Another injury signals our destiny: is it realistic to bench Amen ever again?

Amen goes back to 6th man but plays 30 mpg. Next year he is a starter

 

Maybe just sell high on Brooks? Trade him to another contender for draft capital and one plus shooter. Don't really need a return that has a player that requires a lot of minutes because we are struggling to find minutes already for certain guys especially if Tari ever comes back.

This way Jabari can keep his starting spot which is needed honestly because he is one of the few players on the team that can stretch the floor especially if Amen is joining the starting line up.

 

I never even thought of this but it's a really good question to ask. It's also really hard to answer now and maybe it will be easier and more clear once Jabari is ready to come back. But if nothing major changes, and Amen continues to look really good as a starter...I don't envy Ime/Stone in that position. It will be a really tough decision and I think someone is gonna be unhappy no matter what. I think the most diplomatic decision would be to move Amen back to the bench, but would they really do that knowing it would make the team worse?

 

Sit Jalen

it would realistically be Smith, he’s the only one who hasn’t been paid amongst the starting group

 

First page yeah!
Amen should be a starter and he is destined to be our franchise player. Bari or brooks should come off the bench. I dont care which one.

 

Jalen.







It's a pretty massive swing.

Fred, Amen, Dillon, Alpi WITH Jalen: -16.5 in 101 possessions.
Fred, Amen, Dillon, Alpi WITHOUT Jalen: +32.6 in 191 possessions.

Actually, one of the best lineups would be if Tari could get healthy: +54.5 in 47 possessions (admittedly small sample size)

Fred
Dillon
Amen
Tari
Alpi

Big lineup except for Fred, and could switch everything.

 

Bari because he is coming back from Injury. Let him work his rythm back with the 2nd unit.

Evaluate and iterate

 

Give him some more time. Amen is still not consistent enough on offense to be solidifying anything. Because of his lack of shooting, his offensive production will fluctuate based on how defenses play him and his transition opportunities. He is already averaging 28mpg on a playoff team in his 2nd year. No need to hurry.

 

We won’t decide, Ime will. Ime has 4 to 8 weeks to see how well these new rotations work against some of the best teams in the league. Frankly, I don’t care who starts, as long as we get wins. Amen is going to get plenty of minutes even if he doesn’t start.

If John Havlicek and Kevin McHale can come off the bench, then any of our guys can come off the bench. Furthermore, I don’t see Amen, Brooks, or Smith being unhappy coming off the bench as long as they are part of the rotation and getting minutes.

Not having Tari or Smith in the lineup is definitely giving Amen and Cam an opportunity to show Ime what they can do with more minutes. This could benefit us down the line.

At some point Brooks will probably be the odd man out as he gets older and the younger players move into their prime years.

 

I meant worse comparatively. If the best possible starting lineup (and best minutes distribution) involves starting Amen, then you are making the team worse by benching him. It's worse relative to the optimal decision. If starting Amen leads to the most wins, I just have a hard time seeing a guy like Ime benching him to "keep the peace" and manage feelings/egos. He seems like the kind of coach that will do whatever makes us win the most and not really care about someone's feelings getting hurt. But it also might be out of his hands.

 

Had we not just extended Sengun, I would think that it might actually be the case that Jabari moves to the 5, and Sengun goes to the bench. I love Sengun but guys lets be honest about how horrible his defense has been lately.

I don't think Sengun will sit, but I do think when Jabari comes back (or Tari comes back for that matter) I think the guy whose minutes get eaten even if he starts is Sengun.

Big fella has gotta start playing better. This should clearly be his team, and he should be heading to his first all star game, but he has been pretty bad as of late to be honest. Everyone healthy... Amen still comes off the bench but Sengun's minutes get cut significantly.

(putting my flame suit on)

 

Jabari will come off the bench when he gets back. Amen has to start from now on.

Jabari and Brooks are the "role" players of the starting lineup. It has to be one of them. And right now, Brooks is still better at everything over Jabari.

 

Brooks to the bench could give that 2nd unit a boost.

 

I mean the fact that he can't shoot will make him a liability on offense in certain matchups. There's a reason why just in the last 12 games, 3 of them he finished with 5 or fewer points. And this is all against opposing backups. He may be uber athletic but he can't score at will the way a Zion or Giannis can. People keep making comparisons, but Amen doesn't have that force of nature ability to get to the paint at will.

 

They’ve had him on the bench even though it made us worse all year.