I think their starting lineup will be:

Forte / Norton
Crawford / Cedar
Blanchfield / Cedar
Holmes / Hinder
Withers / Allen

The idea that Forte can defend the 1 and score off the dribble may lead to this lineup. I think the Crocs will give Norton and C.Cedar the chance to play most of their minutes at the 1 spot, backing him up.

When you look at it, neither of those guys are Championship starting PG's, but the Crocs probably believe that Blanchfield can be elite NBL quality.

The contenders from the last few years have had very very good PGs. Think Jackson, Wilson, Martin, Gibson from last years top 4 teams. The Crocs must believe this idea can work against these types of teams.

Seems like a huge risk!

Maybe the logic is because of what you say hustle (mind you, you left out Gill from your list), and they are trying to negate their effect?

On the flipside of the coin, if they think C. Cedar is ready for the jump to big minutes (and I think he is personally), then really what else have the Crocs done that has gotten them a championship? Why not? If Cedar and Norton are fails, then there is an experienced guy as a third option (at least) to manage the ball which we currently lack. If they go awesome, Forte just makes the team very deep!

Does anybody really think that if they have signed him to be a pg, they wouldn't have made sure he is better at it then the player he is better than the player he is replacing?
Going to run a screen heavy offense to cause mismatches, and on d should be very versatile. Hustle was a big problem last year. Def a better squad than Adelaide....

Forgot about Norton. Good chances for him this season then.

He may be ble to play 1-3, But they have said his minutes are going to be mainly at 1. Just because he isn't ur stereotypical pg doesn't mean he can't be more effective at that position. Bosh isn't a true C but was exponentially more effective than ibaka or Perkins throughout the finals

The first post says he's going to be the primary point guard..... But don't let the facts get in the way of ur opinion.

Chris can't shoot the long ball due to a mechanical issue with his shot, and in fact Mitch just had an awful shooting campaign in QBL as well (although he is a natural shooter, and one of the best in the country normally).

Still, I'd be playing Chris at the one more than Mitch if they were on the court at the same time. Mitch is the natural scorer and can finish at the rim, while Chris is a great passer and leader but doesn't have a great feel for the rim. Still at 5'10" or so, Mitch isn't a big guy by any stretch.

I can see where they are coming from in starting a point forward type player at the one. There isn't really any point in carrying a starting point guard as well Mitch and Chris -- it doesn't make sense and is hard to work rotation-wise.

And Mitch and Chris are both promising, young, local players so there is no way the front office is getting rid of them any time soon.

Norton and Cedar are known quantities to me -- i know what you will get with them because they both play hard.

The big story this year is how much better will Todd Blanchfield get? Not in that he be an effective player -- he will -- but when will he realise that he is one of the most athletic wings in the league and can dunk over anybody? He has the ability to be a poor-man's Sam Mackinnon, but he has a stilted running gait with those small strides, and likes his shot a little too much, so he never takes advantage of his athleticism as often as I'd like. With the unconventional small-ball lineups, it is paramount that guys can play multiple positions, so a versatile guy like Blanchfield taking his game to the next level is pretty important.

I think this is a little different to David Barlow.

First of all Forte has experience playing the point, and he isn't as tall as Barlow so you would like to think he is a better ballhandler.

Second of all, Forte is a beast, physically. I think the Crocs were sick of getting abused in the backcourt by Robbins, Martin and Lisch so they got Forte in as if to say "try man-handling this guy".

The big factor will be whether or not Forte has had experience playing in a league that has decent defense, or if it has just been in the Phillipines or somewhere where they only play one side of the ball.

But even if the experiment fails, you slot Chris into the starting lineup, put Vinny Blanchfield back as the sixth man, and roll like this:

Cedar
Crawford
Forte
Holmes
Withers

After last season ended, I thought Chris was ready to start in the NBL anyway. He's a tough mother and he gets better every game.

Chris Cedar has been a bit overlooked imo by non crocs fans, as mick said he is one tough mother and his game has improved out of sight. Definately a good year or two ahead of Norton development wise and as good as many young point guards in the league that get a lot more press.

No.