The starting 5 Matters

[sosoblue]

I know we have beaten this topic to death but most agree the current starting 5 should not start the game. I believe will see a different starting line-up for the next few games. We have to play our strongest player's to start the game. They will set the tempo and push the score up quickly.

My Starting Five:
Reeves - Scorer, speed, experience, defense, agile and length. He's also capable of playing the point.
Oscar - No Brainer
Wallace - No Brainer - I'm going with him for my starting point guard.
Toppin - Senior and should be on the floor as a starter.
Livingston - I like his ability to rebound and defensive presence. Has tons of talent allow some time to see it develop.

Second Team:
Wheeler - I love his play but I like him as a 6th man. He brings a lot of energy and changes the dynamics of the game.
Fredrick - A valuable player that will see a lot of minutes. Lack of defense is why he comes off the bench.
Ware - Should see some minutes. I would definitely play Ware over Collins.
Ugonna - Give this guy some minutes and allow him to work through his mistakes. He's better than Collins IMO.
Collins - Still raw and just not seeing much offensive or defensive talent. I'm not thrilled when he's in the game.
Thiero - I would like to see more of this kid. He has impressed me thus far when allowed to play.

 

[MbergCat]

Trade Livingston for Frederick and I'm with you. We need two shooters on the floor at all times.

 

[Random UK Fan]

Yeah, that combo had no business being on the floor before the toss up.

 

[mcwildcats04]

I know we have beaten this topic to death but most agree the current starting 5 should not start the game. I believe will see a different starting line-up for the next few games. We have to play our strongest player's to start the game. They will set the tempo and push the score up quickly.

My Starting Five:
Reeves - Scorer, speed, experience, defense, agile and length. He's also capable of playing the point.
Oscar - No Brainer
Wallace - No Brainer - I'm going with him for my starting point guard.
Toppin - Senior and should be on the floor as a starter.
Livingston - I like his ability to rebound and defensive presence. Has tons of talent allow some time to see it develop.

Second Team:
Wheeler - I love his play but I like him as a 6th man. He brings a lot of energy and changes the dynamics of the game.
Fredrick - A valuable player that will see a lot of minutes. Lack of defense is why he comes off the bench.
Ware - Should see some minutes. I would definitely play Ware over Collins.
Ugonna - Give this guy some minutes and allow him to work through his mistakes. He's better than Collins IMO.
Collins - Still raw and just not seeing much offensive or defensive talent. I'm not thrilled when he's in the game.
Thiero - I would like to see more of this kid. He has impressed me thus far when allowed to play.

Yeah I like that starting five. That makes sense on Fredrick given the defense issues. Those hand checks of his drove me crazy last night. And I know Livingston threw up some horrible shots last night but he is still capable and offers a lot more on defense and rebounding and needs the minutes. Play him more now to get him ready for March.

 

[mcwildcats04]

Trade Livingston for Frederick and I'm with you. We need two shooters on the floor at all times.

Problem is, Fredrick doesn't really seem like he can create his own shot all that well and if we're not running plays to get him good looks, not sure it makes sense to have him on the floor over others.

 

[BlueBomb]

Honestly, I don't care who starts. Because it's really about who gets the bulk of the minutes and finishes the game. Unfortunately, I know in crunch time, Cal will have Wheeler on the floor.

And as Brad Pitt said in Inglorious Basterds, "that I can't abide."

 

[rolaid]

Livingston can’t play in this system of stand around

 

[G-PIP]

Trade Livingston for Frederick and I'm with you. We need two shooters on the floor at all times.

I actually believe we need more than two. But I think Wallace and Toppin are decent shooters, and fit the bill (although I probably feel better about Toppin shooting a corner 3, than about anything inside the 3-pt. line other than an uncontested dunk). I also think Livingston sharing the PF position with Toppin would work well, especially beside Tshiebwe. And a heavy dose of Wheeler (20-25 minutes).

 

[Random UK Fan]

The good news is Cal’s little experiments on big stages tarnishes his legacy. The bad news is Cal’s little experiments on big stages also tarnishes ours.

