Does Syracuse Have Lineup Issues?

"Don't fix what ain't broke." The Orange aren't broken, but they could use some fixing. Use the Princeton offense? Nah. A man defense? Don't think so. A new coach? Nope, not even after this.

How about tweaking the Syracuse lineup? A few days ago I questioned the Syracuse starting lineup, but now I believe it's more of a question of who plays more minutes.

Rick Jackson leads the team so far, averaging 35 minutes per game. There's nothing wrong with that; Rick Jackson is the leader and workhorse of the team, he should be playing the most minutes.

Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph are next, both playing about 31, 32 minutes per game. Now, Scoop Jardine can make some boneheaded plays, but he's played well overall, especially the past two games. Syracuse's lack of guards also requires Jardine to play so many minutes.

Should C.J. Fair be starting? (Getty Images/Andy Lyons)

My suggestion would to be swap time between Scoop Jardine with Brandon Triche, who's playing 28 minutes and may become the team's go to scorer. That would mean taking over Kris Joseph's role, who has been the team's leading scorer thus far.

Don't get me wrong, Joseph has been very good. But in crunch time, I'd prefer the ball in Brandon Triche's hands. He can drive and shoot the three like Kris Joseph, but Triche is a better free throw shooter.

Fab Melo had originally been the fifth starter along with the four mentioned above, but he hasn't played since missing practice last week. Baye Moussa Keita has taken over for Fab Melo, but he hasn't been much better. I still think Baye Moussa Keita should be starting (even after Fab Melo returns) because the Orange could use the size.

However, out of Syracuse's three freshmen big men, C.J. Fair deserves the most playing time. He's the team's fifth option on offense, but C.J. Fair has shown the ability to be even more than that, a real spark coming off the bench. He was the third leading scorer against Louisville, the second leading scorer against Georgetown, and he led the team with 16 points against Pittsburgh.

Perhaps what's hurt Syracuse the most has been its decreasing amount of depth. Dion Waiters and James Southerland both played well earlier in the season but haven't done much in the past few weeks.

Dion Waiters is practically guaranteed minutes (about 16 per game) because of Syracuse's lack of guards. He hasn't done much with the opportunity as of late though. Since the rumors of possible point shaving spread a few weeks ago, Waiters has shot just 28% from the field. In the last two games, he failed to score a point.

James Southerland had some good games; he scored 12 against Notre Dame and scored eight to go along with eight rebounds against Cincinnati. But, around the same time Dion Waiters started playing poorly, coach Jim Boeheim said that James Southerland had "played his way out of the rotation."

Should Melo play at all anymore? (US Presswire/Richard Mackson)

So, who's left? The same guy who happened to be walking behind me near the Carrier Dome today; Mookie Jones. Unlike James Southerland, Mookie Jones was never in the rotation. He has a history of not getting along well with coach Boeheim, and Mookie has been known to slack off on defense. It's hard for me to say he should be taking away minutes from the starters.

This leaves us with five guys who should be playing starters' minutes: Scoop Jardine, Brandon Triche, Kris Joseph, C.J. Fair and Rick Jackson. In addition, Baye Moussa Keita, Dion Waiters and James Southerland would all be playing 10-15 minutes per game. That's not a bad eight man rotation. What do you guys think? Let us know who you think should and shouldn't see the court on game day.

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