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Fear The Podcast 2:  Lineups

During our 2nd Fear the Podcast, JRowan (Justin) led a group of 4 other guys: NonDairyKreemer (George), WitMi (Mike), BenMiller (Ben) and myself (also Ben.) What you are a reading is essentially a collective thought process from the group. This was written to give you a rough overview of what transpired at a particular segment (for those of you who aren't as into the podcast thing...or who are interested in specific segments.) You may notice a theme were certain ideas are rehashed based on stuff that's already been said here. That should come as no surprise because...we've already done some of this.

The Cavaliers has a hole at the SF position. It's pretty much had a hole there for a few years now. We all know what decision caused that. No need to rehash further.

With a healthy Bynum/Varejao, we're actually really good at Center (and it doesn't really matter which one either.) Tristan Thompson has a fairly clear lock on the power forward position (despite the drafting of Anthony Bennett.) Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving make for a respectable guard duo. They even have an All-Star Appearance, a Rookie-Sophomore MVP and a 3-point shootout trophy between them. Technically, that's all true. Leave it be. At SF, though, we have Alonzo Gee, Earl Clark (kind of), Sergey Karasev and Anthony Bennett (maybe.) Dion Waiters (at 6'4) can even play there in the DEZBL (David "Eeyore" Zavac Basketball League). That's what the rumors say anyways.

Of course, if you can't have a legit starting NBA SF, it's probably better to fill that position with a defensive specialist (something that both Clark and Gee are capable of doing...though in Gee's case, it really needs to be limited minutes.) As NDK pointed out, the Thunder were in the finals two years ago with Kendrick Perkins as their starting center. Yeah, that's probably a hole. (Having a shot-blocker like Ibaka next to him has to help some though.) Every team has holes. Even Miami has a hole at Center (something that we would really be able to exploit with a healthy Bynum.)

What we need to factor in to this is how our lineups go. Kyrie and Dion both excel as Pick and Roll guys. What we need...is the big that compliments them. It's already been discussed who Bynum is a great Low-Post Iso guy. He's actually really good at filling in the gaps in a defense as well. Anderson Varejao is a great option for pick and roll (and even the pick and pop)...but if we start him next to Bynum, that leaves us with Bennett, Thompson, Zeller and Clark as our remaining bigs. Not ideal. Bennett isn't ready for NBA defense and while Bynum has averaged just shy of 2 bpg, he's not necessarily a game change down low. Unless he's fouling. He does that with Epic Anger (@and sincere sorrow@.) Does Tristan Thompson continue to start? Why shouldn't he? Varejao really is a center at this stage of his career. Tristan (towards the end of the season) was showing off some savvy passing skills as well as much improved hands. Makes him a good guy to have on that pick and roll. If his shot has improved at all this season...then he becomes a pick and pop option as well...which really opens things up for the offense (with or without Bynum.)

There's also the fact that we have to consider how we manage TT and Bennett's minutes too. They are (likely) a big part of our future. So we need to ensure that we give them enough minutes to ensure optimal development...preferably without overburdening them (looking at you Tyler Zeller.) Speaking of a guy we haven't discussed much. How does this effect Tyler Zeller? I don't particularly care to be honest. I suspect that he'll have plenty of opportunities to get some burn as we deal with a partially healthy Bynum and a partially healthy Varejao. This will allow for Bennett to team up with Varejao (and his exceptional passing will really help Bennett get some easy shots...either as a cutter to the basket or a shooter from deep.)

At this point, the wife interrupted the conversation, so you'll really have to listen to see if something got discussed that I didn't cover. I am too lazy to listen through the entire conversation again (while reading through my rabid notes) just to find a 2-8 minute (depending on editing) portion of the conversation. Deal with it. ;)

Of course...we still need fluidity. Apparently hockey-shift changes only work in hockey. Thank you Byron Scott for teaching us this. I learned something about hockey watching you. Of course, having a bench lineup with Jack - Miles - Clark - Bennett -Varejao presents a lot of offense (and limited defense.) But how many 2nd team offenses can outscore that combination of players? That could be scary good!

This is a Fan-Created Comment on FearTheSword.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff at FearTheSword