After all the talk about minutes this summer I'm glad to come away from game 1 feeling like Brad has it all figured out. There's a clear 9-man rotation that's going to play about 20-30 mpg and he's not going to stray from those 9 guys.
The starters will play around 30 mpg, with Hayward playing fewer minutes until he's ready. Baynes played 19 minutes last night, which is exactly what he averaged last season. That leaves 23-24 mpg for Terry, Smart, and Morris.
And that's it. The real sacrifice in minutes are going to come from the fringes. Ojeleye, Yabu, and Wanamaker effectively didn't play. Theis got a couple of non-garbage minutes (which I was glad to see) but he's not part of the rotation.
Save for injuries, we just aren't going to have bench guys who come in and play 5-10 minutes. Brad has his tight 9 and he's going to stick with it.
TP. This is a great point. I was worried how we would find minutes for all these guys, and someone like Morris I was thinking was a luxury on this team, but he seems to fit a role.
If everyone buys in they might get roughly 5 less minutes, and less shots than they would ideally like, but still plenty of enough to go around. Guys like Semi and Larkin’s role from last year (Wanamaker) will get squeezed out. Theis may only play spot minutes for now.
It’s a long season though, injuries will happen, so there will be opportunities for some players to shine more. What I love is no one player needs to carry the team. If Tatum has a game like the games he played in the preseason, no big deal as we have so many weapons that can step up.
I love our 9 man rotation from game 1 where our best guys get 20-30 minutes each and they mix and match among each other.
Something to remember is that Theis is still coming back from injury- he might push the rotation to 10 when/if he gets back to form. However, I'd rather see RW3 get those minutes.
You don’t think the better player should get those minutes? Or you think Williams is better than Theis?
I think based on what I saw from Williams in college and what we've all seen in flashes so far, that if he can get a little PT that helps him develop and get acclimated to the NBA game, he could easily bring more to the table than Theis, and things no one else brings, by the playoffs.
I don't think Theis brings enough to justify extending the rotation in the playoffs, when it might in fact get shorter. But if RW3 grows this year and can play the role of a mini Capella who sets great screens and knows the plays, he might play.
Theis is better now, but I don't see his best cutting it. I'd take a chance on RW3.