If guys like Kemba, Langford and Thompson can't get healthy, we will see more of our 3rd unit.
Langford is third unit.
PP and NEsmith are well ahead of Langford on the depth chart.
I think Langford is well ahead of Nesmith at this point, but Nesmith will have every opportunity to prove himself with Langford sidelined. Stevens trusted Langford to play in the playoffs; he didn't even trust Nesmith to play in the 1st half of a preseason game with several key rotation players/starters missing.
Him not starting means nothing at this point. Nesmith is going to be coming off the bench this season, and Danny likes to have people play there role as much as possible to get used to it. Nesmith played his role. Also Brad was running him a little at PF last night, which I absolutely HATE, but for some reason this team begs to have a small team. So no doubt to try and make room for the Indiana boy to play for the indiana coach while moving the superior player out of his natural position.
Romeo in the playoffs was out of necessity. not out of favor.
Nesmith is ahead of Romeo on the depth chart. Romeo at this point in time (assuming he and Kemba are healthy) is behind Teague, PP and Nesmith off the bench and the wing spot.
Side note after my rant:
How long into the season do we see Brad run a lineup of
Pritchard
Teague
Romeo
Nesmith
GrantW
God that lineup makes me want to puke.
No, Romeo in the playoffa was not out of necessity. He has proven that he can defend at the NBA level, something Nesmith hasnt. Ainge also mentioned something about Romeo being in the rotation if he wasnt injured.
Our top 2 bigs were injured, you basically have your 3rd big starting with only G Williams as your real backup big. Of course some guys will have to play out of position, esp in a preseason game where you dont want to play guys a whole lot of minutes.
I guess we can ignore these facts just to push our narratives right?
Outside of the unnecessary final part of your post I will comment on.
1st, in the playoffs last season out wing rotation consisted of Kemba, Wannamaker, Smart, Brown and Tatum. Hayward was injured and Semi is Semi. So yeah, Romeo was out of necessity as much as anything. He is better than Semi and Green. And I would take anything Danny stated after the playoff exit with a grain of salt as he was saving face more than anything. Media and fans needed and wanted excuses, so Hayward was out, romeo was out. He would have helped, yada, yada. Romeo, at most, would have played 10 minutes a game and would have had no impact on the game.
And yeah, Romeo can defend at the NBA level, and Nesmith, in a single preseason game, has not proved that yet (although his defense last night was solid) but that is all romeo can do. Romeo still hasnt proven he offense in the NBA.
Also, if Romeo was to be counted on so much then team would not have drafted another player who plays his position. I think the hope from Danny is eventually have PP/Romeo/Nesmith wing trio and that might be ok because Romeo can be 3rd guy.