Now that we've locked up HCA throughout the playoffs, the remaining games lose their value. Its easy to fall into the trap of saying rest all our vets. On the other hand I want our guys to stay sharp and keep their conditioning up. Also, the spurs, blazers, and thunder will bring a playoff atmosphere this week and its good for our guys to get used to that level of intensity. Of course if anyone is anything less than 100% they should sit out, But how would you balance rest vs rust?
REST Rust -- if any -- gets PB Blasted within One Game. This isn't Football or NCAA where it's one-and-done.
Combo, BUT show pop and his spurts who the top dog in the NBA is tomorrow after that, Chill for a bit.
Give all the starters AT LEAST a game or 2 off... and then run the starting lineups for a half or so for the 2-3 games directly leading up to the playoffs..,
i feel like MDA still wants one more win to beat his Suns regular season wins record that's why he does not want to rest them players yet...
I dont think we are going to go 0-6. That would be really bad for morale. Additionally if you're championship squad, you dont quit because it no longer matters. Winners win. Quitters quit. Rockets should start giving the 3rd string more playing time. They should also focus on any weaknesses. Other than for the back to back game, everyone should play. Playing for 15-20 mins is better than not playing at all provided the player is not playing with an injury.
I would prefer Rest + no Rust As in rest starters in alternate games and then have them play 30 mins each int he last few games to get the no rust out the system
So almost two weeks till the playoffs start. This is an easy problem. We make sure the key rotation guys are well rested and sharpened. The next 4 games are playoff contenders. We should play some of our key guys in those games for no more than 25 min, but they will have to compete. Results are not important just like preseason. Then the last two games against lakers and Kings, we practice out playoff rotation. That’s plenty of rest. We don’t want to tell the guys to take a vacation for two weeks right before the playoffs.
Gary Payton said something interesting that a game or two for rhythm players actually hurts them but instead just half their in game minutes. I think Rhythm players like Harden and Eric should be getting their minutes reduced not sit out of games.
Man watching all the warriors injuries make me feel like just sit them all. No need to risk anything here. Yes bring them back for the last 3 games and slowly increase their minutes or something but damn an injury in this situation would be terrible
Of course you rest guys. I think the poll is confusing posters but I believe the consensus is definitely to do what we’ve been doing. More or less have James or CP3 (not both at once) sit out most of the remaining games, and rotate the role players off days. Give them a couple games together, but the first round should be a breeze and we can find our groove in a hurry then if we need to. We’ve basically peaked from day 1, team doesn’t really need to keep the foot on the pedal
I chose option 2 hypothetically. Realistically speaking it should be a combination. A semi playoff type game in the 4th quarter against OKC would be helpful if everyone is 100 percent fit, but if Chris and Harden are hurting sit them out. I'm more interested in giving minutes to Capela and Ryan right now, so they can get ready for the playoffs. Ariza needs some more too. Tucker needs a break soon. MDA needs to give tough love to Clint and Ryan. Both of them are fragile. Very different from PJ, Luc and even Green. Johnson too is trying to get ready for the big show. If CC and RA don't bring much to the table, put them on the DNP list as "available but not ready". Give their minutes to Black and JJ.
I think it has to be a combo, that will also allow MDA to try some new rotations--like starting GG last game. These last 6 games can be important to see how some different combos work, keep guys sharp, and reduce minutes on the starters/key reserves. I'd definitely like to see GG, Ryno, Joe, and Tarik get some quality minutes in these last games with a blend of the starters.