Two authors may occasionally mean two off-day open threads. Be sure to read erivera7's Eastern Conference All-Star ballot from earlier today. - BQR
Orlando Magic rookie shooting guard Courtney Lee is having a great season. How great? David Thorpe of ESPN.com breaks it down:
Among rookies, Lee is tied for first (with Derrick Rose) in field goal percentage, fifth in true shooting percentage, fifth in turnover rate and fifth in defensive rebound rate.
The stats show that he scores efficiently, handles the ball well, and rebounds at an impressive rate. And he's the Magic's best perimeter defender. So, yeah. That's why we like him.
Meanwhile, Keith Bogans is struggling. Mickael Pietrus has apparently earned his starting job back--Bogans started the last two games, even though Pietrus was healthy--and Lee's playing so well that Brian Schmitz thinks he's leapfrogged Bogans in the rotation. IRONY ALERT: for the second straight season, J.J. Redick is stuck behind three shooting guards. Remember last season when Otis Smith said Redick could become the team's backup depending on what Bogans, Maurice Evans and Keyon Dooling did in free agency? Bogans used his player option to stay with the Magic, Evans signed with the Hawks, Dooling engineered a sign-and-trade to the Nets... and the Magic replaced Evans and Dooling with Pietrus and Lee anyway. No steps forward, no steps back for J.J. And for Redick, in his third season, not stepping forward is stepping back.
(Also funny: according to Schmitz, Bogans' teammates have nicknamed him "Double 0-7" because he shot 0-for-7 against the Warriors. Ouch, guys. Ouch.)
So my question to the 3QC community is this: if it were up to you, how would you divide the Magic's shooting guard minutes? Who would start the game? And, more importantly, who would finish it, assuming the game were on the line? Fire away in the comments.