McGary vs Morgan. Who do you start?

McGary of the bench for sure. He provides a spark.

I prefer McGary for the start. I think he plays more aggressively. It has shown the last few games on defense and in rebounding.

You keep starting Morgan but you do not hesitate to bring in Big Mitch, especially when Morgan gets manhandled like he did vs Minn

I keep McGary coming off the bench.  He brings some energy and life to the "second unit" that probably wouldn't be there if it were Morgan taking those bench minutes.  You need a spark coming off the bench, and I don't know where else that spark would come from.

I love the energy from mcgary coming off the bench.

That is all.

I vote Morgan all the way. While McGary has the higher percentages at blocks and steals, I think Morgan plays much better all-around defense. McGary is more of a high-risk, high-reward defensive player and is still lacking in certain fundamentals.

The stat I'd like to see (did UMHoops put this up at some point?) is the field goal percentage of the players each of them are guarding.

McGary is still pretty raw on defense.  He's a better shot blocker, but lacks understanding when it comes to help side defense.  He also tends to get stuck in the paint a lot on offense as evidence by a few 3 seconds calls.  I love his energy off the bench and provides a nice spark. 6th man of the year??

Why would you change anything?

P.S. Starting is overrated - minutes are what matter. How many and who's getting minutes in "crunch time."

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

It's a Smith vs. Kaepernick type thing.  Even it's safe to presume Kaepernick has always been the better talent, he had to wait his turn.  In this case, I think that Morgan still does plenty of things better than McGary.  And unlinke the NFL -- we can play two big men with ease.  

Let Morgan keep his starting job.  He hasn't done anything to lose it.  Play them both and ride the hot hand based on their different skill sets.  As my old coach used to say, it's not about who starts -- it's about who finishes. And I hope Blake McLimans finishes most games.  

But McGary makes more sense coming off the bench. He is a high energy player that can give you a spark when your team doesn't have one. I don't think Morgan is that type of player. You also don't know how Morgan would react to coming off the bench.

I think both bring a lot of similarities, but I think Morgan may help Burke and Hardaway on offense a bit more, and those stats don't show up. It's also nice to not have three freshman starting when you're on the road in the Big Ten. Split them up a bit, IMO.

Morgan should remain the starter.  Both he and McGary seem comfortable in their roles. 

And by the way, the talent and atheleticism infusion on this team has been staggering.  Morgan is a 3 year starter and many would say he is the weakpoint in the lineup.  I don't think any of the guys who transfered last year would get minutes on this team.  And with the classes we have coming in it's going to continue.  Gone are the days of 6'4 power forwards and undersized teams. 

As long as you're playing well, I wouldn't rock the boat with changing too much since the stats are so close. Mitch is contributing in his reserve role, and we don't know that Morgan would do the same. If Mitch elevates his game to far above Morgan, then you make a move

Keep with the current system- McGary off the bench, but keep giving him more minutes. Makes sense to have McGary in for Morgan when LeVert spells Hardaway. Hardaway is a much better rebounder than LeVert, so McGary's better rebounding over Morgan is needed.

I vote for keeping it how it is as well.  If McGary really starts improving, just give him more minutes.

Combined, they're averaging 11 pts, 13.2 reb.   As long as they keep this type of production going forward, I don't care who starts.  They're essentially splitting minutes, so it's a wash to me.   My sense is that McGary is still rounding into shape, so I don't know if you can bump his minutes dramatically without paying some sort of performance penalty.   A healthy Horford mitigates this situation and allows for more flexibility to play two bigs simultaneously when match-ups dictate this type of line-up.    I haven't been this excited about our bigs since the days of Hunter, Brown, and Ba.

Although I think McGary will start eventually, having them share playing time seems like a great formula right now, especially since they both have fouling issues at times. And I don't know if Morgan worries about a freshman taking his spot or what, but he seems to play a lot better after McGary has had a few minutes on the court.  T  

The current score is:

Start Morgan/McGary off the bench: 14

Start McGary: 1

My opinion, for what it's worth: McGary off the bench.  Make it 15.

Is he still injured?  Is he a possible red shirt again this year?

Your stats do not show it, but Morgan's opponents shoot a significantly lower percentage than McGary's do.  Defense is not just about blocks and steals.  For now Morgan is still the guy who should start.

You keep Morgan as the starter. He's a junior, an you don't want him to become disgruntled. McGary gives such a burst of energy off the bench. Plus, in a big game, really intense players can come out at the start a little too fired up and get in foul trouble early, especially aggressive defenders. I don't think Mitch would farewell starting at MSU for instance.

McGary overall is a lot more well rounded. They both run the break the same, but I think McGary finishes better (especially layups). Statistically Morgan appears to be a far superior defender but look at his blocks. He has zero during conference play. A guy in the middle whom teams fear just a little it adds a lot to the defense because McGary and his presence help on all drives regardless if he is making a play or not.

I opened this thread expecting most people to want McGary to start; I'm surprised to read through it and see that almost everyone wants to keep Morgan as the starter.  I did notice that many people used the reasoning "McGary is a spark plug for the 2nd unit", so I wonder if the OP had asked the question, "Who is the better player?" if that might change the results up to be more in McGary's favor.

I personally find Morgan to be more limited offensively and athletically than McGary, as Big Mitch seems to have a better handle and a better J.  And what sticks in my mind is, seemingly despite his great shooting percentage, all the relatively easy bunnies that Morgan misses.  I would like McGary to start and / or get more minutes than Morgan.

Also, all these "need a spark plug on the 2nd unit" arguments sort of make me cringe.  I'm a very stats-based guy, and while saying "Oh keep him on the bench, he provides a spark to the 2nd unit" certainly sounds great, is it really true or important?  I don't know for sure either way, I've never really looked into it, but I am hesitant to blindly accept the conventional wisdom, especially when it sounds like something a terrible color commentator would spout meaninglessly, without seeing some stats on if having a spark plug in the second unit is actually worth any points/possessions/wins.

Starting isn't the same as "who plays more".

Morgan is also a vastly better defender than McGary. The way we've been playing, I see no reason to mess with the rotation.

Keep Morgan in the starting lineup. To go with what everyone else is saying, Morgan is a better all around defender. I don't know if theres a better hedger on screens than Morgan, even in the B1G. That's what he does best. McGary still has a way to go with his defense, but his spark and energy off the bench cannot be matched.

Getting McGary's minutes up is more important than whether he starts/ comes off the bench. I was particularly surprised that he didn't get more minutes in the Ohio game. It is possible that he is close to but not at 100% and that his minutes are being regulated. Whatever the reason, I hope his minutes go up during our run in March.