JVG is known for his short rotations, but is this tiring the team out while stagnating the remainder? I like our team and I like JVG's coaching (despite his scant positive reinforcement for players). However, perhaps it is time for our coach to broaden the rotational horizon a little? First Team: SF, Cat, JJ, Mo and Ming. Second Team: Moochie, Pike, Boki, Ford and Cato. Let them become accustomed to playing in their sub-group so we can substitute en mass. This keeps everyone fresher and involved plus everyone knows where and how their platoon mates like the ball. Yes, if one of the players is on fire, JVG leaves him in for a while longer. If one gets a foul trouble, he sits a little longer. If there is a better matchup......yadda yadda yadda. Frustration does funny things to me, but at this moment I don't think this idea is all bad. The second team "looks" weak, but Pike and Boki can be scorers, and Ford has more rebounding muscle and a better shot than most fans think. Cato is Cato -- the middle will be relatively safe with assistance from Ford. All that's needed for the second platoon is tape for Moochie's fingers so he makes the "All Thumbs" team -- forcing him to pass rather than dribble.
Is hat how they do it? I always thought they were just blue from going over some line and pucking around with a high stick for a low blow.
Well we have 3 main guys or stars. Francis..Mobley..and Yao. I think one of them should always be on the court. But I think Padgett and Nachbar and Wilks should get more playing time. Like Memphis...just split the time evenly and let whoever is playing good play long that one game. Francis 36/Wilks 11/Moochie 1 Mobley 36/Piatkowski 12 Jackson 32/Nachbar 8/Padgett 8/Griffin 0 Taylor 27/Ford 15/Cato 6 Yao 35/Cato 13/Amaechi 0 We don't even need Adrian Griffin.. Well I don't think our guys trust each other and we still don't have a solid system..maybe it's too confusing for our guys with that many people playing. Wilks I think can provide a short spark.. Piatkowski is a spot up shooter.. Nachbar and Padgett do the same thing.. Ford is a role player.. I think it would be better to have them all play.
I would love platooning if it would lead to more hustle on both sides of the ball, but it seems when we bring in the bench the team doesn't produce very well on d or o, so leave in the starters please. Iron man basketball.
thumbs - On a serious note, we both know that JVG is not going to lengthen his rotation. Even though it works very well for the Kings and the Grizz, it's not him and we're going to have to live with it. The best we can hope for is perhaps a 9 man rotation when AGriff is available. Perhaps this wil cut down on some fatigue. I hope so as JJax hasn't played this many minutes in over 4 seasons and is +14 mpg vs his Kings minutes last season. Beyond that, IMO your sub-group 2 has a problem...a severe lack of O. Cato is...well, Cato...... and Moochie is...... well, Moochie. And Braggs is a work in progress. Pike is the only proven shooter and no one on the unit would command a double team making their job even harder! Plus, you would be 1 mild ankle sprain or 3 fouls in a half from destroying the platoon concept IMO. You would get no argument from me that Mobley and Francis and JJax play far too many minutes. But I think there needs to be counterbalancing forces...IOW, any unit needs some O, some D some distance shooting, etc. But hey, I'm reasonable. Convince me!
I also worried about that at first. However, Pike is a shooter who can drive and Boki is a driver who can shoot. Together, they should make double teams pay. Cato is a putback kind of guy, and Braggs, er, uh, Ford (once he learns to play without the quick foul problem) is very similar to MoT in that Ford is not quite as good a shot (although more than passable) but a better rebounder. As far as Moochie goes, he might get replaced by Wilks. The threat of injury is diminished by Padgett and A. Griffin. Hmmmm, I guess we don't have to use the "A" anymore. Griffin can give us guard and SF insurance while Padgett can give us PF and SF insurance. Also, remember the second platoon generally will come in when the other team makes its major substitutions. The fear of our "B" team pitted against the other team's "A" squad is therefore reduced.
I think it's time to make some changes. 1) Put MoT in the starting line up and Cato backups. Keep opponent from doubling Yao early will help the Rockets and Yao get a quick start. The whole team seems to play better ahead than playing from behind. 2) Play Cat a little less. We got good production from him but so do we from Pike. Pike needs more minutes while Cat needs more rest. 3) Use Mooch as little as possible. He can back up Steve but never play the 3 -guard line up. It never gains us anything. If Jeff wants Steve to play off the ball, let Cat or JJ handle the ball up top. 4) Get Ford a few minutes, looks like he earned some. 5) Try to play Pike and maybe Boki mostly with Yao. Don't play them much with Cato or even MoT. They benefit most from getting open outside looks with Yao on the court. 6) Play hi-lo with our 4 and 5 more. Even with Cato, if he doesn't fade out too far, somewhere near the opposite elbow from the low post is good for him. MoT and Yao can do damage anywhere close to the FT circle with their shooting and passing. And yes, tell everyone to make that one extra pass and we'll be OK.
Thumbs my biggest problem with this is that basketball is a game of rythem and flow. Sometimes it takes time to get into the flow of a game, every player that comes in is not like Cat you know. Second sometimes it takes a little time to find your rythem. Do you really want to bring five guys into a game cold? Not me. And I like the JVG style of substituting. I have always beleived that you start you best 5 guys and you sub in such a maner that you try to keep as many of your starters on the floor at a time.
Granted, your view is the classic approach and, who can argue, because it has worked. Yes, there's a lot of evidence to support your belief. However, if a person is making $200,000+ to play a game, I would think players should be into the flow of the game without any lag time. Now, as far as finding their rhythm, that is why they get the big bucks. Even the scrubs are in the top 500 players in the world. But, then again, I could be wrong. Remember, I am so frustrated I'm just sitting on my thumbs waiting to see what's going to happen next.
