now we have a legit 10-man rotation it's not on the players its on morey to try improve our roster if he still can and MDA to play a 10-man rotation like kerr & pops does it need more iq to play & manage the minutes of at least 10 players in a game? our success vs gsw is based on "freshness" - fatigue-free, injury-free, and having as much weapons and options.. its on the coach
Its all good. Just expand the rotation on back to backs. Green can ball out while James plays less mins.
Fascinated by the amount of angst over a street free agent. MDA went to him when he needed to and no doubt will when the time arises next.
Watching tonight's game, I can't really see where MDA would be able to fit in Green consistently as the 10th man, unless the game is over in all but the time remaining. Can't really fault him when the rotations are, as he said, what they are. Try and find some time: Between the positions (guard/forward/big), there are 96 minutes at guard and forward, respectively and 48 minutes for a big. 240 minutes total. Guards: Paul: 32mpg - If you could go to around 30mpg then that would be great but there will be games when he will be needed to play 36-40mpg. Harden: 36mpg - Would also like to be lower (<34mpg) but like Paul, there will be nights when he will be needed to go 40+mpg. Gordon: 33mpg - Expect that number to decrease with Harden and Paul back (hopefully to around 27ish). Total: 101 minutes / Ideal Total: 91 minutes (~5 minutes of extra time) Note: MDA has gone with all three down the stretch in close games when all three are available to play. Forwards: Ariza: 36mpg - It seems like Ariza doesn't play that many minutes but hopefully that number decreases to around 32mpg with a healthy Luc back. Anderson: 29mpg - Even though it feels like Anderson should be sitting more, he's already under the threshold for what I would deem starter minutes (~30mpg). Maybe you could drop him down to around 26mpg further in the season/playoffs. Tucker: 27mpg - Right now, I would like to see him at around 24mpg but with half the season over and playoffs coming soon, Tucker will probably get a minute increase to around 30mpg. Moute: 26mpg - Like Tucker, his minutes should be going up as the season progresses. Total: 118 minutes / Ideal Total: 108 minutes (minus-10 minutes of time) Note: Anderson and Tucker are used as small ball 5's. Centers: Capela: 26mpg - I want him to be around 30mpg. He needs to prove that he can handle at least that much time before I would feel totally comfortable handing him a big contract in the offseason, if I'm the Rocket's brass. If he's is going to top out at 26mpg, then money could be better spent else, imo. His latest showing against the Warriors was promising. We need him to be on the floor in crucial times if we want a serious chance at taking out the Warriors/higher competition. Nene / Black: 12mpg Total: 38mpg (~10 minutes of extra time) There is just no time to fit in Green. In the offseason, the only place we could fit a 10th player, I thoughts, would be a 2nd PG that would be getting scrap minutes anyways, hence I wanted a Barbosa type that didn't need consistent minutes but would perform in the time he gets. Looking at the times for our guards and forwards, the only player(s) who's minutes seems a high and could be reduced slightly are Gordon and Ariza. And even then, that frees up around ~8-10 minutes, but most nights, one or both of them will be playing heavier minutes than their average so the point is almost moot. Coming into the season, we all knew the Rockets' rotation was pretty much set in stone and had quality players 1-9 of the rotation, with little time for a 10th player. This was, by far, the deepest team in Morey's tenure. Our rotation was only exposed when the injury bug hit our main horses (Paul/Harden/Capela) and/or when they hit multiple players at a time (Paul (then Harden), Capela, Luc were all out around at the same time.) Now that they are all back and the team is healthy, there is just no more consistent rotational space for a player like Green.
Ariza,Tucker, Gordon and Luc's minutes were all fairly evenly distributed. His defensive awareness is really not good, and Miami was killing us already with movement. I don't really have a problem with him not playing in this game. In more comfortable games against lesser teams, I still hope he gets 10-15 minutes. Just spread the minutes decrease across the roster.
He has a COY and needs the rings to validate his legacy. Expanding the rotation and scheduled days off for the regular season is to protect the players from injuries, keeps them fresh and the second tier guys sharp. From last year's play-off debacle, he needs to get with the program, Pop style.
Totally agree. In the regular season, there are close games against decent teams where you would want to practice your playoff rotation so that everybody is more comfortable coming playoff time. On the other hand, in blow out games, you would want to expand your rotations to keep your main players fresh. 9 players are guaranteed to be in the playoff rotation, it would be nice if MDA can fit in Green as a 10th man, so we have back ups if any injury happens or players like Anderson just have horrible nights, and he may contribute as an X-factor in some games. I believe MDA is trying to implement that, but since he is conservative, this process will take a long time, and Cluthfans better be more patient about it.
You can easily take minutes away from PJ and/or Ryno and give Gerald some time. MDA is pissing me off.
Some of Gordons minutes should be going to Gerald. Having said that MDA wants Eric to shoot his way out of his 3pt slump.
Not only that but Green earned those stupid ass 5 minutes..... Its not like Green is a fan fav and people just want him in..... He actually earned those minutes by playing well and playing hard when The Rockets were pooping their big boy pants under injuries. So green can do everything to earn his minutes but there is no way Anderson, Gordon and Tucker can lose minutes by jacking up and missing a bunch of dumb ass threes and missing defensive assignments. Just the hustle Green brings sometimes is worth his minutes, tonight's game needed someone with some damn fire lit up. Instead we crawled to the end and then Harden and Paul hit some heroic shots and it was over. Rockets did not storm back and take over, they escaped..... Green can ignite these comebacks while Anderson can ignite having to comeback....
There will be plenty of nights for Green to get his minutes, tonight just wasn't one of them. Nene won't play every game this season, which will cause Ariza to slide over to the four more and Green will get time. Right now coach is going with the guys he spent the offseason working with on defensive rotations.
single-handedly lost us game 5 with that 7-man rotation. and very slow to make in-game adjustments. sure he's lightyears better than mchale, but there's still quite a bit of room for improvement. makes absolutely no sense to let green rot on the bench when you're playing an athletic team and gordon's legs are so dead he hasn't hit a 3 in the last 20 tries
In my opinion, for the season Ariza and Gordon are playing too many minutes. I think I could take 3 from Gordon and 5 from Ariza (first half minutes only) and that gives us 8 minutes of Green in the 2nd quarter. He's got the athleticism to defend. Give him a job to play hard and provide a spark. MDA like to coach where he gives players time and flow. That can be okay, but I think the minutes add up, and we see it in the shooting and getting back on D. I really like how Harden and CP3 are at 35 minutes. That's perfect for them. I question whether that's perfect for Ariza and Gordon. By the way, I don't want to add minutes to Tucker and Luc. I think if they play 23 to 25 that's fine. When we get further down the road, I'd give these Ariza and Gordon back those 8 minutes if Green is liability. I think you have to sub in a different way than MDA, and professionals might not like it, but there are minutes to be had. Many NBA coaches play 10. It's not a weird thing. I think a change like this would only keep us from wearing down.