I don't know if it's worse--I do think you can more effectively play 4-on-5 on offense than you can play 4-on-5 on defense, largely because offense can generally dictate where the ball goes. Not that 4-on-5 on offense is anything short of really bad, but I think 4-on-5 on defense is disastrous.
I think that the idea of having a "center" is dying out....it's more like 2 power forwards with some speed is the trend. As far as minutes...I look at our stable of bench bigs as a bullpen of relief pitchers...trot them out for matchups or fresh legs and not worry about whether they play 10 minutes or 20 minutes. Vonleh will probably take Kaman's old job of cheering from the sidelines
Training camp should sort this out. It's going to be a dogfight for rotation spots. I wouldn't count out Plumlee or Davis for making improvements over the offseason
nevermind......it's not important...let's just say I tend to dislike musical genres in general...a good song is a good song...they don't need separate neighborhoods on a library shelf or in a music store..I think it's divided music appreciation since FM radio..artists feel compelled to tailor their work to fit on the shelf. Neil Young is always found in rock sections even if he records a purely country CD....Hendrix can play redhouse and it's rock...Buddy Guy does and it's blues....always thought it was bullshit..nothin' personal.
Just messin with ya bro. Have you ever been to Everyday music up here in Ptown? If not, well then next time your up here, hit me up. I will take you. This place will want you to ask them to segragate the music even more. I think your right about Radio, but also segragation is good when simply browsing. Ive gone into Everyday music more than once intending to hit one section and end up spending all my time in the E-G section or something.
I haven't unless I wandered in and forgot the name of the place...that'd be cool...if I opened a record shop it would be alphabetical straight across the board. Patsy Cline next to the Pretenders...Crowded House next to Bing Crosby...Hank Williams next to Wilco
What happens then though when a customer walks in and says. Im a metal head, but I need some smooth jazz for this party i'm throwing. He wont have a clue where to look.
I keep seeing people say to trade Plumlee, but what if Ezeli doesn't work out and Portland let's him go after the season? There's no cap space left.
I think Stotts will play Plums about 28 mpg and Ezeli around 20 mpg at the 5. I'm hoping Olshey works his magic by trading Meyers to a team for a draft pick and signing Plums to a team-friendly contract. Personally, this situation would be ideal for me.
I wouldn't count on Ezeli playing more than 18 MPG. His career high is 16.7 MPG in a season where he missed 36 games. It would be great if he was capable of playing more, but here's his playing time over the last 3 seasons: 2013-15 - o Games, 0 MPG 2104-15 - 46 Games, 11.0 MPG 2016-16 - 46 Games, 16.7 MPG If he's able to play 50 games at 18 MPG, that will be the healthiest he's been since J.J. Hickson was our starting center. Like others, I think Vonleh is the odd man out, at least for now. Barring major injury, I think Noah will get Cliff Alexander minutes this coming season. I think, with the addition of Turner as our starting 3, I think Aminu continues in the role he played late last year as our starting PF, but he will continue to see plenty of PT as our back up 3. In spite of starting all 82 games last season, AND playing two positions, Aminu only averaged 28.5 MPG, which is a career high for him. So, that leaves us at least 24 MPG for others to play the 4, probably more as I think Aminu will play more than 4.5 MPG at the 3 spot. That leaves 4 players, Plumlee, Davis, Ezeli and Leonard to divide up the the center and back up power forward minutes. That's really not THAT big of a logjam, given that none of these guys are accustomed to playing big minutes. Rather than divide it up on a MPG basis, as their will be injures (hopefully minor) and DNP-CDs, lets look at the total minutes available. Assuming 48 MPG available at the center position and 24 MPG (at least) available backing Aminu at the 4, times 82 games, that comes out to 5904 total minutes for these four guys to share. Here's what they all played last season: Mason Plumlee - 2084 minutes (a new career high) Ed Davis - 1684 Minutes (second highest of his career) Meyers Leonard - 1333 minutes (a new career high) Festus Ezeli - 719 minutes (second highest of his career) Total - 5820 Logjam, what logjam? Assuming Vonleh is not part of the regular rotation and Aminu sucks up half the minutes at PF, that still leaves enough minutes for all of these guys to play just as much as they are used to playing. The actual division of minutes will depend on health, effectiveness and match ups, and while a consolidation trade that improves the quality of our front court should always be considered, from a PT standpoint, I don't think it's absolutely necessary. Let these guys fight it out in training camp, preseason and the first month and a half of the regular season to see who earns the minutes and fits in best with the other players. Use the two months between December 15th, when trades become much more doable, and the trade deadline to determine if a trade is beneficial and one is available that improves our team. There is absolutely no reason to make any move before then (unless a no-brainer trade drops into Neil's lap). BNM
