aaron gray better not be starting thats all i know. thabo will not start over kirk and BG. what do you think the starting lineup should be?

i got

rose
hinrich
lu
tyrus
noah

It better not be that starting 5 from Friday night, that lineup is not going to go on that kind of run regularly and should not be used unless they're short-handed again.

I would like to see Rose/Gordon/Deng/Thomas/Noah as the starting lineup since that gives you two high-energy bigs that should be able to contribute on both ends (obviously with some help from Rose on offense) and two proven scorers to take some pressure off Rose. However, I think it'll probably be Rose/Hinrich/Deng/Thomas/Gooden.

Yeah I'm with you guys. I hope its not Aaron Gray starting, he's terrible! I want it to be Rose,Gordon,Deng,Tyrus, and Joakim.

Aside from Derrick Rose...I really don't think I care who's starting.

I'll look at the total minutes. That's the column I'm watching. I want to see Rose, TT, and Noah all 30 or above unless they're hurt.

You know, I really don't think Aaron Gray is terrible. I think Aaron Gray is what Aaron Gray is...he's a decent backup Center. For that role, he probably fills the job surprisingly well given that he's a different style of player from the other guys we have (perhaps more of a slow down post scorer rather than an up tempo, move the ball around guy), he's young and therefore has several years to get better, he's cheap, he can cover a lot of minutes if someone else is hurting, and he has that magical ability to be 7 feet tall.

I don't want him starting. I don't want him taking minutes away from the guys who could develop in to really good players (TT and Noah) or the guy who can win us some games and be trade bait (Gooden) But as a backup C, you could do a lot worse.

What I want:

Rose
Thabo
Deng
TT
Noah

What I expect:

Rose
Hinrich
Deng
TT
Gooden

So what's the deal with everyone thinking it'll be Noah missing? Is he that far behind after the eye-poking?

Mostly because VDN seems to prefer Gooden in the starting lineup thus far (which may partially be based on Noah being a bit behind).

What is should be:

Rose
BG
Deng
Tyrus
Gooden (against smaller lineups)

What I think it will be

Rose (to dominate both ends of the floor)
Kirk (to guard Redd)
Deng (to guard Jefferson)
Tyrus (To guard Charlie V.)
Noah or Gooden (I think this could go eithe way. Noah would match up better defensively but Gooden would create matchup problems for Bogut on D)

I'd be surprised to see either Nocioni or Thabo as starters. I really wouldn't mind starting Nocioni at the 4 at times this year to get another outside shooter on the floor but I really want to see Tyrus play big time minutes.

I could care less if Thabo doesn't play a single game this year. Unless we trade Kirk then the only guards that should be on the floor are Rose, BG, Kirk & Hughes (in limited minutes).

This is what I want:

PG- Rose
SG- Sefolosha
SF- Deng
PF- Gooden or Thomas (Depends on the match-ups for that game)
C- Noah

That gives us height, offense ( Rose, Deng, and Gooden), and Defense ( Sef, Deng, Thomas, and Noah) along with players that have different strengths that cover up the other players weaknesses. Which is what Del Negro has been wanting. That also gives us a scorer off the bench in Gordon, a veteran in Hinrich, and a high energy player in Thomas off the bench ( but needs at least 25 mpg). And if Gooden comes off the bench in stead that gives us a player that can hit the 15 footer and spread the offense out a little more. That way we would also have decent back ups in Nocioni, Gray, plus fillers.

Just my thought.

Saw this blurb on rotoworld:

"Kirk Hinrich will reportedly come off the Bulls bench to start the season, with Derrick Rose and Thabo Sefolosha starting in the backcourt."

I'm not a fan of that at all, that gives you no outside shooting at all in the lineup. Why would teams even bother covering out to the arc with Thabo and Deng out there? Even it if it were Kirk that would give you SOME threat of the 3 (though I'd rather not see him there either, he looks brutal at the 2). It seems like VDN has an unhealthy obsession with size at the 2-guard spot at the moment. I'm hoping that it's because Gordon's toe is still holding him back a bit, otherwise this could be a long year if Thabo/Hughes start and get starter's minutes all year.

WE GOT OUR STARTING 5...for tonight



Well Well. I actually really like this lineup. Real good size everywhere except center, everyone can score, the only issue will be outside shooting. If Thabo can be at least decent in this regard, this could be a great lineup for fast past offense from nasty defense.

And I like Krich as the best back up pg in the league. He seems to play harder when he comes off the bench.

not sure i agree with thabo starting, but we'll see how it goes. gooden, lu and kirk as the captains sounds good to me.

i like thabo starting because we cant be running 2 small guards.Let him learn while playing and hopefully he can become consistant.As for the fwd/center situation we need to trade someone to get a legit big man!

I like this starting lineup. Though, this time last year if you told me Hinrich and Gordon would both be coming off the bench, I would have never believed it.

Thabo was nowhere to be found much of the game, so it was basically a token start. That may/may not be the last time that happens.

Hinrich and Gordon played pretty well as the two. Deng was also playing well at the three. No reason for Thabo to get back in the game.

I would still start thabo next game and keep the same rotation.Thats a great second unit and we can always sub hinrich and bg for thabo.We need that height and defense.