It seems to be a popular opinion on this sub that THJ should start over Baze. Here is my reasoning against that:
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Minutes: Since the Korver trade, Baze and THJ have played about the same number of minutes. So since interchanging their roles into the starting lineup probably wouldn't increase THJ's minutes, why disrupt a combination that has done pretty well since the trade (barring last night's abomination).
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Matchup concerns: For all of Bazemore's offensive woes, I think it's safe to say he's clearly a better defender than Hardaway. Teams usually try to start their best defenders so that they can match up against the opposing teams' starters. This is why you see players like Liggins and Roberson (who are even worse than Baze on offense) starting for their teams. In fact Baze's defense against other teams' starting PG/wings has been basically the only thing of value he's provided to the Hawks this year. If he were moved to the bench, his defense would become less valuable since he would match up with other bench players and he would be almost useless to the team.
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Track record: While the Bazemore contract looks pretty bad now, the reason he was payed that much because he has shown the ability to be a solid NBA starter. It's unlikely that he has completely lost that ability and there's a chance he returns to that level. THJ on the other hand has barely started any games in his career so there's no guarantee he can do well as a starter.
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Future with the team: Baze is signed for 3 more years while THJ will be an RFA. I'm not sure how much Timmy will command in free agency, but after paying Baze so much last year, I doubt the Hawks will be willing to spend more than $8M or so at the same position. So there's a good chance THJ is off the team after this year. Bazemore, however, is sure to be a part of the team's future so it makes sense to give him the starting job since he'll probably be the starter next year anyway.
Submitted January 19, 2017 at 11:56AM by widesheep