and who's in it to start the season? By in rotation I mean that they play all of the games they are healthy and average 15+ minutes. Mine - 8 man rotation Backcourt (96 mpg): Lillard(35)/Wes(30)/Mo(25) Frontcourt (132 mpg): Batum(30)/LaMarcus(35)/RoLo(30)/TRob(20)/Wright(20) Minutes don't add up because I think C.J. and Leonard will get minutes every game, but not average 15.
Lillard/Mo Wes/CJ Batum/Wright LaMarcus/TRob RoLo/Meyers I would go with 10 on any given night. But I would alternate the bench so some nights Victor, Watson, Joel and Will are the subs.
Some nights it will be 10, but I think 8 or 9 will be most optimal. 8 when it's a tough team and you want to make sure you have your best guys in there.
I think you shrink it for the playoffs but not the regular season. You still need to develop your bench so when you do need them (Injures) they have some experience. I do hate playing guys so few of minutes that they never get into a rhythm, but 10 should not be an issue with only 2/10 getting small minutes.
The most important thing is that guys like Lillard, Aldridge, and Batum aren't playing 38-40 minutes per game.
My initial guess is that C.J. and Leonard will play 8 or so minutes in the first half and not play in the second. p.s. "C.J. and Leonard" sounds like some sort of sit com.
I said 10 but after Leonard and Wes get traded to the clips for Jordan that should make the rotation much easier for Stotts as we head into the playoffs.
This is how I feel as well. You go to 8 in playoffs, with 9th man getting spot minutes, but in regular season, I think it's at 10, with, last 2 getting filler minutes here and there.
Well I hope Oden plays, otherwise it is zero. I don't think James Jones will get much PT. For the real Blazers, I say 9 or 10. ;]
I'm so conflicted about Oden. On the one hand, I want him to succeed so that we are justified in taking him over Durant. Even if it's not with our team, it would justify the pick. On the other hand, I want him to fail because he didn't work out for us.
I don't get why the arbitrary cutoff at 15mpg. I think CJ and Leonard will get minutes ever game to start the season. I do agree they start the season penciled in as our 9th and 10th option. They will be in the 5-18min range depending on matchup, fouls, how well they play. If either one isn't playing well after a number of games the team will shorten the rotation to 9 men. If one of them plays great then some of our vets will have less minutes. I could see Wes playing 25mpg or Mo 20. They are the hardest two players to predict because they have the least game experience and are at a point where their stock can make a huge leap up or down. I wouldn't be shocked if CJ is our best bench player or if he gets cut completely out of the rotation.
I think the Blazers should still be trying to either develop or determine if their youth is worth a shit, so I say 12
My problem with that is I don't think you get a fair evaluation of a player when he only plays a few minutes off the bench. It drives me crazy when fans start throwing out advanced stats for players who barely get warmed and then come right out. Do they really get developed that way or just plain lose their confidence. That is why I suggested keeping it at 10 and alternating which subs play. Neither is ideal for developing the young players. but IMO it would work better.
I chose 15 mpg because I think players like Crabbe will get a few minutes a game but I won't consider them to be in our rotation. I wanted some sort of cut off. I think a lot of people are ignoring the 15 mpg part, which is fine. If I had used a cutoff of 7, then I think we'll have a 10 man rotation. However, there's talk of C.J. getting the "short straw" for a reason - I don't think he'll play 15.
Yeah you are right, I did miss that when I read your original post. Either way I would stick with 10 players. I would like to see Crabbe get a chance as well, but I still prefer it to be on the days they sit CJ. I suppose they could split it up by half's with each getting around 6-7 minutes. But I doubt that it will occur at the start of the season. What I am wondering is how Victor will get his minutes.
I agree - I think it's probably more beneficial for young players to get 10mpg+ every other game, than 3-5mpg every game. Unless something is going terribly wrong I don't think a player can develop by playing 2-minute stints. With CJ, Robinson and even Crabbe I think they should get a solid 5 minutes (and more if their play earns it) in each half of the game. With Crabbe it would be every other game. Of course they're also developing during practices, but I'm not a fan trying to develop young players by playing them sporadic minutes. If developing players is a priority you need to commit to playing them for extended minutes - it's a very rare player who can come in cold and produce immediately. To hold your rooks to that standard is foolish.
It's definitely important that guys like CJ, Robinson, and Leonard get some playing time, more so for CJ and Robinson imo.
Yeah CJ and Robinson were elite players in college so I expect more from them immediately. Leonard didn't do much in college which is part of the reason I have low expectations for him.
Not to mention the Leonard plays like a doofus. That being said, I think our top 10 players (Leonard included) will all see regular minutes. I'm just not sure how many C.J. and Leonard will get.
