Belinelli To Start Against The Grizzlies

Marco Belinelli gets the nod over Marcus Thornton, is it time to start rioting?

So as it has been foretold Marco Belinelli will get the start at the shooting-guard position this Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies in pre-season action. To be honest some have predicted this based on our huge lack of bench firepower as well has Marco’s fit with the starting lineup.

To me this signals that Belinelli is a better defender than Thornton plain and simple. Sure it makes little sense that a guy as athletic as Thornton can be a worse defender than Marco, but defense isn’t all about pure athleticism. Defense is about technique, understanding the game and your opponent and stuff like that. I mean even guys like Peja are better defensively than we originally thought.

I’m not at all upset about Belinelli starting because he actually is a pretty decent player with a lot of upside. He’s a better passer than people give him credit for, he can actually create his own shot and his ability to run and space the floor is very good. I predicted only a week ago that I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start over Thornton purely for the fact it gives this team a better chance to win. He’s not going to play 30 minutes a game, but Monty has said time and time again the Shooting-Guard position is up for grabs.

If he performs on the court this Saturday expect to see him start for most of the season, after all its about team fit and chemistry.