Dear Rick,

As a loyal fan of TX Basketball, I thought I would write you an open letter with my expert suggestions for an experiment you should consider for your struggling team. It is very simple and begins with a modification of your starting line up as follows:

PG - Avery Bradley

SG - Jordan Hamilton

SF - Damion James

PF - Gary Johnson

C - Dexter Pittman

On offense, let AB find himself as the PG and leader of our team. He has the requisite balance of speed, handles, court vision, and shooting accuracy that will no doubt make him an excellent PG and an upgrade over our other PGs who are lovable but have noticeable limitations.  AB has  also demonstrated the ability to handle the responsibilities of on-the-ball defense.

Jordan Hamilton will no doubt continue to frustrate with his questionable shot selection and defensive lapses, but he offers valuable potential as a rebounder and 3-point shooter. His value will increase also with the offensive and defensive changes I suggest below.

Damion James - This line up change will have the most impact on Damion as he will be requested to begin offensive sets on the wing. As a serviceable 3-point shooter and some ability to get to the bucket, he should be fine. We will see an increase in turnovers but i think on the whole our offensive and defensive efficiency will increase with Damo on the wing.

Gary Johnson - Gary deserves more minutes that he is currently getting. While Gary's game is not pretty, it is efficient. We will have Gary at the PF spot working the hi-lo game with Dexy as well as contributing a few mid range jumpers, a few put backs, and few dribble drives to the rack and FTs. Welcome to the starting line up sir.

Dexter Pittman - Business as usual for Dexy at the center position, however the changes to the line up should have the most positive impact on his game. With serviceable perimeter shooters now filling all of our guard and wing positions, team will no longer be able to sag on Dexy with impunity. Welcome back to the land of 20pts and 10reb a game for the big fella.

On offense, the game plan gets simple. Put Hamilton on Dexter's side and teach Jordan how to make a post entry pass. If the defender gives him a 3 and sags on Dex, then fire away. If their doubling Dex, reverse the ball through GJ at the top. He looks for Dex across the lane and then reversses to Damo and flashes to the hole. Yada Yada yada. The best thing on offense is that we now potentially have the best offensive rebounding team in the nation and the floor spacing should be much better given the presence of shooters on the outside.

On defense, swallow our immense pride and go to a 2-3 zone. This has the noticeable upside of protecting Jordan Hamilton who currently lacks the elite level of floor awareness and lateral movement needed for man defense. In a zone scheme with this new starting line up, we have the length and quickness to be devastatingly effective.