I love what Tarris and Samson both bring as players to our 5 position. Another true 2-headed monster for the 3rd year in a row....but very different than previous yewars.
However, unless the offensive and defensive metrics dramatically change for the worse, Samson is going to be our starter (much to the chagrin of his perpetual haters).
An interesting observation is that, generally speaking, it seems to take Big Hoss some time to "get going". He seems much better in the 2nd half vs. quality comp than in his 1st-half stints.
Check this out for 1st half performances since we got back from Maui from Hoop Explorer. For the less stats-inclined, just look at the box I highlighted. Those are the equivalent ratings used on KenPom for adjusted offense/defensive ratings. They track pretty closely to KenPom numbers:
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The team has been close to elite in 1st halves with Samson in.
Two "asterisks" I'll note going forward is that Liam being out may shift the equation temporarily for more Tarris time as Liam brought important rebounding and spacing that allowed Samson to be a perimeter disrupter and a shot-blocker/rim protector on D and a more effective lob threat on O.