowing Gordon to have unlimited offensive looks playing alongside backcourt mate Rodney Stuckey. Last season Gordon attempted a career low 11.3 field goals per game, leading to a dismal scoring output that had Detroit fans scratching their heads. Without fellow Uconn great Richard Hamilton, Gordon can return to the form that heralded him as one of the game’s best offensive players.
A similar struggle over playing time appears to be on the horizon in New York. Entering his fourth year as a professional, Wilson Chandler has carved out a niche for himself as a capable scorer (15.3 PPG) and an effective rebounder (5.4 RPG). Chandler’s role as a returning starter this season seemed all but guaranteed until a mid-summer trade with Golden State landed the Knicks with promising young forward Anthony Randolph in exchange for fan favorite David Lee.
Randolph, a West Germany native, showed signs last season of developing into a high ceiling forward by posting an encouraging 11.6 PPG and 6.5 RPG in just over twenty minutes of playing time per game.
At only 21, Randolph appears to be the long term fixture the Knicks have been looking for at forward. Expect Randolph to see a heavy workload and for Wilson Chandler’s output to drop meteorically as a result.
Randolph, a West Germany native, showed signs last season of developing into a high ceiling forward by posting an encouraging 11.6 PPG and 6.5 RPG in just over twenty minutes of playing time per game.
At only 21, Randolph appears to be the long term fixture the Knicks have been looking for at forward. Expect Randolph to see a heavy workload and for Wilson Chandler’s output to drop meteorically as a result.
In Utah, Al Jefferson is lauded as one of the best offensive big men in the league but unfortunately for the Mississippi native he’ll be forced to share time with former NBA champion and All-Star Mehmet Okur.
Okur has worked as an effective compliment to other bigs throughout his career dating back to his time in Detroit sharing time with Rasheed Wallace and in Utah with Carlos Boozer. Now, Okur will be forced to jockey for time with Al Jefferson, rising forward Paul Millsap, and veteran Andrei Kirilenko.
Barring injury, the Utah front court will be hard pressed to support this foursome of big men. The question head coach Jerry Sloan will be forced to deal with is whose minutes will be compromised?
When the Dallas Mavericks acquired Caron Butler from Washington’s trade deadline fire sale, the west seemed all but won. Now the Mavericks will have a full season of Butler but head coach Rick Carlisle will have to manage a plethora of talented forwards. Juggling minutes for the four-time aging all-star Shawn Marion, defensive specialist DeShawn Stevenson, and incumbent starters Butler and Dirk Nowitzki won’t be easy for Carlisle.
Even with unselfish playmakers like Jason Kidd and Jason Terry the Mavericks will struggle to keep this foursome happy. Each of these forwards needs touches to be an effective member of the offense, but it’s a difficult task with only one basketball.
The Mavericks, like the Detroit Pistons, will soon realize it’s time to hand the keys over to a new era of talent and heralding a new star. Written exclusively by Conor Gereg. Conor is a lifelong sports fan who can tell you Shawn Kemp’s career field goal percentage or even Jeff Blauser’s home run total but fails to remember where he left his keys.
Even with unselfish playmakers like Jason Kidd and Jason Terry the Mavericks will struggle to keep this foursome happy. Each of these forwards needs touches to be an effective member of the offense, but it’s a difficult task with only one basketball.
The Mavericks, like the Detroit Pistons, will soon realize it’s time to hand the keys over to a new era of talent and heralding a new star. Written exclusively by Conor Gereg. Conor is a lifelong sports fan who can tell you Shawn Kemp’s career field goal percentage or even Jeff Blauser’s home run total but fails to remember where he left his keys.
Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Sports Blog, Fantasy Sports Advice, Fantasy Basketball, NBA,Detroit Pistons, Richard Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Rodney Stuckey, New York Knicks, Wilson Chandler, David Lee, Anthony Randolph, Al Jefferson, Mehmet Okur, Utah Jazz, Rasheed Wallace, Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap, Andrei Kirilenko, Dallas Mavericks, Caron Butler, DeShawn Stevenson, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry
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