Starting Line-up

Three positions of Center, Power-forward and Point-guard were easy to decide. Shooting-guard and Small-forward positions needed some study before reaching any decision. A simple scorecard pointing system has been used to evaluate the players, although I have to admit that scoring is not scientific, and could become subjective at times. Each player received positive, as well as negative points on their strengths and weaknesses, respectively:

· Center: Darko Milicic
· Power-forward: Dwight Howard
· Point-guard: Jameer Nelson
· Shooting-guard: Keyon Dooling
· Small-forward: Hedo Turkoglu

At shooting-guard position, the main rivalry was between Bogans and Dooling due to the negative points that Redick received that could not be offset by positive points granted. These negative points were: being a rookie, health issue and defensive deficiencies. Redick’s negatives and positives could be re-evaluated and adjusted at the end of each month into the season. Bogans and Dooling scored so close that either one would make a good choice in that position.

At the small-forward position, Hedo’s positives combined with many Grant’s negatives due to health uncertainties, has put him in the favorite spot. That situation could be re-evaluated within a month into the season. Grant has a lot of catching-up to do, but if he is healthy, depending on who plays at the shooting-guard (a better or lesser of a shooter), the situation may change.

Grant’s playing at shooting-guard position, whether as a starter or not, is an intriguing option. He can definitely defend any guard in the league, and with Hedo in small-forward his shooting deficiencies could be ignored. However, I am still not convinced that is the way to go considering the glut in the shooting-guard position, and the fact that we need to give Redick some meaningful playing time.