Both CP3 and Harden are averaging fewer minutes this season than most of their previous seasons.

the metric should be a combination of minutes played and usage rate. What Chris Paul allows Harden to do, is sit back and rest even when Harden is in the game.

Of every player who has played at least 1000 minutes this year, Harden is still number one in usage rate by a good margin. This is also the highest its ever been in his career.

Eyeball test says Harden looks much more rested. Maybe usage rate is a terrible metric. I dunno.

 

big if true

 

yeah, it definitely doesn't feel like james is being worn down. obviously it makes sense his usage rate must be high because he's leading the league in scoring and almost assists in only 36 minutes, but it seems easy and like it's in the flow. i would play him less in blowouts but it seems we are doing a good job of general 6 minute stretches of rest each half and sticking to it.

 

This

 

He just needs to be fully rested for the playoffs.

I think we've done a pretty good job with him so far . I'd like to see us get a bit more aggressive towards reducing mins / having him skip a game or two down the stretch .

Agree with the idea that CP3 helps him conserve more energy on the floor . In the playoffs , I want him using more of that energy on D

 

What’s most interesting is the stat from the ringer that we are 9th in pace yet we are last in distance ran and average speed?

So, while sure lots of minutes are played some games, we are really allowed to rest on offense because of how the system is set up.

Also, the always switching defense also saves lots of energy. No fighting through screens and hard contact or grabbing and pulling. No more sprinting and chasing down your guy around a screen to contest a shot.

Plus, with shared ball handling duties it’s just a rememarkable amount of strain lifted off either cp3 or harden physically AND mentally. Both of who this far in their careers had to make the decision and the “right play” the very single time down. Always had to be the #1 focus of the defense.

Just lotttts more rest all around this year...

 

hmmm, maybe I'd say this differently.

They convert that "on-court rest" to better defensive play. Paul is helping Harden catch his breath on offense, which he spends on more defensive energy. (Of course, me saying that is admitting to him taking defensive possessions off in previous years,,, er, argh, media conspiracy, urg, glurp)

Plus, the league added two weeks to the schedule, so there are less b2b and more true rest during the season.

 

Take into account that both guys have missed games due to injury this season and therefor been playing some games while 'coming back from injuries'... and I certainly hope they're playing less minutes than previous years...
MDA's minute management is horrible - always has been... hopefully at this point he has enough vets that he will trust on the floor that we can maintain a reasonable dispersal of minutes... although based on his comments regarding Green (before the Ariza injury) - I'm cautiously optimistic...
MDA is a stat padder... hopefully he'll be willing to run a longer rotation if he doesnt think his precious stats will be any less...

 

Will we finally see a 11/12 men rotation?

 

compared to last year...
Harden is down .6 min a game - for a 1.6% reduction... less than 2% reduction - and we saw how last year ended...
CP3 is actually increased his minutes by .5 over last year...

 

Apparently according to nba.com, the Rockets have the easiest schedule by far so far. I wonder if that has something to do with the amount of success we have had

 

Not having to play the Rockets certainly helps

 

Spoiler

 

I’d say another important factor that can’t be measured is the mental fatigue that comes with being the primary ball handler and play maker. The trust that Harden and Paul have for one another must be a huge benefit psychologically. They may be playing 30-35 minutes but the weight of the entire teams success is evenly distributed across them both.

I hope that’ll pay dividends later in the playoffs as much as their physical conservation of energy.

 

Those minutes will probably be able to come down a little more with the addition of ISO Joe! Hopefully Ariza's minutes down the stretch will decrease a bit as well, especially with the way Green has been playing. It's ok to get Luc, Ariza and Tucker to play less minutes until the playoffs. It should be all about going into the post season healthy and rested for a deep run!

 

BUT, BUT the #RestNarrative.

People go overboard on the Rest thing.

 

Concentrate on usage, not minutes.

 

What's your explanation for game 6 vs Spurs last year?
Was it burnout - our do you prescribe to one of the more nefarious explanations?
#thosewhodonotlearnfromthepastaredestinedtorepeatit lol

 

again I hear and appreciate what ur saying... and I agree Harden is probably taking less wear n tear than last season... but its still the MDA fast pace run run run game plan...
Id rather error on the side of caution and get a far more rested team going into the playoffs... and give new arrivals ample opportunity to get acclimated with actual real game minutes...

After game 6 last year, MDA promised a better job managing minutes and having guys more well rested for the playoffs... less than 2% dont get it...
Keep in mind guys like CP3, Ariza, etc aren't spring chickens... Before his injury MDA was runnin the hell outta Ariza...