I hope we go into the playoffs 100% healthy but if any team gets through the playoffs with a fully healthy roster, it's luck. So it's a darn good thing we're as deep as we are. I think all of our top 11 players will get minutes during these playoffs out of necessity, be it injury or foul trouble.
Regardless of injury/foul trouble though I don't see how he gets a 9 man rotation out of the 10/11 players I listed. I still haven't seen a good answer for who he would sit. Someone said Anderson. Anderson is not going to be out of our playoff rotation. How does he get it to 9? Here are the 10 players again, not including Green, and counting Nene and Wright as only one player. 1. Harden 2. Paul 3. Capela 4. Ariza 5. Tucker 6. Gordon 7. Mbah a Moute 8. Anderson 9. Joe Johnson 10. Nene/Wright Serious question that I haven't seen a serious answer for: How does he go from 10 to 9? Of the players above who does he sit? I don't see him sitting any of them. And if he is going to sit one of them I couldn't possibly guess who it would be unless it were Joe Johnson and that does not look like it's happening. So who is it? Who can solve this puzzle?
He's definitely the security blanket you take away first. Rattle his confidence, let his nerves spread to the rest of the shooters, then force the rockets to make their secondary or tertiary plays. By the fifth or sixth game, the refs and Harden are sick of each other and the rest is spurs or warriors history. It's awesome to have another hof caliber PG to read the situation. Harden is too cerebral to take everything onto himself. Hopefully they expanse their trust in each other and build a better bond during testy no win situations. The stocked vets don't have to play to make impacts under pressure situations either. I bet the Astros didn't regret signing Beltrans checks. Numbers be damned. Shocker.
Green is out but I think depending on how games are going and matchups and giving JJ rest, he could/should see some floor time.
Perhaps 33 and 30 are overkill, but I don't think Harden or CP3 will have a problem sitting unless it's a close game. No one on the Warriors plays 35 minutes a game - Curry and Green only play 32-33 each. The problem is when we are up 15+ points with 2-3 minutes to go and our starters are STILL in the game. If we can't trust our 2-10th guys to keep a 15 point lead, then we aren't there yet.
Fully healthy Playoff rotation Harden/CP3/Ego Ariza/luc/tucker/Anderson CC/Nene No one else seeing time unless for injuries, foul trouble or blowouts.
MDA is giving JJ every opportunity to earn a spot in the playoff rotation. There's a chance he may already know JJ's role. I can see MDA alternating minutes between him and Ryno depending on series matchups. But, your right. Everyone else on your list seems cemented in the rotation.
Looks good. Seems like a really neat situation as far as the role players are concerned. They step in, dun need extra time to get accustomed and ball right there. Reminds me of a better version that went to the WCF.
Idk that slip from gibson was pretty nice, at least he’s smart. But yeah green is prolly the better defender but so far Johnson looked good
If you can do 10, then why not 12? That's what I always say. Wright and Gordon will have to play. More the merrier.
Wright will be in the playoff rotation with match-ups where we don't have to play any quality offensive bigs. Nene will be saved for teams like he Spurs.
Only way it goes to 9 man rotation is if MDA holds JJ or Ryno out completely in some games due to matchup. Otherwise, Ryno and Joe will get 10-12 mins each unless one of them gets hot. Think Wolves game except EGo would get Green's minutes and third of Tucker's. Maybe a couple minutes from Paul/Ariza/Luc if blow out.
Why was it only a matter of time. Youre saying you're not necessarily saying it was a factor but in reality that's what your post was saying. Butler just came off a full weeks of rest. Injuries are not specific to anyone. It happens no matter what you try to do
The Rockets still did not have their full rotation healthy and available. With Eric Gordon out sick, they could not offer a clear idea how they will fit 11 players into a nine-man rotation that maybe could be stretched to 10. But there have been hints. With Gordon out, when Chris Paul left the game midway through the first and third quarters, Joe Johnson came in. With Johnson seeming much more comfortable in the Rockets' offense than last week when he played just hours after first walking into the locker room, he seems certain to be featured in the Rockets' rotation, likely at both forward spots with a few shooting guard minutes, too. Gerald Green, who played 5 ½ first-half minutes but not in the second half, seems most likely to be squeezed out of the mix when Gordon returns, but that still does not carve out enough time for the Rockets' sixth man. Gordon has averaged 31.9 minutes per game this season. Even if Mike D'Antoni drops him to roughly 28, he would have to give him Green's playing time on Friday and find 22 more minutes from the rotation he used against the Timberwolves. While Chris Paul played 32 minutes and James Harden 34, about what D'Antoni plans for them, no other perimeter player played more than 30. The Rockets can find a few extra minutes for Johnson at power forward by playing P.J. Tucker or Ryan Anderson as backups at center in some matchups. Brandan Wright seems most likely to play in the games Nene gets off, with several back-to-backs coming including Sunday and Monday against the Nuggets and Jazz. That would open minutes for Gordon. But it still will be a challenge, with it likely that players that will be key contributors playing extensive minutes one night getting relatively little playing time the next. D'Antoni said that will be tougher on his players than on him and that he was confident that they will accept whatever comes. Still, it will be tricky, with Friday offering only hints on how D'Antoni will make it work. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sp...eaways-from-the-Rockets-win-over-12705745.php
We should go 10 or 11, we should seriously consider to limit minutes for Ariza, Paul and Gordon under 30 minutes, Ariza is durable, but he is not spring chicken any more, don't have to explain more about the other two, so all of them will have full tank in playoff.
Play Ryno and JJ like Nene/BW. JJ gets rest on B2B and Ryno gets limited/no minutes for home games. Assuming no injuries of course which is pipe dream. Rockets rotation "problem" is a dream opportunity for other teams. Or a nightmare for opposing teams.
But Butler actually went out of his way to not play in the All-Star game in an effort to get more rest. That should tell us something about how cognizant he was of how many minutes he was logging and how concerned he was about his health and the risk of injury. I'm not saying his workload necessarily contributed to the injury, because we have no idea what happened or caused it, but there has been a lot of conversation in recent years about the connection between NBA players logging too many minutes without rest and then getting injured. Why do you think so many of the top tier teams have rested their star players in recent years? To stay fresh, yes, but the injury concern is absolutely something they're watching closely. Edit: And what I'm saying here is hardly a unique take. Thibodeau has consistently been criticized for overplaying his players and has been blamed (fairly or not) on numerous occasions since his time in Chicago for damaging the careers of guys like Rose and Noah.
he didnt play in the all star game bc he partied too much. you can rest players all you want. but unless theyre in some kind of bubble wrap injuries are going to happen regardless in a game that requires physicality and contact
