Say Shaq, JO, and Nenad Krstic. are healthy for the playoffs

[nyceltsfan]

I did not read every single reply to the word, but there has been no mention of BBD, from what I can see.  I think BBD gets minutes over Murphy and JO, if he is healthy enough to contribute.

How does that affect the current crunchtime lineup of Pierce, Ray, Rondo, Green and KG?  Also, I'm a little concerned that lineups and rotations are going to do us in during the postseason, considering Doc has not had a healthy team to rotate properly all year.

[Tai]

I see. That's hard to say, then. It depends on Doc's rotations.

I think Shaq would start, definitely, while Krstic would come in for him, and then maybe JO starts the 2nd and 4th quarter each half. Again, who comes back in for JO may depend on the rotation we have on, and if that guy stays in for the rest of the half.

[ssspence]

If JO is healthy, he splits time with Shaq.  He has more then enough offense but is superior on defense.  He could get out and defend the pick and roll.  The other two have shown inability to do that well.

Agreed. If I could take one or the other fully healthy, I'd take JO. That's not to say i think either will ever be 'fully healthy' ever again. How about functionally healthy. '30 MPG if need be' healthy.....

[Cman]

I think Shaq and Krstic would get the majority of minutes, JO not as much.  Even if he's "back" I just don't think he'll be up to speed.  Shaq won't either, but he's such a presence that he'll be important to have in the lineup.

What's more important is that, even if Nenad plays more minutes than Shaq, I bet Shaq will start.  It will be a way for the opposing team's big man to get hit with a bunch of fouls.  That will soften him up a bit for Nenad to come in and put up a bunch of points in a hurry.

[Who]

Shaq starts and plays 18-23 minutes a night.

Jermaine O'Neal is the primary backup and plays close to 20 minutes a night. Minutes could be increased if he is healthy enough + continues to play within his role (doesn't look for his own offense).

Nenad Krstic is the third string center and does not get regular rotation minutes.

Krstic only plays situationally -- (1) foul trouble to one of the O'Neals (2) one or both of the O'Neals are performing poorly (3) if the C's need more jump shooting (in addition to size/length - not BBD or Green) out of their big man position.

The defensive value of Jermaine O'Neal is greater than the jump-shooting of Krstic. Especially in the playoffs when facing several elite offensive players. That is why he should play in front of Krstic.

[clover]

I think Shaq and Krstic would get the majority of minutes, JO not as much.  Even if he's "back" I just don't think he'll be up to speed.  Shaq won't either, but he's such a presence that he'll be important to have in the lineup.

What's more important is that, even if Nenad plays more minutes than Shaq, I bet Shaq will start.  It will be a way for the opposing team's big man to get hit with a bunch of fouls.  That will soften him up a bit for Nenad to come in and put up a bunch of points in a hurry.

Yep, JO was a nervous, near-zero contributor on offense coming into the season after all of camp with the guys.  I just don't see him storming back to be a force by the playoffs.  Maybe next year.

[Cman]

The defensive value of Jermaine O'Neal is greater than the jump-shooting of Krstic. Especially in the playoffs when facing several elite offensive players. That is why he should play in front of Krstic.

The question, though, is whether JO will be 100%.  Recall how long it took KG to get back into playing shape last year.  Is the defensive value of JO at 80% greater than the jump-shooting of Krstic at 100%?  I think Krstic gets the nod.

Edit: but we'll see how JO looks when he gets back.

[pearljammer10]

i'm perfectly ok with the three of these guys playing an equal rotation. I like the way Shaq and Kristic both start games. They really play greta when they are nice and fresh and I like the way JO can provide defense off the bench. I like the rotation we are going to have in the playoffs.

[snively]

I did not read every single reply to the word, but there has been no mention of BBD, from what I can see.  I think BBD gets minutes over Murphy and JO, if he is healthy enough to contribute.

How does that affect the current crunchtime lineup of Pierce, Ray, Rondo, Green and KG?  Also, I'm a little concerned that lineups and rotations are going to do us in during the postseason, considering Doc has not had a healthy team to rotate properly all year.

Strongly doubt Baby gets minutes over JO if both are healthy.  JO's a much better defender, a better rebounder usually, and, at his worst, a comparable offensive player.  Nor is Baby the team's best weapon for going small/quick anymore, now that Jeff Green's in town.

I agree that he has the edge on Murphy though for back-up 4 minutes.  Much better defender, knows the offense and defense, no cobwebs from a long lay-off. 

But Murphy definitely has the potential to overtake him, especially if JO is healthy.  JO and Murphy really cover for each other's weaknesses on paper (though their brief stint together in Indiana wasn't all that great).  On defense, JO, in addition to covering the best post player, provides the shot contests and Murphy gets his back on the defensive glass (something he's better at than Baby, one of the most frustratingly weak defensive rebounders in the league).  On offense, JO sticks to the paint and the baseline, and Troy Murphy plays the floor spreader (something he's much better at than Baby and JO).

I like Baby as a 5th big.  He has a great skill-set for that and he'd certainly see some time based on match-ups and foul trouble.

Having Baby/Krstic as 5th and 6th bigs would be an incredible luxury.

[PosImpos]

Krstic has been playing far far better than Jermaine played all season.

Doc would be foolish not to play him the majority of backup center minutes in the playoffs, unless there's a really unfavorable matchup that Jermaine could deal with better (e.g. Dwight).

[snively]

Krstic has been playing far far better than Jermaine played all season.

Doc would be foolish not to play him the majority of backup center minutes in the playoffs, unless there's a really unfavorable matchup that Jermaine could deal with better (e.g. Dwight).

On one side of the floor. Defense is more valuable from our back-up big anyways.  That 2nd unit is very vulnerable defensively without KG.

[jsingh1699]

i think it will be situational.

against the magic and dhoward, shaq, bbd, and jo will see the minutes when howard is in.

against the bulls/heat, shaq will barely get time (hes just not fast enough to stay with noah), and the majority of minutes will go to krstic, bbd, (obv shaq will still start the games)

against la, when bynum is in, expect mostly shaq and jo on him
when gasol is in at the 5 and odom at the 4, we'll have kg, bbd, green, krstic in some sorta rotation.

we'll match up well to any team we face in the playoffs

[minijericho29]

Shaq plays the first 6 minutes of each quarter and Nenad plays the last six minutes of each quarter. 

Jermaine O'Neal plays the saxophone after the game in the locker room.

[RebusRankin]

20-24 for Shaq, 10-12 for Jermaine, 10-12 for Curley.

[PosImpos]

Krstic has been playing far far better than Jermaine played all season.

Doc would be foolish not to play him the majority of backup center minutes in the playoffs, unless there's a really unfavorable matchup that Jermaine could deal with better (e.g. Dwight).

On one side of the floor. Defense is more valuable from our back-up big anyways.  That 2nd unit is very vulnerable defensively without KG.

Krstic has been providing us with very valuable offense.  He's been getting use points down low where we otherwise couldn't get them.  That's important whether he's out with the starters or with the 2nd unit.

Also, from what I've seen of his defense, it really isn't that bad.  I'm skeptical that Jermaine would be that much better except in 1:1 post-up situations against bigger centers (e.g. Dwight, Bynum), especially with decreased mobility from his injuries.

I think you underestimate how important offense is to our second unit.  At times our second unit has really ground to a halt offensively and it's resulted in more than a few blown leads.