Is it time to expand the rotation?

And were is the evidence or proof that an extra 3 minutes of rest a game will make them better?

As Mike D'Antoni says it's only a problem if you're fat and out of shape.

 

Maybe this is semantics, but I don't think he should expand the regular rotation. Instead, he should cut down the minutes of the primary rotation players in the 3rd & 4th quarters of games we will obviously win. I don't care how easy he supposedly is on players between games. When the Rockets have beaten a team into the ground, it's time to trickle in the scrubs one at a time early in the 4th quarter instead of waiting until there are 2 1/2 minutes remaining in the game.

I'm in the minority here, but I don't have a problem with an 8 player rotation. But every chance he has, JVG should reduce the 2nd half minutes for Tracy, Yao, Shane & Rafer. That is my gripe. Mixing in one more player and going to 9 is fine also. Even with that, the minutes of our top 4 workhorses should be dialed down when we have games well in control. Playing 4 of our 5 starters against the scrubs of other teams in blowouts is crazy.

Wow , D'Antoni fires a bazooka at Barkley. Maybe that will shut him up for two minutes (if that is possible).

In 1995, the time off was key for Dream in the playoffs. His legs were much fresher than David Robinson's which was a big factor in his dominating performance. I'm hoping Yao works out the same way in the upcoming playoffs and dominates each and every series.

 

T-mac's back could go if he happens to play only 10 minutes, but plays them with all out reckless abandonment and tries to dunk it every time. Its not the minutes he plays... its how he stretches before/after... and what all he feels comfortable doing once he's in the game.

There's also something to be said about telling this team to relax (or cool it), and then expect them to ramp it up again for the playoffs... this team has never been able to do that (nor have they been healthy enough to simply decide when to play hard and when to relax).

The key right now is being able to have T-mac and Yao BOTH go off whenever they want to for any given game... I don't feel they're completely where they need to be in that respect.

Tonight's game will be a good test simply because you know the Suns double-teams are going to give Yao hell, and thus T-mac is going to have to show he can dominate a team when the opportunity is begging for him to do so.

Once again... this team has just started to play together after a 32 game break... IOW, its all new again. They need another week or so to get it fully humming again.

 

We are locked into 5th, but the starters have to get more playing time with Yao. In the playoffs, Yao won't be playing next to Snyder, Vspan, or Novak so it makes no sense for him to play next to them. Deke should definitely take the next few games off. He's earned it.

All our starters are pretty high-IQ guys, so they've worked Yao back into the offense really quickly so far. When Mutumbo was starting, our offense was all on the perimeter. With Yao back it's like we added 20 points in the paint and that is SWEET! The best part is that they aren't just dumping into Yao and standing around, the offense is still moving and flowing and we can give it to him to finish. It's great to have Yao back!

 

The situation with D'Antoni is that he pretty much directly refutes your "we need to get them extra 3 minutes of rest" theory (as pitched by Charles Barkley) as a load of horse-****.

He plays the shortest bench in the game while playing at the one of the highest paces in the game.

Since you regularly hold him up as a shining example of basketball genius I would think the fact that he obviously thinks Coach DD's theory is a load of crap would resonate with you just a tiny bit

 

If we stick diligently with a 9 or 9 1/2 man rotation (Bonzi or Snyder is out), I think that's the best. It will get everyone enough playing time to get a rhythm and some chemistry out there, and it should also limit our best player to around 35 minutes a game. Playing our end of the bench players just to give them experience is worthless right now. It's more important that our key 8 or 9 players are playing like a well-oiled machine by the time playoffs arrive. If expanding the rotation means players minutes become more sporadic (and that's inevitably what it means), than it's a bad decision.

 

You know exactly what this team looks like when its not giving all-out effort... they might as well not even take the court.

Once they get more comfortable together, they'll find some time to pick their spots for rest (or hell... they'll blow everybody out, and take entire quarters for rest).

The key right now is being able to hang with elite teams both in offensive efficiency and defensive tenacity... they need to close out this regular season with similiar intensity to what they're going to bring in the playoffs (but of course, they'll all bring a little extra once the playoffs start).

 

DD, I think if the poll is to expand the rotation when we are up 25 with 9 minutes left. I would agree with you.

 

Tonite's game is frustrating, because:
Suns are home
Suns are rested
Rox are on road (duh)
Rox are on B2B
Suns are better
Rox match-up so poorly v Suns, worse than any other team in NBA

Which team is more likely to defeat Suns in p/o - Mavs or Spurs? Either might. Yet, Rox might beat either Texas team but cannot defeat Suns in a 7-game series.

So, if Rox fail to get to win Finals, who do you aim at with off-season retooling job, Mavs? Suns? (Spurs?)

 

The only excuse I'll accept is that the Suns, as they're playing now, are better. We need to beat an elite team on the road, and we need to be able to not look like complete ass on the 2nd night of a back to back.

Just because the Suns seem better, doesn't mean we can't elevate our level of play to beat them any given night.

 

The place to expand the rotation is at the 1 - because Rafer is the only Point playing. If he were to be out then what is the plan? T-Mac/head 48?

 

Players 8, 9, 10 and 11 should always be game ready!!! Not only to cover injuries but to perform as specialist role players and to prevent the over working of our upper level players like Yao and McGrady.
Bonzi, Snyder, Tskaldis and Novak are the ones that should be encouraged by the coaches to be game ready by their regular involvement [playing time] in games. IMHO JVG is too conservative and needs to be more flexible in his offensive planning. We have the talent, use it or loose it!!
PS.JVG should decide if Head is a Point Guard ar a spot up Shooting Guard because his game is not good when he attempts to wear the mantle of both roles at the same time!

 

You can have the starters more rested without expanding the regular rotation. In the playoffs, our 6-9 guys are going to be much, much more important than our 10-12 guys. The disparity in importance between those two groups only increases from the regular season to the playoffs. Your suggestion that we expand the rotation will primarily come at the cost of guys 6-9. Not a smart idea at this point in the season.

I'd like for McGrady and Yao to play no more than 35 mpg. But why replace their minutes with players that are hardly ever going to play in the playoffs? Instead, those minute should be given to our key reserves (unless it's garbage time).

Again, if we're going to win in the playoffs, we're going to win with 1-9, not 10-12.

 

The only person who needs rest is Deke. He is resting. Yao is in pre-season form now and these last 20 games will get him in better shape.

It matters that we keep improving our record even if we don't move up the seeding. Are you happy only with a 5th seed? lets do our best and see what seed we get. We need to go to the playoffs on the 10 game winning streak and develop our chemistry even more.