I was watching a clip on youtube (from ESPN I think) saying how the Blazers are riding their starters a lot this year (still). I agree that they need to use the bench more/better (er..I mean, boycott ESPN!!!1!), but it's interesting to note that that 4 of the 5 starters are averaging less minutes this year than last year. Lillard is down 2.5 minutes Batum is down 2.8 minutes LaMarcus is down .7 minutes Wesley is down .7 minutes. I actually didn't realize that Batum and Lillard are playing under 36 minutes each. Still wish the bench wasn't such a so-so scoring option.
Ya, it's an issue. If not this year than next or soon after. I equate it to a RB in the NFL. Look at guys who get worked hard like Larry Johnson one year and then boom, career's done. Obviously careers won't be over, but I think the effects will be felt if the minutes don't lighten up at some point
If we could trade 3 younger players for a quality bench player, then next season, use the MLE to grab another vet. We only need 3 very good vet bench players and youth. I was really hoping wright was one of the missing bench vets, but he's sputtered. No is fine as long as we had someone more consistent as well.
There was a concern about minutes last yr and it was valid. I think it is a real concern this year. Maybe CJ can come in right away and give 10-15 min a game ( I don't expect it, but it's possible). Maybe a Freeland/Leonard line up will start to give Aldridge an extra 3-5 minutes of rest. Maybe Stotts finds a way to get 5-8 productive minutes from T-Rob. Maybe there is a trade right around the corner. But if it continues the way it is going, these minutes the starters are logging will start to take a toll later in the season
True. Kareem played 40+ minutes consistently early in his career and 35+ for the first 13 years of his career (he was age 34 then) and he really started to lack effectiveness at age 40 to the point he was done by 41. He probably could have made it to 45 or 46 had he played fewer minutes early in his career. Karl Malone averaged 37 mpg for his career, and played 36 mpg at age 39 in 81 games. Clearly that impacted his career.
If you think players dont run the risk of running down with more minutes I can't argue that because it is a flawed theory backed by science
Where were Kareem's, Malone's, Stockton's, Jordan's, Roberston's, Chamberlain's, and Russell's major injuries that were caused by them playing a ton of minutes in the regular season, let alone the playoffs?
Yeah, that's kind of my point. Limiting minutes 5 or so minutes a game sounds great, but if your team is worse off for it, what's the point. Also, the true superstar players played well over another season's worth of playoff games, often at even more minutes than in the regular season.
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/35752/heavy-minutes-hurt-title-chances http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=2297 http://www.masnsports.com/steve_mel...late-this-year-my-debate-with-adam-jones.html http://lakernation.com/jackson-players-are-wearing-down/ I don't believe I ever brought up injuries, so I'm not sure why you two are. Playing too many minutes is not the best recipe for long term success. PapaG decided to post the exceptions, and mags decided to jump in as well because his team could never do anything wrong, but you are both so wrong about this
I'd like to look at average minutes per starter by position. The above-average starters probably play above-average minutes for their position. Lillard and LA are clearly above-average starters at their position; the others starters could possibly as well. I'd like to see minutes per position by starter as comparison, and see how our guys rank. MM may have done so, but he provided a lot of things, so I ain't got time to try to figure out if he sent the real goods.
C'mon, does anyone here seriously dispute that the bench is mediocre? Injuries and fatigue are facts of NBA life. Teams with a good bench have a larger margin of error. Why is this even a controversy?
I think when a team has this kind of momentum early and is relatively healthy, it's smart to play your best players big minutes because after the allstar break, guys will require more rest than this early in the season. I have no problem with the minutes and if the starters want to rest, they should put games out of reach in the 4th qtr so the bench can take over and finish the game. That happened a couple of times so far but not enough to shed starting minutes.
If I had my choice, I'd take a bench as experienced and strong as the Spurs'. Since the Blazers lack the assets to instantly add that kind of depth, what are we talking for? There may be a trade Olshey can work that would add one experienced player, but that's about it. Otherwise, we have to hope the bench can grow and the starters can manage the heavy minutes. Reality is what it is.
The Blazers don't have any player in the top11 for minutes played per game. All of their starers are under 30. /thread
