So let's say tmac gets back in the rotation, what happens to the rotation? Do we go from 9 man to 10 man rotation? There's no way he can play PG, he would totally go against the fast break style of play, that means one of ariza, battier, budinger or tmac is going to have to take way less minutes, maybe even not play
has to be shane and ariza. shane lost minutes tonight (only played 26). ariza is probably goin to lose 8-10 minutes and play 28-30. tmac will play around 7-10 minutes for the next 5-7 games or so.
keep ariza in. slowly work battier out of the lineup. ariza will be such an effective force on offense with tmac creating shots for him.
Deal with it when it happens. For the rest of the month he won't play any more than 10 minutes, like he did tonight.
I think Shane's minutes should depend largely on how many minutes the opponent superstar plays. Basically if Roy/kobe sits he sits, and we put on more offensive players
Right now, he is clearly 4th......he has to get a lot faster and quicker.....to break into the rotation as a regular. DD
With Ariza back in the fold, it will mean less minutes for Brooks at the 2(played the first 17 minutes tonight) and maybe less overall for Ariza and Battier with a 4th option at that position.
Ariza is one of the league leaders in mpg at just about 39 per game. I'm assuming his minutes will go down to about 30-35. Battier's 32 per game will probably go down as well maybe to about 25-28. Pure speculation here, and this is assuming T-Mac is going to be a consistent rotation player.
This is what I think will happen. Two scenarios: 1. If McGrady is fully back in his previous form AND can mesh with the team, he will be a starter and play 30+ minutes a game. They will have to decide whether they want to re-sign him. It depends, of course, on how much (or little) he is willing to accept. 2. If McGrady is not able to crack the starting lineup, he is gone, either traded or let go after the contract expires. They are not going to keep him as a bench rotation player with less >30mpg. I don't think he will accept that role long term. So, if #1 turns out true, and they decide to sign him for a few years, then they will have to trade either Battier or Ariza. With Budinger showing he is starter material and with TMac in full form, it just does not make sense to keep both Ariza and Battier. You want TMac, Budinger, and Ariza/Battier to share the 96 minutes of the SG/SF positions.
i think once tmac works the rust off all 4 wings will play between 20-30 mins, i dont think any will really play in the thirties consistently. More rest and therefore more energy when they do play.
"We want to continue to run the floor, and it's important that he pushed himself to do that," Adelman said. "The time he's playing there is no reason to not do that. We are looking for that and how he is defending and if he's moving without the ball. "I know he can do things offensively. That's never been an issue. He is one of the best passers in the league. He's got great size and he's just smart. He knows how to play the game. It's the little things. Like when he took it to the basket and got fouled. Those are the type of things we are looking for and his continued effort on the defensive end. With that injury, the lateral quickness and the comfort level is not there and he's got to push himself to get to that point."
What stood out to me was he just didn't move very well on the floor -- north-south, or laterally, he just looked slow. And his jumper is flat again.
I expect trevor and shane to definitely try and step their game up, Im sure they don't want to see their role decrease.
I kind of agree, though I think Adelman deliberately kept Shane's minutes down last night so that he would have energy to defend Carmelo Anthony in Denver the following night. I think he'll keep averaging around 30-31 minutes. Ariza's been playing huge minutes, and I think reducing his minutes by 5 or 6 minutes will make him more effective. Brooks will spend less time at the shooting guard spot unless there is a significant matchup advantage to go with the Brooks/Lowry backcourt. No need to cut into Budinger's minutes. So that should give about 8 minutes for Adelman to give to McGrady for the next 6 games. But the real challenge will be after those 6 games when McGrady needs/expects more playing time.
And that may be the best thing to happen out of a T-Mac "return." Increased competition within the squad... Until the trade happens...
i disagreed. he looked much better in his first game this year than at anytime last year. it isn't even close. his jumper was flat? i thought they looked great: had good elevation, good arc. the first shot he shot it too hard, but straight, hit the back iron. the 3pt shot had perfect arc (and he changed his form last year on the 3s). his jumper but yes, his defensive lateral movement was not very good still. however, he still elevates pretty darn high to contest the shots and for some of the rebounds. he seems to have that extra burst in his jumps that he never had last year. overall, there is still a long ways to go before he can be "back," if he's ever back. but i'm definitely encouraged by what i saw. no knee brace, no limping, no pain in his facial expression, esp. after that foul when he took it to the basket.
Our SG/SF is our most inconsistent lineup in terms of offensive production. t-mac will make ariza and battier step up.
I agree, but it looked less like a physical limitation and more like a matter of will. He stood around way too much in an offense that is based on perpetual motion. A guy like Chase never stops moving off the ball unless he's spotting up for a catch-and-shoot opportunity. There were times when Tracy was just walking around on the wing with seemingly no purpose...as usual.
