Waiting Your Turn: From Sixth Man to Starter

Waiting your turn is a basic concept on the basketball court–recognizing when to stay put for sake of spacing versus when to make a hard cut to the basket–when to curl, fade, or go backdoor coming off a screen– when to open up on defense so a teammate can get through a pick and when to shout out “switch!” Sometimes it isn’t your turn to make a play–at least not yet.

Every season there are players who join the starting lineup for the first time in their respective careers. Last year, C.J. McCollum broke out in a big way–this after two seasons of studying up and honing his game behind Wes Mathews. As a teammate, part of the job is accepting a role, working hard, and (dare I say) trusting the process. It sure turned out well for McCollum, who blazed a trail to a $106 million deal this past offseason.

For point guards Matthew Dellavedova, D’Angelo Russell, and Dennis Schröder, their paths could not be more different.

Dellavedova went undrafted in 2013 before showcasing his skills while Kyrie Irving was on the injury list. Now he is a starter for both Milwaukee and the Australian National Team–and owns an NBA championship ring. Along with Delly, fellow former reserves Mirza Teletovic and Tony Snell will be relied upon to provide spacing for the Greek Freak minus Khris Middleton.

Russell was a star at Ohio State, then got shoved back down to Earth faster than you can say “Byron Scott hates Snapchat.” Today he is fresh off a stellar season opener, albeit against a defensively-allergic Houston Rockets team missing Pat Beverley.

Schröder’s story is perhaps the most interesting–as he just signed a four-year, $70 million extension. Dubbed as the German Rondo upon his arrival in the U.S., he is about to begin year one without Jeff Teague in town–facing off with John Wall this evening.

Most folks, myself included, are predicting a bit of a drop-off in Atlanta’s win column. While Dellavedova and Russell can enjoy the lack of expectations on young teams, there seems to be some serious pressure on Schröder to lead the Hawks back to the playoffs. Even if Dwight Howard stays healthy, matures, and proves to be a better fit than Al Horford, Dennis will likely be the key to how high the Hawks can soar. Not only does he have to play on par with what we’ve seen from Teague over the last several seasons, Schröder has to be significantly better than that. How else can the Hawks hope to make up for the fact that point guard went from being the team’s strongest position on the depth chart to its weakest?

Down in South Beach, Justice Winslow made waves against the in-state rivals on Wednesday night. His progress will undoubtedly be a huge factor for Miami when it comes to competing for a playoff spot without Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, and Joe Johnson. Journeyman sharpshooter Luke Babbit is getting a look as the starting 3 to help space the floor. When Josh Richardson returns to full strength, Dion Waiters will probably have to find a spot on the second team. Winslow and Richardson combined to form the Super-Sixth Man of the Year last season. The defensive versatility they possess makes them a tandem we might be watching for the next decade of Miami Heat hoops.

In the Southeast, flamethrower Ryan Anderson slides into Houston’s starting lineup after mostly coming off the bench during tenures in New Orleans and Orlando. Solomon Hill struggled from the field in his debut as a starter for the Pelicans. However, the do-it-all forward may prove to be an excellent glue guy on a team that’s hoping to build a new identity. Meanwhile, JaMychal Green is breathing new life into Memphis as the starting 4, allowing the Grizzlies to play faster by staggering the minutes of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph.

There are others, and there will be more. Some players will thrive when given the chance to start and some will falter, but opportunities will continue to arise.

That’s one of the many beautiful cycles of the NBA, an ecosystem that watches Jeremy Lin go from grinder to starter to Sixth Man of the Year candidate and back to starter. If Lin is lucky, he’ll play long enough to be considered a grinder once again in his 30’s, to be the tenth man on a title-contending team–waiting for his chance to make a play.