Assuming the roster stays the same, how do you think the minutes will be distributed amongst the Rockets players next season? The team will be twice as deep as last season's team, and its going to be really tough to divide the minutes without at least one or two of our deserving players sitting the bench. Based on our roster, I think Ming, Cato, Taylor, Griffin, Thomas, Rice, Nachbar, Mobley, Francis, and Moochie are all players that deserve minutes. I think Maddox and Morris will most likely be our "scrubs." So, out of those ten players, this how I would best divide the minutes: Francis: 38 Mobley: 38 Ming: 24 Cato: 18 Taylor: 25 Griffin: 25 Thomas: 22 Nachbar: 20 Moochie: 18 Rice: 12 The only problem is, if Rice is completely healthy, do you really think Rudy would play him that short of time? Second, doesn't it look like alot of guys aren't getting enough playing time? That's why I think think one, maybe two of those guys I listed should have their playing time cut down significantly or maybe altogether. I just can't decide which of those two players would ride the bench. I have a feeling Nachbar will not be playing as much as I hope. I can't see Rudy playing him more than any of those other players. I'm really curious to see what the rotation is going to look like. I have a feeling Rice won't last too long, so that would change things. Anyone have any predictions of what the rotation might look like next season?
I see Rice starting at the beginning of the year but getting injured and having Nachbar take his place. We might see Tmo and Nachbar have the same amount of time providing one of them isn't injured at the start of the year. Rudy doesn't really like playing rookies unless he simply has to.
Steve & Cat play more around 40 Hopefully Griffin gets near 30 minutes KT might be gone, but if he's not it will be interesting to see how Rudy divides between the 3 4s Nachbar won't start unless he goes crazy in training camp, but he should get 20 mpg along with Ming
Boki is not your average rookie. He was one of the best players in the Euroleague,(the 2nd best league in the world) where the competion is getting really good and is constantly producing world class talent, on top of that he is only 21! So I don't expect it to take him that long to start, Rice hurt or not hurt. TMo will have to surgically remove that chair from his arse!
Nice thread, DCkid... I was thinking of starting the same thing. Here's what I'm thinking, position by position... Center: Cato -- 16 Ming -- 22 Taylor -- 10 Cato is the starter, at least at the beginning of the year, but I don't see him playing that much. Eight minutes to start each half, and sporadic minutes in between for matchups. I think Ming will come in and have an immediate impact because of his ability to draw centers out of the lane and have a defensive presence because of his size. Mo will shift there to occasionally play with EG up front. Power Forward: Taylor -- 14 Griffin-- 25 Thomas -- 9 Mo is the starter, but will play some of his minutes at center as Griffin and KT will need to come off the bench and play at the 4 spot. Both KT and Griffin will have to play more time at the 3... Small Forward: Rice -- 18 Nachbar -- 22 Thomas -- 8 Whether or not Rice is the starter is still up for debate, but Nachbar will see a lot of minutes. Rice, like Cato, will likely start the halves for the first eight or so minutes, and then come in during specific situations. Nachbar should be ready to play soon, and may be our most productive player here. KT will have to get some time here to adjust to this position, if he will get minutes. Shooting Guard: Mobley -- 35 Francis -- 8 Nachbar -- 5 Mobley will be the starter, but hopefully will stay under 40 minutes per game to keep him fresh for the playoffs. Steve will likely play some here when Mooch enters the game, and Nachbar can fill the remaining minutes when there is a bigger two guard and Cat is on the bench. Point Guard: Francis -- 30 Norris -- 18 Francis is the starter, but plays some of his minutes at the two spot while Mooch is in. We still need Mooch for his energy, and of course his clutch shooting. Maddox or Tierre will see spare time... This is an extremely deep team... the problem is that KT will probably have to go. I like his game, but when you break it down, I'm not sure where the minutes come from. When you hear the coaches talk, it sounds like Taylor and Griffin are bigger parts of their future plan, and if both of them get 25 mpg I'm not sure where Kenny gets his minutes. This breaks down the minutes to this: Francis -- 38 Mobley -- 35 Nachbar -- 27 Griffin -- 25 Taylor -- 24 Ming -- 22 Moochie -- 18 Rice -- 18 Thomas -- 17 Cato -- 16
It's a sad day when KT, the most effective inside player last season, only sees 17 minutes per, but you might be right. If he has to go, maybe the Rox can trade him for a big backup 2 guard that could come in and play a "stopper" role. Kind of like a Shandon Anderson for less money.
Cat, you forgot TMo. Does he get any minutes? I see Eddie splitting time at center more than MoTay. But it's still too crowded unless someone gets injured. I don't want that to happen, but as someone else said, almost all these guys (at least our PFs) are too talented to be limited to limited minutes. And with the PFs, all of them have earned significant minutes. Tough position for Rudy, but then again, this is the type of problem that coaches and GMs love to have. I'm not too worried about too much depth.
It might piss people off, but knowing Rudy, I think Eddie might see the least minutes out of the three PFs. Unless MoTay and Kenny are struggling for some reason, I think it's their minutes to lose. I think Eddie as the youngest and least developed will be the odd man out, although I'm sure he'll still see at least ten minutes per game.
My thoughts exactly. Kenny has put in three years of hard work, and has become a very solid contributor. If anyone has to go, I think it should be Mo Taylor.
Let's not get carried away with the MoTay bashing. He took less money for a while before getting the fat contract. He might not rebound well, but he's not a cancer on the team. He never pretended to be a force down low. He was always a finesse forward. We chose to sign him. He has done what we expected. We can hardly blame him for the injury. Right now, of all our PF and C's, MoTay probably has the most offensive skill. That, along with his big conract, says that he's not going anywhere. Ming, CAto and Griff will have to do the interior rebounding and defense. The minutes are a problem and KT is the only one that can really be traded. He's effective and cheap.