 

[sosoblue]

Honestly, I don't care who starts. Because it's really about who gets the bulk of the minutes and finishes the game. Unfortunately, I know in crunch time, Cal will have Wheeler on the floor.

And as Brad Pitt said in Inglorious Basterds, "that I can't abide."

BlueBomb you should care who start's the game. This is a critical aspect that may dictate the outcome. It set's the tempo for the rest of the game. You want a starting 5 that gives you the best chance to be successful early on. It's a win for the starters, when the opposing coach has to call the first time-out because you are beating the brakes off of them. It's hard to believe if you were a coach that your starting 5 wouldn't matter to you. I never understood that philosophy that the starters don't matter and I only care about who is there at the end of the game. I want to smash an opponent early-on and not just waiting for a nail biter to say YEAH I have my best player's at the end of the game

 

[Boyd94]

Play zone and insert Frederick over Livingston.

 

[MWes11]

Wheeler
Wallace
Reeves
Toppin
Oscar.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

The last five matters more, who is on the floor in crunch time matters much more

 

[sosoblue]

The last five matters more, who is on the floor in crunch time matters much more

Absolutely you should have your best 5 at the end of the game but it should be at the start of the game as well. Personally I hate a slow start to the game. Let's go and steam roll an opponent.

 

[Boyd94]

All I know is Wheeler should have gotten 22 minutes and Reeves 40.

 

[G-PIP]

The last five matters more, who is on the floor in crunch time matters much more

Of course, I agree with you. But SoSoblue has a point. I think who starts does matter. Now I don't agree with who SSB says he would start, but his conception of that might be better than mine.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

Of course, I agree with you. But SoSoblue has a point. I think who starts does matter. Now I don't agree with who SSB says he would start, but his conception of that might be better than mine.

Yeah starters matter to an extent, but I will always be more concerned with his in the floor in crunch time

 

[SemperFiCat]

Wheeler will start every game this season. It's what Cal does. Just accept it.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

Absolutely you should have your best 5 at the end of the game but it should be at the start of the game as well. Personally I hate a slow start to the game. Let's go and steam roll an opponent.

Yeah good point, with CAL we never really know because he has preset in his mind what type of lineup he wants

 

[sosoblue]

All I know is Wheeler should have gotten 22 minutes and Reeves 40.

I thought Wheeler played fairly well other than missing the free throws. He made some outside shots and was killing his man off the dribble with easy layups.

 

[G-PIP]

I thought Wheeler played fairly well other than missing the free throws. He made some outside shots and was killing his man off the dribble with easy layups.

I don't mind Wheeler taking those occasional 3s where a defender is not within half a mile of him and he has time to really load up. I actually think he usually needs to take those & hit some to keep the defense somewhat honest. Which is mainly what he has been doing so far. But I certainly don't want Wheeler looking for opportunities to shoot the 3, and would probably prefer he pass up the "open" 3-pt. looks early in the shot clock.

 

[Sejonesy]

All I know is Wheeler should have gotten 22 minutes and Reeves 40.

Yeah well, would have lost in regulation if that would have been the case.

 

[TheDude73]

Problem is, Fredrick doesn't really seem like he can create his own shot all that well and if we're not running plays to get him good looks, not sure it makes sense to have him on the floor over others.

I'll be honest, I cannot for the life of me recall any time I've seen Cal run a play to get a three point shooter open.

 

[Boyd94]

Yeah well, would have lost in regulation if that would have been the case.

Well, we lost in 2 ots thanks to Wheeler so just prolonging the inevitable.

 

[Dontworryboutit23]

I'll be honest, I cannot for the life of me recall any time I've seen Cal run a play to get a three point shooter open.

He use to run the baseline action to get Knox and monk open looks, but they haven’t done it at all sense then

 

[mcwildcats04]

Play zone and insert Frederick over Livingston.

 

[Sejonesy]

Well, we lost in 2 ots thanks to Wheeler so just prolonging the inevitable.

