Willie Should Start at PG Over Lou Will

[RickyPryor]

First let me say that NEITHER of these two make for a good PG.  And that going into the season without a legit PG on the entire roster is like going into a football season without a fullback.  Wait a minute--

Anyway...Lou isn't a PG.  Simple as that.  That's one...  Plus, Willie has far better size than Williams.  That's another.  But here are three even better reasons:

1.  Willie is a far superior defender than is Lou.  And this team has actually developed a reputation as a pretty good defensive team.  With so little offensive weaponry, I say limit opponents' scoring.

2.  Willie is a far better shooter than is Lou.

3.  Lou Will is better off the bench than Willie.  Lou's energy can be contagious, but more than that - he presents terrible match-up problems for opponents' second string guys.  In fact, I can't get very excited by our bench WITHOUT him on it.

Maybe another I'd throw in is that Willie is older (in a good way) and might have a better (and more mature) temperament for the job.

So there you have it: two lousy options for PG.  I'm choosing the less lousy one.

[rickortreat]

Willie hasn't demontrated the court awareness or quickness to play the point, and he is not as good offensively as Lou.  In fact, Lou can create his own shot and Willie cannot.  I also think Lou's handle is better.  Lou has the potential to be a better point than Willie.

The Sixers have been tying to replace Willie for years but he's managed to beat out every journeyman player they brought in to challenge him.  This season, he will end up being our 3rd string shooting guard behind Iguodala and Kapono.

We'll start out with Lou as the point, and bring in Jrue as the backup, that should help to keep the bench as potent as it needs to be.

[tk76-]

I agree for the most part with Ricko.  Green did a good job settling down and playiong within himself last year.  I want to leave him in that role and not ask him to create or try and do too much.

Several years ago I thought WG could play some combo/PG.  He had some good games filling in at PG for AI.  But in the past 2 years he shown nothing as a creator.  He seems worse than Lou at running a pick and roll or even making the easy pass to an open shooter (and saying he shows less PG skills than Lou is really damning.)

I do agree with Ricky that Lou is much better suited to be a bench spark.  For that reason I think Holiday has a good chance of being the starter.  He does not really have to win the job, just prove that he can play within himself and not hurt them out there.  If Holiday can hit open 3's then he actually might do better with the starters, since they won't need him to score.  Sort of like Iguodala's role as a rookie, defend, don't force things and stay out of the way.

Holiday's summer league games showed that he is at least a willing defender, and decent ball handler and does not seem to force things 9and is unselfish almost to a fault.)  Sure, he looked to have almost no scoring or finishing ability, but that really would be more of an issue with the second unit as opposed to starting.

Also, starting a offensively challenged big is a huge problem since it leaves an extra big defender to guard the paint.  This is not nearly the issue when you are talking about a PG.  Especially if Holiday can learn to hit a wide open 3 ball.

[Derek Bodner]

Heck no.  Willie Green's the "nice" (I can't believe I said that) safe pick.  if the goal is to sneak in as the 8th seed, he might be the one to throw in there.  But I want SOMETHING useful to come out of this year.  Even if that's proof that Louis Williams can't start in this league.

Either go with Lou, and let him try to prove himself, or let Jrue get a crash course on the NBA and learn.  don't waste time with Willie.

[tk76-]

Either go with Lou, and let him try to prove himself, or let Jrue get a crash course on the NBA and learn.  don't waste time with Willie.

Unfortunately, crash was probably a good choice of words for either option- at least for next year.

I'm all for building for the future and fining minutes for the young core.  But with Brand, Iguodala and probably Young playing at a high level I'd rather not install a new system without an NBA ready PG.  Even a 25 min stopgap guy like Blake would have been good for this year.  I want Holiday to take over as soon as he is ready, but not at the expense of the rest of the teams development.

[DuckyNinja]

There's no reason to give Willie Green any minutes.  He's already definitively proved that he's nothing more than a benchwarmer.  Lou Williams may have shown very little ability to play PG, but he also has been given very few minutes as the starting PG with the starting group with no help.  Give him at least half a season to prove that he really can't, and then go to Jrue, but there's no, I repeat, NO reason to play Willie Green.

[carolina blue]

Terrible idea.

Give Lou the job and let him sink or swim.

