Lineups

[delish1]

It seemed like Painter tried a couple new things yesterday with the lineup so with an off week seems like a good time to discuss. It's tough to pinpoint one lineup as the best but seems to be that Hill, Davis, Edwards, Swanigan and Hammons is the most well rounded (especially with Davis shooting well). That's a tough lineup to score and rebound against and it gives Purdue 3 shooters (although no elite shooters) to go with great post potential.

I was hoping Painter would give the Haas/Hammons lineups a little more time but they did makes some mistakes/get some bad luck that led to a quick sub. Clearly it's better to have Swanigan out there with one of them, but in certain situations I think H/H could be a good change up. Hammons needs to play the 4 though which seems like he isn't comfortable with right now.

I was intrigued by the Mathias, Davis, Edwards, Swanigan, Hammons lineup. I think this actually makes the offense more dangerous and has enough ball handling to get the ball into the frontcourt. Obviously this lineup could be vulnerable to quick guards but it sure would be tough to guard itself. I think this will be one that we see again.

It seems wrong to put these lineups together and not include Stephens but I think that speaks to how good this team can be. I think Stephens needs to play at least 20 minutes every game.

Someone recently made a post about a game where Donnie Hale was the leading scorer, wow, this is nice. I'd break the minutes down like this in a vacuum. Players would obviously play more when they were hot and less when they aren't. I think with the versatility this team could survive with 10 non-pg minutes. Think it makes it better if it can.

Hammons 25
Swanigan 25
Davis 25
Edwards 25
Stephens 20
Mathias 20
Haas 18
Hill 15
PJ 15
Cline 12

 

[CRBoiler]

Center and PG seem likely to continue to be rotations. Give more minutes to the guy who is playing better against each opponent. It's working too well to tamper with it.

I need to see our guards play a few more teams with elite guards to decide who should get more minutes than others. If Ray continues to perform the way he has so far & the shooting specialists continue to be inconsistent, then Ray's minutes may go up a bit more (from 25 to 30).

We need shooters who can hit shots when we REALLY need them: when the score is close (or we're way behind - hasn't happened yet) or when we're struggling to create offense against a zone. Being able to make it rain 3's when we're up 20+ points against a weak team is less valuable. I think these next 3 games may lead to some separation, because those higher pressure scenarios are more likely to occur.

Caleb and Vince seem like locked primaries at 3 and 4.

Sum it up, my fave lineup based on performance so far is pg rotation + center rotation + Davis, Swanigan, and Edwards.

 

[Schnelk]

I agree Hill provides a certain dimension to that line up but I've really been impressed with Thompson. He's given us a lot of positive minutes altogether but his handle, shooting, hustle and poise have been mostly outstanding. I think we are good with either one at the point. But we get PJ for 2 more years. I'm a fan.

 

[delish1]

I agree Hill provides a certain dimension to that line up but I've really been impressed with Thompson. He's given us a lot of positive minutes altogether but his handle, shooting, hustle and poise have been mostly outstanding. I think we are good with either one at the point. But we get PJ for 2 more years. I'm a fan.

I guess I kind of dismissed PJ without that intention. I agree that he brings a different and valuable dimension to the PG position, especially if he stays confident with his shot. I kind of see Hill and PJ as different but equal. I just like the defense Hill provides with the A+ lineup