I do think that some blame falls with Ainge for not foreseeing that Rozier would be an issue given his high profile success in the playoffs last year and the fact that the team was going to ask him to return to a 20-25 mpg role.
I think it was foreseeable that there would be issues with minutes and shots for Tatum and Brown as a result of Hayward's return, but I'm not sure that could have been avoided.
I think the lack of reliable big man depth is another issue for which Ainge deserves some blame. Both Theis and Baynes have a history of being at least somewhat injury prone. Robert Williams is a very raw rookie. Yabusele has shown nothing to suggest that he can be relied on for minutes outside of garbage time at the NBA level. Ojeleye is a decent third string 3/4 but can't log minutes at the 4 or 5 against teams playing traditional big men.
I don’t see how it’s Ainge’s fault the guys he drafted exceeded expectations.
You can’t just start dumping talented players because of it, and Rozier has been insurance the entire season in the event Kyrie leaves.
I’ll be fine putting him on a very short leash in the playoffs, if not DNPing him. We can use Smart for ~12mpg (Kyrie 36mpg in playoffs) at PG or even use Wannamaker.
242 available minutes:
Kyrie 36
Tatum 34
Horford 32
Hayward 32
Morris 28
Brown 28
Smart 28
Baynes 18
6 remaining minutes to Theis/Rozier, give or take. But can easily be made up by some of these guys (Baynes 20, Smart 30, etc.).
I like that. A nice tight rotation, if guys are hot they stay in, if they are cold they get yanked. Nobody is being overworked.
I don't like giving Hayward that many minutes yet.
Irving 36/Smart 6/Rozier 6
Smart 24/Brown 24
Tatum 18/Hayward 26/Brown 4
Morris 28/Tatum 14/Horford 6
Horford 26/Baynes 18/Theis 4
I’m talking playoffs, so another 7 weeks away. If we’re not comfortable with him playing 30+ a night, we’re probably screwed. We are going to need him to be a 20/7/7 threat out there if they don’t guard him.
I’d border on overusing him in March to get him completely confident both mentally and physically. We’ve seen him get up for some dunks, his defense has been very good lately, so the lateral footwork is back.
In your depth chart, would you rather give Rozier 6 minutes (where you know he’s going to play hero ball), or 6 more to Hayward? I’d be fine DNPing TR3 if he doesn’t learn his role, and it’s probably too late for that.
I’m tired of making excuses for this team. First I said give them ‘til Christmas, then the middle of January, then the break, now it’s the playoffs. They need to wake up and play with some consistency.