Not as bad as you think: Bari is a good help defender, Amen all defensive team, and Thornton looks to be a solid position defender and strong as an ox. Reed supposedly is adding muscle this offseason and already good at playing the passing lanes. I agree Eason should replace Bogs in that lineup is he’s healthy and motivated. Hopefully Ime thinks outside the box enough to try some interesting lineups
Amen: 44 Jabari: 40 FVV: 38 Reed: 24 Durant: 30 Tari: 28 Sengun: 36 Adams: 16 Wins: 44. Lose in the play-in. Ime will get fired, Stone will get fired and we will finally do the soft reset next off season with the two picks in that draft.
Amen and KD will be top 3 in minutes played again. FVV and Smart will both be over 30 if healthy. Bari 35, Alpi 32, Reed and Eason 20, Thornton and Adams 15
MAIN ROTATION C-Sengun (34)/Smith(14) PF-Smith (22)/Eason(16)/Durant (10) SF-Durant (24)/Eason(12)/Amen(12) SG-FVV (20)/Reed(20)/Smart (8) PG-Amen (20)/Smart(16)/Reed(8) 8 man rotation here. Needs to be 9-10 in regular season but minutes here are already reduced. Not only to keep players fresh but this is probably reduced a bit more than the players would like. Adams/Thornton/Bogdan can mix in as needed but we are definitely in need of a trade. I appreciate FVV but I don't know what his role will be other than to help make Sengun efficient and hopefully hit the spot up 3 with regularity. I imagine the plan is waiting to see and then acting in February. That works, as long as health holds out. This rotation is pretty dependent on using Smith as a stretch 5, which needs to be the future.
Will be interesting to see if Thornton fights his way into rotation minutes. If he's able to get his shot off against NBA players, I could see Amem sliding to SF with FVV, Smart, Reed, Thornton handling the guard minutes. He would add another shooter to the rotation.
I hope his game translates. We shouldn't have long to wait to find out, honestly. Very low odds on FVV and Smart staying healthy all season, and Thornton is by default in the Aaron Holiday role right now as 4th guard. Since he's a 4-year college player, he's almost fully-developed as a basketball player. Either his skills will translate or they won't.
it definitely will be more than 48 from Sengun + Adams/Capella. Udoka will 100% lean on the double big 40% of the games, assuming health, seeing as that was the one lineup where we were turning the league upside down. One would like to have KD around the 32 mark, probably wont happen, but, would be nice. Amen can play 36-38 without tiring the whole year, young legs and all, might as well keep him there. I would think the Jabari/Tari thing is about 20/20 split at the 4, with minutes at the 3, Marcus Smart might get 16-18 minutes a game, Fred will likely be at 30. Reed would be great at 26-28, but he most likely will settle about the same minutes Tari gets, around 20-22. This year, baring injuries, I expect Amen to have all of his minutes at the 2 (height wise, how he plays, different story), same for Reed. Would expect the 3 to be handled with KD, Jabari and Tari combining for the 48 there, and the 4 slot being Jabari, Tari and Sengun. The 5 being Sengun, Adams, and Capela on B2B. Few times the Double Big will get the start, but i bet its just 8-10 minutes a game sometime after opening tip most likely. my expectation is Fred/Marcus will be the 45-48 minutes at the 1. with the remaining being junk time or extreme big situations. Look for Reed to have minutes every time Adams is on the floor.
He was ignored by Ime, despite having the ability to help the team off the bench. Thornton’s addition probably means the end of his minor spell with the Rockets.
The double big is fine as long as it doesn't involve CC. All due respect to him but I would rather Smith be the 3rd center. Or Eason of even Amen if absolutely needed. Capela just isn't adding a lot at this point. Adams, if he returns to form..... Is good but we need to aware there are games and situations he is not needed. Play Smith at the 5 and work with him there over the next couple years. He already rebounds very well defensively and he is a decent defender in the paint and provides fine defense. Not a deterrent as a shot blocker yet but I think there is some room to grow there and he is effective in using his length inside to be disruptive. He can switch out, but I mostly want him inside. Even if he goes for more blocks, it takes a bit away from the strength in defensive rebounding. Double big when it is working and we can take advantage. It can be most games, but situational and we need to be flexible in going away from it if needed. Sheppard, Durant Bogdanovic (if needed, moves well off ball), FVV, Smith, Amen are good players to be in lineups with Adams when he is center. Avoid Tari or Marcus on the floor with Adams. When it is double big, it needs to be with Reed, Durant and Smith on the floor. But this is where we run into he ball handler issue. Hopefully reed has progressed. Even if you plug Eason in for Smith, you are supplementing the perimeter D but making the ball handling and facilitation more chaotic. Jabari isn't a handler or creator but he is more likely to just make the decision needed in the moment. Eason Smith Durant FVV Reed 3 of those guys need to be on the court at all times , along with 2 of Smart, Sengun, Amen, Adams. IF Bogdanovic were able to be stay healthy, there may really be an opportunity for earn quite a place in this rotation.
Hopefully Ime will play the right player. Davison is a 23 year old developmental MVP that plays in our bigs area of need. He is more NBA ready than a SRP rookie that stayed in school because he knew he was to physically slow to make it in the league. When given some run he did produce. Ime is making choices that aren’t best for the team long or short term.
