Will Reggie Evans Start At Power Forward?

[Built Ford Tough]

Amir Johnson was a bit banged up prior to the game in Vancouver against the Suns, but as far as I know, he was fine against the Celtics, but Evans still started the game for the Raptors. I know that it is just the pre-season and nothing is set in stone, but the fact that Evans has not only started each game so far, but also player more minutes than Johnson makes you wonder if the Raptors will start the season with him in their starting lineup. Triano has also said that he likes Evans alongside Bargnani, so that is even more fuel for the fire.

 

Lastly, this was posted in Doug's blog:

 

I do think that, eventually, they will settle on the group that started the first game – Calderon, DeRozan, Kleiza, Bargnani and Evans – as the five guys who open things Oct. 27 here against the Knicks.

 

http://thestar.blogs.com/raptors/2010/10/another-relatively-slow-day-itll-be-nice-to-have-everyone-back-in-town-tomorrow-so-things-get-back-into-some-sense-of-r.html

 

I just don't understand the logic behind starting Evans over Johnson or even Ed Davis when he returns from injury. This is going to be Evans' last year with the Raptors while Johnson and Davis both seem to factor into the Raptors long term plans, not to mention the fact that you just gave Johnson that large contract. It would be one thing if Evans was actually a better player than Johnson or Davis, but I honestly don't see how that argument can even be made. All he does is rebound as he is a weak defender and a liability on offense (which is even worse because he is a blackhole as well).

 

I understand if they wanted to try and boost his trade value or something, but to be perfectly honest, I think him starting will have a negative effect on his value as teams will be able to see all of the glaring flaws in his game if he is getting 25 minutes a night.

 

I really don't get the logic behind the decision to start Reggie Evans. It does no good for the Raptors short term or long term. Just let Johnson start and see what he can do. If he gets into foul trouble then bring Evans off of the bench, but there is no reason to start Evans as far as I am concerned. It would be one thing if he actually earned a starting spot based on his play, but I don't even see how that can be the case either.

 

This is just baffling to me.

Edited October 12, 2010 by Built Ford Tough

[Real Deal]

By the way Smith put the five, it sounds like Evans will start at center. Typically, when you speak of lineups, you tend to put them in order.

 

C - Evans

PF - Bargs

SF - Kleiza

SG - DeRozan

PG - Calderon

 

And that would make sense, too, because there are plenty of power forwards in the league that Bargnani CAN defend, and you don't want him down in the post trying to out-muscle someone like Howard, Bynum, Yao or even Perkins.

 

Wasn't Evans defending Shaq in that game against Boston? And I'm pretty sure I saw him on Lopez, and Bargnani on Hedo.

[Built Ford Tough]

By the way Smith put the five, it sounds like Evans will start at center. Typically, when you speak of lineups, you tend to put them in order.

 

I didn't even come across Smith's little blurb until half way through the thread, but good catch. I didn't really pay too much attention to the way that Smith listed the lineup.

 

Either way, it doesn't really matter as my point of Evans starting over Johnson still stands, which was really the main point of my thoughts. It's not like Evans is any more capable of defending legit centers than Bargnani or Johnson are considering the noticable size differential between him and 99% of the centers in the league. He will get abused because of that, and because of the fact that he simply isn't a good defender.