Q12543 wrote:fondey wrote:Q12543 wrote:PorkChop wrote:These are the threads that always make me bring up Rubio. So much patience given to one guy with flaws but that same amount of patience isn't afforded to other players.
Ricky's been playing great of late, seems to be shooting with some confidence
I'm not following you here. Rubio is what he is. You either think he's a net positive or a net negative. If you are in the net positive camp, there is nothing to be patient about since you pretty much think he's been a solid PG since he was a rookie. If you are in the net negative camp (like you), you think his poor shooting and scoring has held this team back from day one. There really isn't a "patience" narrative to be found here, so I don't understand the connection.
His point is most fans were willing to give Rubio the longest leash in the world despite all his shortcomings, but we seem unwilling to show the same patience for players that are arguably more talented, like Lavine and Wiggins.
I think Lavine should sit out the next game and have his health re-evaluated. We all see that his level of play has dropped substantially. I don't think we should bench the guy because of this run because it would derail our efforts this season to increase his confidence level. But, I am pretty convinced this starting lineup we be much better off right now slipping in Shabazz at SF in place of Lavine. And i think Lavine would excel in the 2nd unit being the main guy on offense. Long term though, we need to commit to one of these guys to be a starting level player or a 6th man, and i think this season is the perfect opportunity to figure that out. If there did happen to be some nagging injury with Lavine, it'd be a good opportunity to let Shabazz start and experiment with that lineup while we give Lavine an extra-long rest.
That's because some fans felt Rubio was a net positive despite his flaws. In other words, they accept his shortcomings and believe the player that he is (warts and all) is already effective. That's different than saying, "Just you wait, Rubio will help us some day when he learns to shoot like Steve Nash - we just need to be patient".
As for LaVine, I don't believe there is a single person on here calling for his head or saying we should get rid of him for an expiring contract (like some say about Rubio). May be TeamRicky has an extreme position, but otherwise, I think the criticisms are well balanced with the need to be patient as well.
Yeah, I'd agree everyone's been pretty fair. When it's blatantly obvious that a bench player in Shabazz has worked his ass off to improve his weaknesses, meanwhile a starting player continues to hold the unit back and is forcing our best SG to play out of position, then, normally, you make a lineup change and benefit the team in the short team.
I think the difficult part is whether a role change would have some adverse effects, as mentioned before. Shabazz's defensive weaknesses may become more apparent once he starts. Lavine's confidence may take a hit. Shabazz's offense may disrupt our starting unit's flow.
Personally, I'd like to see them experiment now, since there's plenty of reason to believe Lavine would do really well with the 2nd unit, Wiggins would be better off playing SG, and that Shabazz has earned the right to start at SF for the time being. But I don't see Thibs doing it.
