More Belinelli, Less Jose & Jack Backcourt

[Dr. James Naismith]

Anyone else happy to read this in Doug's blog this morning?

I think we’re starting to see the Marco Belinelli that they hoped to see from the very first game of the season.

Three three-pointers in the second quarter, 16 points on 11 shots, a couple of drives, four rebounds, a couple of assists and a couple of steals.

Not bad numbers but, as you know, I never think numbers tell the whole tale so I will say this: Just watching him play with some energy – at both ends – was even more impressive than his shooting, which is going to come and go.

I thought he’d morph into a solid contributor a bit earlier than 10 games into the season (and that’s an issue I’ll get into more in tomorrow’s newspaper) but now he’s giving them what they want.

And what it’s also going to do is allow Jay to abort, for the most part, the Jose-Jarrett backcourt. I can see Jack getting all his minutes, barring foul trouble or injury, as the backup point guard, a role I think he’s best suited for.

Although Jack flip flopped with Ford last season at PG & SG, it likely fit the Pacers offense better than here. Maybe now Jack will be more grounded and be able to play the role he was hired for as back-up PG and not backcourt tweener.

If anything now, Belinelli most certainly deserves the back-up SG role as well the 6th man title. (Not title as in award. Just the first man off the bench barring fouls or injuries)

Thoughts?

Source - Click here

[brothersteve]

I've done a number of posts on bad Jarrett-Jose line-up going back to the preseason.
It's not working and it's hurting Jack!

The Pacers weren't known for their great defense either! Jack has trouble covering SG!

[verbatim]

I think our '6th man' is a tie between Wright and Beli. Sometimes we need Wright to come in and be aggressive on D just like we need Beli to hoist some threes and put pressure on defences.

[Dr. James Naismith]

I think our '6th man' is a tie between Wright and Beli. Sometimes we need Wright to come in and be aggressive on D just like we need Beli to hoist some threes and put pressure on defences.

Let's add Amir to the mix too then. Considering the recent struggles with Bargnani, Amir is almost just as important as the other two right now. Considering the lack of defense, Amir's one of the few bright spots at the moment.