wut? he played 26 minutes 2 days after hyper-extending his knee minutes since game 1 of the Denver series: 17:58 - 27:13 - 23:35 - 23:32 - 26:02 - 31:34 - 20:11 (injured in 3rdQ) - 26:12
I'm pretty sure right now we would be talking about next season if he hadn't benched them for the start of 2nd half of game 7 @Denver. Did we miss Aminu like at all during that half?
Great what has he done since then?? I know he did get 1 point and 1 rebound in the last series. Of course he could not play much because they attacked him in the pick and roll and he was constantly burned.
Go back to the last month of the season he didn't do anything. Last game of the season he played 48 minutes and was outplayed by SImons, Meyers, Skal and him and Trent were a push. He did nothing towards the end of the season to warrant any playing time.
He didn't really play toward the end of the season. His performance earlier in the year when he was getting time actually is what warrants playing time. You just want to ignore his capability because you are constrained by arbitrary boundaries that you've set yourself. Using that last game of the year is quite idiotic, for example. He still scored 19 that game and played against the Kings starters for most of it.
So you want to base playing time in the play offs one how someone played in December? that doesn't make much sense. He did not play good or warrant any playing time in the last month plus of the season. There is a reason he is not playing. Last night he took two shots and neither was close. He doesn't play defense. If you watch as soon as he comes in teams just put him into the pick and roll and his man is constantly wide open. Teams took away his lob passes and he hasn't done much sense. If he was playing like he did in December and January he would deserve some playing time, but since he hasn't done anything in over a month, no reason to think all of a sudden he will start now. As for the Kings game, as I said he was outplayed by Simons, Skal, Trent and Meyers so they all deserve to play as much if not more then Jake if you want to base it off that one game, I am basing off the fact for more then the last month of the season he was did not earn the minutes.
that's not true at all. He averaged nearly 20 minutes a game in March and April and played in all 21 games, more than a quarter of the season. He started 8 of those 21 games for chrissakes. he shot 44% on FG's; 22% on three's, 68% on FT's and had a TS% around 51%. Those are bad numbers for the role he plays. Harkless is a much better defender and rebounder while Hood is a much better scorer. there's little reason for Stotts to trust that Layman will be an upgrade over what they are getting at SF
Is the objective of this series to reward players who got us this far, or to give us the best chance to win?
Part of it is Terry doesn't like to make changes. Another, you start Collins and Hood, what does that leave for the bench? I was upset we didn't see the Lillard, McCollum, Hood, Collins, Kanter lineup really in game 1. It's the Blazers best lineup. Yet, Stotts would move between Kanter and Collins at center, substituting one out for the other and not having them in at the same time.
Aminu and Kanter. Hood has been a better two-way player than Aminu and Kanter doesn't seem like a great fit against this team. Aminu and Kanter should get some minutes, but they shouldn't be starter-level minutes and they make more sense off the bench than players who are more likely to provide success against the Warriors. I'd limit Kanter's minutes mostly to when Curry is off the floor, or if Curry is on the floor with a group that can't shoot very well (like if Livingston, Iguodala, Green and Looney are out there, for example). Aminu is another long, switchy defender you can throw out there to spell Hood and Harkless.