Tonight, we closed with Dame/Crabbe/Turner/Davis/Harkless and got lots of big stops. We'll probably see more of this....
Just magnifies why having CJ is awesome, but still a luxury. If we have the opportunity to acquire an elite low post player for him, we have to consider it. It's not necessary for us to be really good (we can still improve with a rim protector like Noel) but an inside out game with Lillard and say Cousins, athletic, defensive wings in Aminu and Harkless, and a 3 and D guy in Crabbe would be much more balanced and lethal.
I can see offense/defense substitutions late in games with CJ and Crabbe or CJ and ET. But... there were a couple of times last night where Crabbe was in and we were getting the ball. If we put in CJ and missed the shot, he'd be guarding Jimmy Butler when we really wanted a stop or at least to make it hard to score.
Yes that is a good closing unit. And like discussed before the season we have a few different options to go with depending on the opposition and who has played well during the rest of the game. There is really only one constant...... and that will be Dame. CJ will be there most nights, but when Crabbe and ET both are having strong games offensively.....you might as well ride it.
If we need one stop, I'd take out Dame for Aminu. Turner/Crabbe/Harkless/Aminu/Davis Ability to switch 1-4, long arms everywhere, and 5 solid defenders individually.
The problem I see with that line up is FT shooting. The purpose is to get a stop and secure the defensive rebound and then run out the clock. With that line up, the guys most likely to get the rebound aren't good FT shooters. Even Mo, who is shooting a career best .781 FT% this season is a 60% career FT shooter. If you are going to run that line up with the game on the line, you better have a time out left and better use it as soon as Ed, Chief or Mo gets the rebound, before the other team can foul one of them. Getting the stop doesn't buy you much if the other team immediately fouls you and you miss the FTs. All that does is slow down the game down and give the other team additional possessions. If you give any team enough chances, eventually they will score. So yeah, good defense, but if the game is going to be won at the line, we need Dame or C.J. taking those FTs. Offensive/defensive substitutions only work if you can stop the clock and swap the right players in at the right times. I think that's a huge reason Dame is alsways in at the end of games despite his weak defense. He's pretty automatic from the line in end game situations. BNM
