So...this is fascinating (and fun). Draymond Green played 79 games and averaged 31.5 minutes. Curry played 80, and averaged 32.7 minutes. If they'd played the 38 minutes per game, this season, that MJ averaged across his career - would they be equally as effective in the playoffs this season as they have been at the lower minutes level that they actually played?
Fascinating. Here are Thibodeau's words: http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/story/_/id/10309821/tom-thibodeau-chicago-bulls-3ot-win-trying-phil
The Atlanta Hawks used a similar approach. They were swept by the Cavs. Warriors have a MVP level talent (that can actually score on Lebron during key moments of playoff games) and a great supporting cast. Supposedly Draymond Green was a favorite of Ron Adams and Thibs but Gar wanted to go in another direction.
Yah, I think that's the big debate and not any real public research on it that I've seen. I don't know the answer to your question, do you? That approach didn't work well for the Atlanta Hawks when they ran into Lebron this season.
I honestly don't really have one. Like I posted yesterday I think, intuition often fails in these situations. I'm dying to read some definitive research on this topic, if anyone has any to share. In distance running for example, running more miles isn't necessarily a bad thing nor does it lead to more injuries. Being on the court exposes you to the risk of injury. If the probability of injury is greater in minute 33 of a game versus minute 5, well, that would be interesting to know. Minute load in a week say would be interesting. In a season as well. Does performance decrease with minute load over the course of a season after you get past a certain threshold? In the one article I found yesterday, they found that ACL injuries happened more often later in games as well as in the first 10 minutes.
That you have an do have an opinion, but for whatever reason - I won't guess aloud - you won't stick to your guns.
Yah, I didn't think you had anything to add or anything interesting to say. Just quips and emoticons. Sometimes a quote from a thought someone else had. Anyway, here's my take, for whatever its worth. If the Hawks were really onto something, it didn't help them much against Lebron. Of course, that's just one example. It would be wise to wait for some real research to surface.
I'm not saying its the wrong way to go. Two of the final four teams in the playoffs this season were towards the top of the MPG ranks for their stars. It does not seem to be to be a limiting factor for playoff success, at least for this season. The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics collected many of recent championship rings given out. They played their studs heavy minutes.
It is very cool technology. The league really does need to figure out what to do about the regular season though. It seems that more and more its a chore that has to be navigated through in order to get to the "games that matter." With so many teams making the playoffs, really good teams can kind of afford to coast (like the Warriors) while others might fight like hell for that pointless 8 seed that leads to nothing good. (except for perhaps some playoff revenue) If I paid $250 once a year for a ticket, I would have the right to be pissed about not seeing the stars I paid to see. In the NFL and MLB, it seems fewer teams make the playoffs. Does the NHL have this same problem? I don't follow hockey, but do the top teams there coast and teams are chastised for giving their stars too much playing time in the regular season? How all this data is used for player evaluation and future contracts is also a thorny issue. We started running into this with the Eddy Curry situation years ago.
FASCINATING! The data and the trends are being MISREPRESENTED. AGAIN! It's not that the teams that play the least or lesser minutes have a better chance to win. It's that you need to keep your player under a minutes THRESHOLD to increase their efficiency and reduce their CHANCES of injury. The ENTIRE LEAGUE has cut down on minutes played. EVERY PLAYER is playing less than players did seasons ago. Our ex-coach believes it's foolhardy. His bosses forced him to follow the league trend though.
