Why isn't Kleiza starting?

[RaptorsFan4Life]

Read the title.

[Pizzaman]

I thought he was breaking him in slowly but the time is now, as he's easily the best wing man we have. I would like to see Amir or Gray at Center, with Bargs, Kleiza, JJ, and Jose as starters. I think JJ has more to offer than DD all around, and I think DD will do better against oposing teams bench along with Bayless and Barbosa

[stretch]

The simple answer is that he is coming off major knee surgery and may be under some minutes restriction from the team medical staff.

[Thesachman]

I actually encountered an article on the matter

http://www.rantsports.com/toronto-ra...-linas-kleiza/

[NoPropsneeded]

do you want him to get injured again? ease him in. I'd rather not lose another player

[Fully]

He played 30 minutes last night in only his seventh game back, which is much more than I would have predicted prior to his return. He's not exactly getting buried.

He's missed almost a full calendar year of basketball with a major knee operation and a long rehab stint. Starting him isn't going to drastically change our fortunes this season but having him blow out his knee again would essentially end his career - the rewards pale in comparison to the risk in this case.

[Nilanka]

Starting Kleiza doesn't equate to playing heavy minutes (case in point: Butler). But it would be nice to see how Kleiza fares with our starting unit.

Kleiza's got 3 years left on his contract. With such a glaring hole at SF, it would be worthwhile knowing if Kleiza should be a piece moving forward.

[Pizzaman]

agree and it would take some pressure off Andrea to do most of the scoring having someone else on the floor that can hit shots.

[Fully]

Starting Kleiza doesn't equate to playing heavy minutes (case in point: Butler). But it would be nice to see how Kleiza fares with our starting unit.

Kleiza's got 3 years left on his contract. With such a glaring hole at SF, it would be worthwhile knowing if Kleiza should be a piece moving forward.

What will giving Kleiza the starting role but still heavily limiting his minutes really tell us about his long term future in Toronto though? He's only been back two weeks, and like I said the absolute worst case scenario is he gets pushed too hard, too soon and ends up back on the IR. It looks like he's going to see a lot of action the rest of the way considering how Casey's been using him so far, and he'll probably end up starting at some point this season, but what's the rush?

And aren't the Raps trying to figure out what they have in James Johnson too? What's wrong with continuing to let him start for another 10 games or so until Kleiza is up to full speed?

All in all I'd say it's way too early to be throwing up your hands about this.

[Nilanka]

What will giving Kleiza the starting role but still heavily limiting his minutes really tell us about his long term future in Toronto though? He's only been back two weeks, and like I said the absolute worst case scenario is he gets pushed too hard, too soon and ends up back on the IR. It looks like he's going to see a lot of action the rest of the way considering how Casey's been using him so far, and he'll probably end up starting at some point this season, but what's the rush?

And aren't the Raps trying to figure out what they have in James Johnson too? What's wrong with continuing to let him start for another 10 games or so until Kleiza is up to full speed?

All in all I'd say it's way too early to be throwing up your hands about this.

True, but we're starting to get a good read on what Johnson's capable (or incapable) of. As for Kleiza, Colangelo has more invested in him than Johnson.

[SandmanFan]

We don't need all of our scorers on the floor at the same time "starting", we also need some scoring on the second unit. Spread out the talent with a good mix of O and D with each group. 1st unit is the best group, not necessarily the top individual players.

[Nilanka]

We don't need all of our scorers on the floor at the same time "starting", we also need some scoring on the second unit. Spread out the talent with a good mix of O and D with each group. 1st unit is the best group, not necessarily the top individual players.

On a playoff bound team, I would agree.

But on this Raptor team, I think finding out which players are worth keeping next year, is more of a priority than finding a cohesive 5-man starting unit.

[Red and White]

Injury and all, I think it could be beneficial for him to start to ease in to the league again. Maybe giving him quality (not necessarily quantity) minutes against the other teams best sf could be good for him to get back into his stride.

With winning less and less of a possibility this season, why not fool around with the lineups? I mean Rasual Butler seems to be playing slightly better and hitting a higher percentage of his three's off the bench. Who knows with Kleiza?

As long as his minutes are managed properly, starting would not mean more wear and tear.

[RaptorsFan4Life]

We don't need all of our scorers on the floor at the same time "starting", we also need some scoring on the second unit. Spread out the talent with a good mix of O and D with each group. 1st unit is the best group, not necessarily the top individual players.

Well as it stands there is no one in the starting unit who can score. Demar is like the go to guy and he can't handle double teams or attack for shit.

[SuperRaptor]

I would like to see Kleiza get the majority of the minutes off the bench ahead of Rasual Butler, But I would rather see James Johnson start, I love his game defensively and I think he can be a consistent 10-12 pt producer on the offensive end, rather see him get a chance, while Kleiza gets 100%.

[Matt52]

We don't need all of our scorers on the floor at the same time "starting", we also need some scoring on the second unit. Spread out the talent with a good mix of O and D with each group. 1st unit is the best group, not necessarily the top individual players.

With Bargnani out, Bayless back, and DeRozan missing, the best scorers are actually on the 2nd unit. Bayless, Barbosa, and Kleiza are all better scoring options than DeRozan (given slump), JJ (despite prowess in last 2 games), Amir, and ED. Calderon can score when he has to but I wouldn't label him a scorer either.


To be honest I'm not too concerned about who starts at SF. I would hope both Kleiza and JJ are reserves next season. If either are starting, then things didn't go as good in the off season as I had hoped. My preference though, at this time, would be to see Kleiza starting.

[RAPresenting]

I just want him to stay healthy and get back into game shape. Only then will we know if he's a piece going forward. He is an interesting player and could be great going forward if his body (knee) can hold up. Starting is meaningless at this point in time IMO.

[SuperRaptor]

Frankly I am quite happy with Kleiza's progress considering the career threatening injury he suffered. He should continue to improve, and could serve as a good SF off the bench who can provide some offensive spark, spread the floor, and has a bit of a mean streak in him. I would still rather see James Johnson start though, because I think he is a special player defensively, I can see him develop into a less talented version of a Josh Smith. A solid rotation player.

[Raptorsss]

As people have already mentioned, it doesn't matter who starts, but who is getting the minutes. JJ needs the minutes so that he can continue to improve and we need kleiza to play,,because we need him to.

[japetas]

With Bargnani's possible out for several weeks, Kleiza and JJ could start together. JJ at SF and Kleiza at PF, they both can help each other in defence.