10-31-2024, 08:27 AM
(10-30-2024, 12:57 PM)Smitty Wrote: I've listened to a few of the local podcast recently and I really hope we don't let this 'Lively is better than Gafford and should be starting' argument get to the national media level because then the narrative will inevitably change. I think it's fair to say that Lively is better but it doesn't have to be at the expense of Gafford if that makes sense. Both are good. Both are capable starters.
My personal opinion, Gafford starting makes sense from a coaching standpoint in that Gafford is slightly inferior to Lively and therefore plays most of his minutes with starters (Luka in particular for the natural "Luka bump") and that Lively doesn't necessarily need the "Luka bump". Ultimately, if Lively gets more minutes and more opportunities to close then I don't care about which one starts.
Bottom line, I like to think of them as a tandem, Twin Towers, as LukaMagic dubbed them.
Eventually Lively will be too good to come off the bench. Although, I think we will continue to see Lively get more minutes and closing most games, so it is a nice setup now. At this stage, I think Lively is fine with whatever. Just from some previous comments from Gafford, I gather he is more thin skinned and you really need to make sure he doesn't get down. So removing him from the starting spot could be rough on his psyche. So as long as they continue their trend from last year, I am fine with Gafford being the starter. There will be a time when Lively makes this decision for you though. Probably sooner than later.