I'm really not sure if sending him to the DLeague would do anything for him. He'd just keep jacking shots.
Unfortunately we're not blowing teams out - and until we do I don't think Stotts will redistribute minutes. I do think it's important that, over the course of the season, guys like Watson, Crabbe, etc get some burn because we will likely need them at some point during the season. But I understand that it's early in the season and we first need to get our core rotation working smoothly. Hopefully we'll see some blow-out wins soon so the end of the bench can get out there and work in a real game situation, even if it is just garbage time. I do like how Stotts is trying to give more, but shorter breaks to Dame. Is he doing that for all the players, or just Dame?
Last year we had 3 players in the top 10 in minutes played per game in the league. This year we have zero at this point.
In an interview last year some time I believe Stotts said basically that MPG is not a thing - it's just something the media drums up. Increased minutes on the floor can easily be compensated for by more rest off the floor. However, that can not be seen from a box score. We don't have a measure for "Minutes of Intense Basketball Practice" especially since practices are closed. So no I am not worried. At this point I trust Stotts.
A few data points: Among players who are in the top 40 for MPG (about 34 minutes), Portland has 4 players, Detroit, Houston and Los Angeles have 3 players, 5 other teams have 2, and the rest of the league has 1 or 0. Aldridge-wise, only Melo, Iggy and Monta Ellis play more minutes and are 28+. I'll continue monitoring the situation.
Another night of heavy minutes for the starters. Robinson with 5m off the bench, Wright with 12m, Freeland at around 14m, Mo Williams with 20m and the only bench player to score. Tonight's game in Golden State on the second half of a back-to-back will be interesting, as far as how much Stotts is willing to use his bench.
This speaks to how invaluable Batum is. If he's not absolutely exhausted or injured, it's really hard for Stotts to not play him. He was the catalyst, with crazy good defense, for the come-back at the end of the 2nd and in the 3rd vs Chi. The game was tied when Batum was pulled for a rest.
It's the first leg of a back-to-back. Am I surprised? No. Am I concerned? You bet. (Also, can you use a less patronizing response than 'did you watch the game?' Thanks.)
Sam, you tend to rely on starters when attempting a comeback from 20 down, once you make that comeback you tend to rely on starters to maintain that comeback.