[tk76-]

Sink, crash... those words make me shudder.  I'm a Lou fan (or used to be) but don't think this is the ideal time to let him try to spread his wings as a PG.

New coach, new system, new main cog (Brand back.)  Throwing Lou into that situation sound like asking for trouble.  They maybe should have had him play some more PG with the starters in the last few years as a way to better gauge his ability and get his feet wet.

I would have liked to get a 1 year stopgap like Blake or Duhon and have them stabilize things for 20-35 min/game.

On the flip side, the Priceton Offense does put less stress on the PG to really run the show.

[Skates]

The fact that this is even a semi-legitamate point of discussion makes me sad, real sad.

[RickyPryor]

Willie hasn't demontrated the court awareness to play the point,

And Lou has?

and he is not as good offensively as Lou.  In fact, Lou can create his own shot and Willie cannot. 

These are not traits I find necessary at PG.

Lou has the potential to be a better point than Willie.

Lou has a chance to be a better '2' than Willie.  He'll never be a PG.

[RickyPryor]

The fact that this is even a semi-legitamate point of discussion makes me sad, real sad.

And it should, I agree.

The very reason I had hoped Ed would have pulled his head from his butt and signed Andre for 2 years at 15 mil.  I get it, "get younger, younger, younger...", but teams HAVE TO have a balance of youth and vets.

Like him or hate him Andre would have done a far better job in these next 2 years than any options we currently have.

Some fans have been saying for years that they wish'd we get younger.  Well, they got their wish:  But all of a sudden Sam is 28(!) and Iggy will turn 26 this year.  Will we be ready when Iggy's 28?  29?  Or long gone and Speights is going on 26 himself.

Put a damn contender together already.

[DuckyNinja]

Except I have just as much faith in Lou and Jrue as I did in Andre Miller.  I think Lou is being underrated.  He may not be a true PG, but the Princeton offense asks for a PG who can make tough passes and shoot the 3.  Andre Miller could do neither of those (note: making tough passes and having good court vision are two different things.  I rarely, maybe never, saw Miller make any kind of difficult pass.).  Lou has shown potential, and he's still young enough that it's not just a word.

And really, with or without Miller, this certainly wouldn't've been anything close to reaching contender status.

[carolina blue]

Green has had the opportunity to be a starter over the course of 2-3 seasons and has proven to be mediocre (at best) in his ideal position, where he only has to play to his strengths.

Williams is younger, more talented and has a superior basketball pedigree.  He's 1 year into a 5-year deal, it's time to find out what he does with a full shot at being an NBA starter.  Holiday will need at least a year to acclimate to the NBA game, so the timing is there for Williams to get a 1-year audition.

It's my opinion that last year was a down year for Williams and that he'll benefit greatly from a defined role as a starter.

[RickyPryor]

Williams has a superior basketball pedigree. 

Please be specific, and explain how it relates to our need for a PG.

He's 1 year into a 5-year deal, it's time to find out what he does with a full shot at being an NBA starter. 

1.  If I accept your premise, I'd say "yup - but at the correct position."
2.  If I don't, I'd say, "Why is it time?  Why can't he make a living and contribution as a spark off the bench?"

[rickortreat]

Lou was picked straight out of High School, and these past few years were to establish him as an NBA quality player and provide on the job training. His new contract demonstrates the Sixers thnik he's an NBA player, and it's time to see if he can be a starter.

What other position do you want a 6'1" guy playing? You want someone that size at the 2 guarding Kobe? If Lou is going to be a starter in the NBA he has to be a point.  The fact that they drafted Jrue shows that they are hedging their bet.

IMO, the ability to be a scoring threat and an able penetrator are qualities you want in a point guard.  Defenders worried about where he's going forget about their man which makes them open. Drawing a crowd whiole driving the lane leaves easy dump off passes to Brand or Young. I've always looked at Williams as an Iverson light- a similar game but more disciplined, lightening quick very dangerous on offense, a little weak on the defensive end, but a good ball hawk. With the shooters he has around him, Lou should be able to get close to 8 assists a game and put up 15-20 points, that's a pretty good point guard, equal to what Andre gave us last season.

Because Lou has to be proficient at the point to have a great NBA career, he himself is motivated to be that kind of a point guard.

Willie better learn to be a better shooter, lock-down defender and and able to hit an outside shot, or next season will be the last in which he has a solid contract.