Hey guys, with Lin, Beverly, Harden, Parsons, Asik and Howard we have 6 guys that have a guaranteed spot in our rotation. Based on preseason I think it is safe to say that Garcia and Caspi will both be part of our rotation as well. Most teams have a rotation of 8 1/2 guys - McHale stated earlier, that he might go with 9 or 10 players. So that leaves 1 or 2 more guys for our rotation. Yet we have a lot more players who probably expect to be in the rotation. Here is what I think: Canaan - headed for D-League, won`t play a role this season Brooks - has proved his worth, but will probably sit on the bench as insurance Brewer - might take the spot as a veteran wing defender TJones - has shown potential, but isn`t playing smart ball so far Moti - has shown potential but seems to be thinking too much Greg Smith - has proven he can contribute, but probably will sit on the bench as insurance Camby - probably simply a players coach Covington - should be headed to D-League Daniels - should be cut Williams - probably another cut I guess one of our PFs will take the 9th spot and perhaps Brewer will play some spot minutes here or there. Edit: Ah, damn... I put Casspi in the poll. That should read Daniels of course. Can a mod please change that or take him out?
I didn't vote for Casspi because I think he is clearly in the rotation now, along with Bev, Lin, Harden, Garcia, Parsons, Asik and Howard.
#1-8 are locked Howard, Harden, Parsons, Lin, Beverley, Asik, Casspi, Garcia #9-13 (13 active roster now) Brooks, Smith, Brewer, Jones, Motiejunas (depend on matchup, if small then Brooks, if big, you may see Smith/Jones/Motiejunas) #14 is Camby -- inactive list #15 is Canaan and he's going to d-league
Nobody will get these spots because they don't exist. McHale is rolling with the 8 guys who played normal minutes last night. The rest of them are out until garbage time or injury requiring a change.
Casspi already earned his spot, he wasn't expected to, but he's been solid so far. It's awesome having Brooks as a 3rd string PG option. Canaan and Covington are clearly not NBA ready, need some minutes in the D-League. Canaan looks worse than Scott Machado did last season. Montiejunas is ahead of Jones in the PF race, but just barely, and he has struggled against physical teams. I think McHale likes Greg Smith for some reason, he's a bruiser type. And we will keep Brewer because this young team needs veteran defenders off the bench to give Harden a rest.
I think you shouldn't have included Casspi in the list like Garcia. It might be situational but I chose D'mo and Brewer. I would go with Brooks but I don't think we'll need more than two PG's. It really depends on the situation.
If last nights game against the Spurs is any indication of McHale's rotation , I think CXbby may have been spot on with his idea of both Motiejunas & Jones being out of the rotation. http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=245239 That game might be the best indicator of how the rotation will look with Asik back on the court. The starters along with Casspi , Beverley & Garcia took the bulk of the meaningful minutes. It'll be interesting to see if he deviates from that plan tonight against Memphis tho its a back to back and highly possible he goes deeper in the bench. I could see Motiejunas or Smith getting some time over Casspi at the PF due to matchups & the back to back issue.
Yeah, like I stated in the opening post, Casspi was not supposed to be included. He is part of the 8 that have secured their spot in the rotation. Yeah I think we go with DMo and Brewer as well - with Brewer getting very limited minutes (if he plays at all) and DMO not that much more. I guess our firsg 8 players will get 85% of the minutes.
The rotation will be all over the place to start the season (with the obvious exceptions). By late December it will settle down. Smart NBA coaches will not base their rotation decision on a few preseason games.
I like PG Beverly SG Harden SF Parsons PF Howard C Asik Bench PG Lin (Second unit flows through Lin, penetration, 3 shooters spread the floor) SG Brooks SF Garcia PF DMo .....The End. Everyone else rides pine. Brewer maybe 5-10mpg. Howard and/or Asik on the floor always. Camby in case of foul trouble 5-10 minutes.
Crap! I forgot Caspi. Caspi should get DMo's minutes and a few of Brooks' minutes. So yeah, we are ten deep.
I don't think Brooks see's the court very much at all .... You'll see combinations of Lin / Beverley PG Harden / Lin / Garcia at SG Parsons / Casspi / Garcia at SF Howard / Casspi getting the bulk of the PF minutes with DMo getting some based upon matchups. Asik / Howard at Center. There's your 8-9 man rotation. Brewer might get a few minutes here and there if an opposing SG/SF is shooting the lights out but I think the rest of the bench sits unless one team has a large lead late or there is an injury to a guy ahead of them.