[GK3]

Great stuff, thanks for sharing that lineup explorer link. For me, Da Silva, Delaire, and Jones are cemented as starters. Wills is such a defensive force, it's hard for me keep him out of the starting lineup. DD has been one of my favorite players since he came to the Farm. He's carried this team more than a few times. All that said, I still find myself leaning toward O'Connell as the fifth starter. He quietly steadies the team and makes so many good things happen. 

But we don't absolutely have to bring them back at the earliest possible time.  We have proven we can win tough games without them, so get them fully healthy then have them for a run at the end of the year.



In any case, to have so much depth -- assuming some of the walking wounded return -- is a good problem to have. To think of having ZW, DD, BW,  and/or O'Connell to bring in from the bench?

Here's a hypothetical (for now): everyone on the team is healthy.  Who starts?



I'd go with:

Da Silva

Jones

Wills

Davis

Delaire



And the first guy who makes the slightest mistake gets subbed out for O'Connell.



I love Williams, but I don't think he's one of the top 6 players on the team right now. 



And I can back it up.  I messed around with this lineup explorer and compared lineups with each guy on and off the court.  It's not a perfect measure because of teammate effects, but it's a good start.



Delaire is by far the best player on the team so far (+17 net rating in points per 100 possessions).  Followed by Wills (+9.1), Da Silva (+8.7), and Jones (+4.7).  Williams is +3.5.  Davis is -1.1, but he seemed to be playing better just before the injury. 



Matchups may change who should start from game to game, but those 5 are our best right now.

We will have depth when Davis & Wills are back in the lineup. Until then we don't.

[GK3]

Great stuff, thanks for sharing that lineup explorer link. For me, Da Silva, Delaire, and Jones are cemented as starters. Wills is such a defensive force, it's hard for me keep him out of the starting lineup. DD has been one of my favorite players since he came to the Farm. He's carried this team more than a few times. All that said, I still find myself leaning toward O'Connell as the fifth starter. He quietly steadies the team and makes so many good things happen. 

But we don't absolutely have to bring them back at the earliest possible time.  We have proven we can win tough games without them, so get them fully healthy then have them for a run at the end of the year.



In any case, to have so much depth -- assuming some of the walking wounded return -- is a good problem to have. To think of having ZW, DD, BW,  and/or O'Connell to bring in from the bench?

Here's a hypothetical (for now): everyone on the team is healthy.  Who starts?



I'd go with:

Da Silva

Jones

Wills

Davis

Delaire



And the first guy who makes the slightest mistake gets subbed out for O'Connell.



I love Williams, but I don't think he's one of the top 6 players on the team right now. 



And I can back it up.  I messed around with this lineup explorer and compared lineups with each guy on and off the court.  It's not a perfect measure because of teammate effects, but it's a good start.



Delaire is by far the best player on the team so far (+17 net rating in points per 100 possessions).  Followed by Wills (+9.1), Da Silva (+8.7), and Jones (+4.7).  Williams is +3.5.  Davis is -1.1, but he seemed to be playing better just before the injury. 



Matchups may change who should start from game to game, but those 5 are our best right now.

We will have depth when Davis & Wills are back in the lineup. Until then we don't.