Personally I'm sick of the team babying him. He needs the work and I think he knows that. There is always a risk of injury every time you step on the court, but the important thing now is to have him feel as comfortable as possible for playing the demanding NBA schedule. I think we should give him 25 mins of burn tonight at least. After all, he has 4 or 5 days after tonight before the regular season starts.
Play him 30 minutes. Look, it's the last preseason game, he needs to play two full back to back games. He has 4 days off before the next game, this is the best chance to get him ready to play back to back games.
Hell no! I want him to play at least 1 regular season NBA minute, lol. I really wouldn't play him tonight. No real need he isnt going to get anything out of tonight that will make that much of a difference for him. I would give all the guys on the end of the bench lots of PT especially considering the opponent. Show them nothing!
Play him 25 minutes. He's improving at a fast rate. Give him as much NBA experience as possible before the opener. He's clearly learning quickly. And progressively getting in better shape. Benching him tonight only holds him down.
How much should he play tonight? As much as it takes for him to bend Kosto Koufos and Mehmet Okur in half like so many toothpicks. But realistically I guess I'd like to see our starters get just enough PT to work up a sweat, get into an offensive rhythm and then take a seat, and let the battle between Batum and Travis ensue, along with establishing pecking order between Shav Randolph and Ike Diogu.
I would play him 10-20 minutes . . . just to see how the knee reacts in back to back game situations. But definitely don't push it.
