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I've created myself a dilemna, a good one, mind you, but a dilemma nonetheless.

I recently aquired a 29-yr shooting guard that has higher salary and is overall a better player. He's currently undergoing treatment to replenish his gameshape from inept to at minimum respectable before I need to decide whether to start him.

My dilemma is as such:

My starting unit is playing pretty well right now, with my PG being the primary focal point (go figure). My SF is a rotation between two players with a third alternate about to receive some significant playing time increase for his deadly aim on the court (it helps mask his inept outside defense) and I'll be going up against a few teams in my division that can give my team a run for my money. My starting PF is playing pretty well but he has until the end of next season to truly secure his position if my MVP trainee doesn't wrestle it away from him before then. My starting C will likely get one more season before I am secure in letting my future big step up.

My dilemma is going to be the SG.

My current starting SG is playing his tail off while his previous backup will be making the switch over to SF after the acquisition of my new 29-year old SG. This new SG make double what my starting SG makes. I have found in the past that when I had my current starting 2-guard had a bench role behind a player that was better better than him but not better than my new 2-guard, that my current starting SG averaged about 14-18 minutes a night. During those 14-18 minutes of game time, he's never really showed to be the 2nd or 3rd option but with starter minutes, he steps up, he gets into a good rythem, and tends to show he's a viable 1st or 2nd option.

When my new SG gets his gameshape up, I will be thrown into a pickle over who should start. This guy is a significantly better shooter (17 jump shot, 10 range vs a 10 JS, 11 JR). Both players have the same defense but the new guy stands out as a ball handler and driver. As a 2-guard, he lacks in passing compared to the other guy, and is a respectable free throw shooter.

Will my team be better off starting my homegrown SG while the new guy comes off the bench? If I put him back on the bench, chances are he will only see 14-18 minutes of action once again (or possibly even less considering the guy makes bigger bucks) and his production will decline. That would leave the new guy on the court longer, risking having to deal with gameshape troubles in the future. OR, I could go the other route and start my homegrown and bring the new guy off the bench. I have found in the past that my coach likes to put the "better" player in the game more often, typically giving about equal minutes to both players. I could be looking at getting both players around 24 mpg (+/- 3). This would not only make it easier to manage gameshape but at the same time, I keep continuity with the first unit while giving my bench mob one hell of a #1 option.

Should I pair my new shooter with my star PG in the backcourt or make him the #1 option off the bench. Off the bench, he'd be playing with a hell of a distributing PG and another shooter at the SF with solid options in the paint. What are your thoughts?

Of course, another option to consider is possibly even moving my current starting SG to SF since he's 6'6" while letting my new 6'3" SG start at the 2. This would allow me to keep my previous backup 2 in his former role while bumping current Small's down one notch.

The X-Factor in all of this is my current backup SF (Coyle) can play any spot between 1, 2, and 3 (in his career, he's been mostly a backup PG).

Will my team be better off starting my homegrown SG while the new guy comes off the bench?

maybe in merchandise, but overall you are better of when you play your best players. I am also thinking that it was just a statistical incidence, that your player played worse as backup it is very unlikely that such psychological headcases are part of the bb player profiles.

i have a couple of questions / comments:

1) what are the players' stamina? i think this plays a big role in substitution decisions.

2) i have similar problems (i like to have a stronger, rather than weaker, bench). i have never had a situation where my coach let a sub play 24 minutes, partly because of stamina, i think. so the way i read your projection that your new guy comes off the bench getting 24 minutes suggests to me that his talent level is substantially higher than your homegrown player. if this is indeed the case, then i, too, would say play your best players, period.

3) it is possible that coming off the bench hot shot may be going against the bench guard for the opposing team, increasing his effectiveness. but this is borderline over-coaching -- or is it?

4) neither player apparently gets into foul trouble with any regularity?

Teddy Titus (Homeground Talent)

Average Stamina
27-years, 6'6"
$9,570

Started RL Games:
6 starts
33.8 mpg
6.7-15.7 fgm-fga at a 42.7 rate
1.8-5.5 3pm-3pa at a 33.3 rate
2.7-3.7 ftm-fta at a 72.7 rate
17.8 ppg
1.14 psa

1.6 ast/to ratio
0.28 stl/pf ratio
0.33 blk/pf ratio
3.0 pf/g

9 bench roles
17.4 mpg
3.3-7.9 fgm-fga at a 42.3 rate
0.9-3.0 3pm-3pa at a 29.6 rate
1.6-2.3 ftm-fta at a 66.7 rate
9.1 ppg
1.16 psa

3.0 ast/to ratio
0.78 stl/pf ratio
0.22 blk/pf ratio
1.0 pf/g

===================================

Aleksandrs Verslavs (The New Guy)
Inept Stamina
29-years, 6'3"
$23,392

Stats Prior to Game 1 with Goats (Starter)

5 Games
31.4 mpg
51-108 fgm-fga at a 47.2 rate
21-43 3pm-3pa at a 48.8 rate
10-18 ftm-fta at a 55.6 rate
26.6 ppg
1.23 psa

0.67 ast/to ratio
4.5 stl/pf ratio
4.0 blk/pf ratio
0.4 pf/g

*psa refers to points per shot attempt

knowing their skills would help, but to me, the wage difference is big enough to start your new guy.

i would absolutely get his stamina up -- a very cheap way to increase his production; his skills are set, but get his stamina up.

49% 3 pt. shooter??? holy smokes. a point a minute on inept stamina??

crap, unless you have alternative demands on your training time, get his free throws up as well -- just a notch or two. maybe less important, because he doesn't foul much, he may not get many fouls -- but i like players at the close of the game who can hit free throws.

ole Teddy may be a crowd favorite, but he's (ultimately) much better giving Verslavs a rest than vice versa.

FYI: the links are generated by Buzzer Manager.

Aleksandrs Venslav
http://lien.buzzer-manager.com/56nbq34ejkf8hkuo7da0yry5qp...

Teddy Titus
http://lien.buzzer-manager.com/bwnwvuhys8fqqo5gj3rxl2hkqe...

Lowell Webber
http://lien.buzzer-manager.com/aa4vfrl6s34e1e8yo6153taadz...

I gave you Lowell Webber as well, because he's my starting SF and he has, in the past, been very dangerous off the bench but not nearly as consistent when he starts. My other option is to start Venslav AND Titus at the 2,3 spots, allowing me to keep Khoi as the backup SG while Webber bumps down to the #2 SF.

Last edited by kaygdanimal at 6/16/2011 7:38:18 PM

I like Webber better as SF than either of Titus or Venslav, because he can actually defend inside. And Venslav as SG, definitely. He can't play PG with that passing, and all your wings have OD on the lower end of the spectrum, but Venslav is simply superior to Titus in just about everything.

i think Webber is a pretty nice player for your level on the SF position.

Venslacvs is the better shooting guard then titus and should start, but i like to give you following advice. If you change your SG the next time, it is ok when he isn't that good shooter but have better OD and Passing.

Thanks, that's my goal is to find a Guard to pair with Niko Ovaska's better outside defense. I chose Venslavs because of finances and a need to give a boost to my team's scoring a bit since no one has really shown the ability to step up. Venslavs and Titus have the same outside defense and we already own the 2nd best defense in the league in terms of Points Allowed. I just wanted to increase my points to give my team a better chance of beating the 1 team ahead of me in our standings, who has a somewhat better defense in terms of Points Allowed.