Starting PF this year, the answer to our low post scoring Options

[puckthefistons]

Option 1: 6'10/240 - Career - 9.4pts/game, 8 reb/game, 1.1 blocks/game, 80% FT shooter. 37 yrs old.

Option 2: 6'8/270 - Career - 7.4 pts/game, 5 reb/game, .5 blocks/game, 70% FT shooter. 23 yrs old.


If you guesses PJ Brown was option 1 and Sweetney is option 2, then you are correct.

Last season Sweets averaged 8.1 pts a game, 5.3 reb/game in 18 mins.
PJ Brown averaged 31 mins a game, 9 ppg, 7.3 reb/game.

Thats 17 pts and over 14 rebounds in 49 mins. You can imagine that Sweets will be better and Brown may deline a little, so they would even out. I'll take 17 pts and 14 reb from our 4 position a game. You have to figure Wallace and Allen will contribute another 12 pts and 15 rebs. Thats 29 pts from our 4 and 5. Can our 1,2,3 positions average 65-75 pts between them a game? Yes. And they will. Don;'t worry about adding a low post scorer, we are fine. I think Sweetney is on his way to becoming a top 10 PF this year, he ahs been put in bad spots as an overmatched C before - no longer.

[sport1016]

Sweets could become a nice pf, but i am starting to wonder if he will get his chance.

I think right now it's between PJ and Noc and Deng starting together as combo forwards.

I think bulls realize that both noc and deng deserve tons of minutes, so going small most nights might be best option.

[2nd_city_saint78...]

Sweets will indeed become a nice PF, I didnt realize the kids only 23 and word is he lost some weight so he will be able to run the floor better this year...BUT I dont think he'll get a chance to start in a bulls uniform, unless the bulls decide 2T needs more time to develope i think this year the C/PF combo is Ben/PJ and next year Ben/2T

[Iguana]

If he did lose weight and can keep his fouls down, he could very well be a nice low post option.

[eddog2]

Sweets could become a nice pf, but i am starting to wonder if he will get his chance.

I think right now it's between PJ and Noc and Deng starting together as combo forwards. 

I think bulls realize that both noc and deng deserve tons of minutes, so going small most nights might be best option.

P.J Brown and Nocioni probaby but not Deng. Deng will be playing the 3. I could see P.J. Brown being the 2nd center as well when Wallace leaves the game and P.J. and Sweetney occupying the paint a lot together.

I think P.J starts the year as the starting PF but if Sweetney plays well he could earn that spot. This is a contract year for Sweetney so expect him to try his hardest.

I also agree that he should be more productive against power forwards as oppossed to centers.

[HoofHearted]

IF Sweets can lose that weight and up his endurance, I think there is no question he is a more capable player for us at PF. You have to consider in MPG when you do these relative stat comparisons, and I prefer to use last years stats when comparing an aging past his prime player to a young one who's not yet reached his potential.

PJ

MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
31.7 .461 .000 .827 2.4 4.9 7.3 1.2 .61 .67 1.20 2.90 9.0


Sweets

MPG FG% 3P% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
18.5 .450 .000 .652 1.8 3.5 5.3 .9 .29 .85 1.44 3.20 8.1


So basically, Sweets endurance has everything to do with this comparison. If he has truly worked on his conditioning he can easily up his minutes to 25-30 a game. Then you have to factor in Sweets hopefully learning more on the defensive side of the ball. He really impressed me with the way he stuck Shaq in the playoffs, and he didnt get budged an inch down low by anyone I have seen other than Shaq all season long. Also, I have said this before here, PJ isnt even a shadow of his former self on D, has lost more than a step and looks like he has ankle weights on while jumping. I'll take my chance on Sweets ability to adapt on that end and improve there, over an old man relying on his savvy alone to be a stopper(which he hasnt been in a good four seasons). I think he gets more than 20 mpg this year, and he can only get better with the ethic he has shown. We might have an undersized frontcourt between him and Ben, but both can be very tough down low and provide matchup problems on both ends with that toughness. Having said all that, I really dont see us having a true starter getting a majority of the minutes at PF, but rather a nice mix of shared time there. Then there's the 10-15 minutes at Center to split between Sweets, PJ, and Malik, so there's even more minutes to go around with one of the others(or T2) assuming the PF role. TO ME, mpg in the frontcourt breaks down like this....

Sweetney-22
Thomas-10
Brown-20
Wallace-34
Allen-10

You add even just those 3 minutes a game to Sweets and he already surpasses what PJ has done throughout his career on offense.

[The Dude Abides]

I am excited to see what sweetney can do. we might already have our answer at PF on this team. If he lost weight and is in shape...he could have a break out year. Plus, he will do much better at PF. He weighed enough to play center, but he's 6'8 and just not meant for that position. Put him next to a real center like Wallace and he should thrive if he committed himself this offseason.

[DrunkBomber]

We have a lot of possibilities because of depth. I know its better to have a set starting 5 but in this case it might be better to set it by opponent.

[Serbbojo]

Id rather see Tyrus thomas get more minutes than Sweetney, or Malik Allen

[JPargo]

Id rather see Tyrus thomas get more minutes than Sweetney, or Malik Allen

He will. Probably starting around mid season

[Chisoxfn]

The one major problem with Sweet's in the starting lineup is that the team would be vastly undersized. Luckily the NBA is not filled with a ton of quality "bigs" which means we wouldn't necessarily have major problems.

However, there is no doubt in my mind that Sweetney has the skills to be a 16 and 10 player at the low post position if he was able to get himself in good shape, but I really have my doubts as to whether that will happen just because of his body type. Its not that Sweetney doesn't work hard cause he does, but it hasn't seemed to make a difference.

In terms of Brown, barring another move, he will be our starter down low but I'm sure Sweet's will get some time at PF and maybe even a bit of minutes backing up Ben at center, especially since a lack of a legit center off the bench (with some height) is a problem for the Bulls.

[madisonsmadhouse]

Sweetney has got to become a better defender and get down into the 260-270 range before he is going to be starting material.