Wood isn’t bad defensively. He needs to get stronger in his core but he has excellent feet forward and sideways. His defensive issues are primarily concentration based and on occasion is pushed around by big players. He is physically better at switching than Covington.
He is supposed to be ready to play this upcoming season, but he tore his achilles, even if healthy enough to play again, he may never be the same player, and therefor good enough to play in the NBA again. Same exact situation for Cousins. Maybe they come back really close to what they were before, or maybe they are really bad and we waive both mid season.
If Nwaba is healthy and shooting 34-35% from 3, he is going to be playing a LOT. He is an exceptional defender that can cover 1’s all the way through 4’s in switches. He is 6’5” with a 7’0” wingspan and is very strong and athletic with an excellent motor and burst. He has very quick hands and excellent hand-eye coordination. He is the Rockets most talented defensive player and if he plays 30 minutes a night he will be appreciated as one of the top few defenders. He really has no physical limitations to his game defensively.
Barring injury I think it'll look something like: Westbrook 32 / EG 16 Harden 34 / EG 14 House 28 / McLemore 15 / Brown 5 PJ 28 / Nwaba 20 Wood 30 / Boogie 18 At least 2 out of Russ, Harden, and EG on the floor at all times as shot creators. On a given night, hopefully some of the backup wing minutes go to the youngsters instead of McLemore, House, Brown, or Nwaba. If they perform maybe one of them takes some minutes permanently. I don't think we can expect to have Boogie for more that 20 or so minutes a night. Anything he gives us is just bonus.
This one makes the most sense IMO. I think SF is where all the 6'5 guys we have are gonna fight for a rotation spot.
I don't see BMac and Green both getting minutes consistently the same nights since they both kinda play the same role and have the same weaknesses. But I see there being nights where McLemore struggles and Green gets his minutes instead or nights where Silas just wants to experiment with the lineup so both guys seem some playing time. Bruno? I just don't know. If Cousins struggles or gets hurt, I could see him getting minutes. I really hope that 18-19 season with Memphis wasn't a fluke, but a sign of things to come for him. I just haven't seen that level of competency from him in an NBA rotation since he came to Houston.
Bruno plays on Boogie's rest days. He gets that 20 minutes. Gerald, Tate, and Nwaba fight for minutes. May the best man win. I'm keeping BMac in the rotation, period. He's our only 40% three point shooter.
Till the trade Start Wall, Gordon, House, Tate, Wood Harden, Nwaba, Tucker, & Cousins off the bench. Harden & Tucker can go along to get along. Minutes vary according to attitudes & need. Everything these two do needs to be transparent and made public. If they set for a year so be it. If we lose because they are pouting so be it. The organization should be done with this two feeling and thoughts, they don’t care about the Rockets anymore.
Wall (27) / Harden (17) / Nwaba (4) Harden (16) / Gordon (17) / McLemore (8) / Nwaba (7) House (28) / McLemore (10) / Gordon (10) Tucker (30) / Tate (18) Wood (28) / Cousins (20) Minute totals: Harden - 33 Tucker - 30 Wood - 28 House - 28 Wall - 27 Gordon - 27 Cousins - 20 McLemore - 20 Tate - 18 Nwaba - 11 Wall's minutes can (and probably will) increase as the season progresses. 10 man rotation with Brown taking Nwaba's minutes dependent on current form. This roster is more deep than what we've had over the last couple seasons so they should be able to keep everyone's minutes down. Also wouldn't be surprised if we get some twin towers minutes in some matchups, in which case Tate and Tucker minutes will probably decrease.
I think we should aim to keep Harden and Wood at 31 minutes and everyone else plays less than 28. I want to be deep and stay fresh.
Has Silas talked about playing Bruno at wing/PF with another big on the floor? I still feel like Bruno is too small for a 5, but could still make a defensive impact if played differently.