What will the minutes distribution of the guards look like?

It's a long season and it would be nice to have a young, developing third-string PG for minutes when Beverley or Lawson are not available due to minor injuries. I'm missing Nick Johnson a little.

 

That's what I'm afraid of. While 34-36 minutes a game will be a decrease from prior years, imo 30-32 minutes will be needed for Harden to be fresh for the playoffs.

 

230 mpg
Lawson 26-28 Beverly 20-24
Harden 33-35 Thornton McDaniel maybe 5 between them
Ariza 32-34 brewer 25

 

230 mpg (obviously not everyone plays every game so it's not accurate just a guestemate.
Lawson 24-26 Beverly 20-24
Harden 33-35 Thornton McDaniel maybe 5 between them
Ariza 30-32 brewer 25
Tones 25 Dmo 28 (C as well)
Dwight 25 Capella 17-20
My prediction before all star break where rooks may get meaningful mins. I love our team and think we should save Dwight honestly to 20pg unless it's close. Can't wait for the season! I hope we start to save our players legs and help prevent injury by spreading minutes... Like coach pop

 

I think we run with a 9-man rotation, but with so many other rotation-worthy players, and the injuries that will inevitably occur during the course of the season, we'll see a number of other guys get some PT.

But to begin, it should look something like this:

C: Dwight (30); Capela (12); Motiejunas (6)
PF: Motiejunas (22); Jones (22); Ariza (4)
SF: Ariza (30); Brewer (14) Harden (4)
SG: Harden (32) Brewer (10) Beverley (6)
PG: Lawson (32); Beverley (16)

Dwight = 30mpg (29.8 last year)
D-Mo = 28mpg (28.7)
Ariza = 34mpg (35.7)
Harden = 36mpg (36.8)
Lawson = 32mpg (35.5)
Brewer = 24mpg (25.1)
Beverley = 22mpg (30.8)
T.Jones = 22mpg (26.9)
Capela = 12mpg (N/A)

I'd personally love to see KJ break into the rotation, but I don't see that happening early in the season. Him, Dekker, Harrell (he might actually have as good a shot as any of these guys, because his energy could be used and any injury to TJ or D-Mo would open up big minutes) and Thornton could break in at some point. Terry* and Hayes may get the nod early over the young guys though.

 

Why? Nick Johnson was never a pg, and likely never will be one. Johnson does not have the natural instincts of a pg, and those traits are not likely to develop. Think about it, he couldn't even beat two grandpas for playing time.

 

thornton will not be playing every game
and he will not receive regular playing time

 

You have Marcus Thorton undervalued. Morey didn't bring him in to ride the bench. Brewer is not the spot up shooter Thorton is... every championship team has one.

 

Agreed. Someone posted that Thornton has averaged something like 25 min/game. He will get pt, but we so many players deserving of pt, McHale will have to get pretty creative to keep everyone happy. I have no problem sporting a 10-men regular season rotation.

 

its simple, start with the standard, or if terry's gone then corey and patrick get most of the ackup minutes. kj and marcus fight for minutes. if they prove themselves to part of the rotation then they get more minutes.

 

This roster is simply stacked with talented players, easily the most talented roster the Rockets ever had. From that perspective, the only question remaining is health and chemistry. If those two issues work in our favor, I do not see why a championship run could not be had.

 

Thornton will have some open looks with this team

 

That would be great if the roster went 10 deep. If we can win games like that, I don't see why not. Keeps everyone fresh, still allows growth for the deeper bench guys in case an injury throws them in the spotlight sooner rather than later, mitigates our player's chances to get injured. Really losing otherwise winnable games in a tight seeding race, is about the only potential pitfall here.

Just to draw a parallel - the deepest team in the league last year was the world champion Warriors. With a somewhat healthy roster, I don't see any reason why this team couldn't be as good if not better.

 

IIRC Johnson was a combo guard who I thought fit the one spot well especially next to Harden. He played reasonable defense, pushed the ball in transition, and was a capable passer. Not a great shooter, but showed potential for improvement.

It is particularly difficult for a rookie to step in and play the PG position right away. And those two grandpas you speak of were just the stable, veteran presence we needed last year. That said, I wouldn't mind a little youthful energy coming off the end of the bench this year.

 

I hope people know Thornton is going to be playing minutes at the 1 as well....

 

Lawson(30) / Beverley(18)
Harden(36) / Brewer (10) / Beverley(2)
Ariza(33) / Brewer (15)
Jones(26) / Motiejunas(22)
Howard(30) / Capela (14) / Motiejunas(4)

D-League: Dekker, Harrell

End of bench : McDaniels, Thornton, Hayes

 

or B) Yes he will

 

KJ McDaniels gives you everything and more than Nick Johnson did. What we probably need is someone that can manage the offense, whether that's a young prospect or seasoned vet.