“Thanks to Wheeler” 😂 . What game were you watching?

 

[The_Answer1313]

All I know is Wheeler should have gotten 22 minutes and Reeves 40.

I'm so confused about this one.
Wheeler played good last night. Reeves was awful. I'm not sure I'd use last night as some justification about Reeves playing that much lol
That being said there were some awful substitution patterns in this one

 

[qwesley]

I'll be honest, I cannot for the life of me recall any time I've seen Cal run a play to get a three point shooter open.

They ran a ton of action for Murray but that was because they had not inside game at all.

 

[mcwildcats04]

I'm so confused about this one.
Wheeler played good last night. Reeves was awful. I'm not sure I'd use last night as some justification about Reeves playing that much lol
That being said there were some awful substitution patterns in this one

I was okay with Wheeler overall. Clearly a few bad turnovers and that blown missed layup but he did lots of good too. I think we just need to see more of Reeves. That one play from him where he took the ball in the corner and just went out of control to the rim was nuts. But, at least he tried to make something happen rather than just stall ball until the end of the shot clock.

 

[chroix]

CJ and Reeves looked shook last night. They play like they did last night and it won’t matter what the lineup is. They need to shake it off and get focused. We go nowhere if our shooters can’t hit.

 

[bookerfan66]

I was okay with Wheeler overall. Clearly a few bad turnovers and that blown missed layup but he did lots of good too. I think we just need to see more of Reeves. That one play from him where he took the ball in the corner and just went out of control to the rim was nuts. But, at least he tried to make something happen rather than just stall ball until the end of the shot clock.

Wheeler never needs to be attempting 16 shots though but that's on the head coach.

 

[mcwildcats04]

Wheeler never needs to be attempting 16 shots though but that's on the head coach.

I do agree with that. And I'd prefer he not be in at crunch time. Think there is a better lineup for crunch time. But, we still need plenty of minutes from him during the game. Beyond the shooting, I really wish he would stop with the stall ball until so late in the shot clock. But, maybe that's more on Cal.

 

[rick64]

Reeves
CJ
Oscar
Toppin
Wallace

That’s it!! That’s the list!!

 

[aikenite4uk]

I've only seen one game (MSU), so haven't formed too many strong opinions.
1. We'll go as far as Oscar takes us.
2. Wallace is a stat sheet stuffer...very good all around player. Shooting??
3. Toppin still has upside but we're going to have to play him even if he's just average.
4. Frederick could be a valuable player in a system where they could get him shots. This ain't it. He seemed physically overmatched against big time athletes.
5. Sahvir off the bench makes sense to me..

Haven't seen enough of Reeves, Livingston. Ugonna looks good and I prefer him getting minutes over Ware/Collins.

 

[mcwildcats04]

I've only seen one game (MSU), so haven't formed too many strong opinions.
1. We'll go as far as Oscar takes us.
2. Wallace is a stat sheet stuffer...very good all around player. Shooting??
3. Toppin still has upside but we're going to have to play him even if he's just average.
4. Frederick could be a valuable player in a system where they could get him shots. This ain't it. He seemed physically overmatched against big time athletes.
5. Sahvir off the bench makes sense to me..

Haven't seen enough of Reeves, Livingston. Ugonna looks good and I prefer him getting minutes over Ware/Collins.

Toppin just needs to stop taking the crazy shots. Forced way too many difficult shots. When he's in rhythm, he can hit.

 

[bucsrule8872]

No one looked really good last night. Even Tshiebwe had some bad moments, I write that off to rust after the procedure. Wallace looks like the best player on the team not named Oscar. Wheeler wasn’t terrible, but missed some free throws where, as a Senior, he should be automatic. Toppin had his ups and downs.

I would probably start Tshiebwe, Wallace, Livingston, Toppin, and Wheeler. If Fredrick and Reeves cannot shoot any better than that on the big stage, then Cal might as well put in a defensive minded lineup and go with it. Very disappointed in our wing shooting. Fredrick and Reeves should be a killer combo offensively on the wings. What happened to them last night?