If everyone is healthy, do 10 guys make the playoff rotation?

[CelticG1]

I know a lot of people don't like Krstic but he definitely adds a lot of energy and very good offensive rebounding. I think throwing out someone like that for 10 a game in the playoffs or so could be pretty valuable. He is not as good as Baby on defense obviously but I think he has been playing with more energy offensively and is better offensive rebounder than Baby. At this point I'd probably take his jumper and finishing at the rim over Baby as well

Speaking for myself, it's not that I dislike Krstic that much - it's more that I'd like to see Green & Baby both play around 20 minutes a night. There's just not enough minutes available for him.

Yeah I hear what your saying. Not sure if I like Baby at the Center spot for 13 min though. I think generally Baby will back up KG for the most part and Green will back up Pierce depending on match up's. That leaves out Doc's end of game line up where Baby plays Center so I guess I have no idea

[StartOrien]

I know a lot of people don't like Krstic but he definitely adds a lot of energy and very good offensive rebounding. I think throwing out someone like that for 10 a game in the playoffs or so could be pretty valuable. He is not as good as Baby on defense obviously but I think he has been playing with more energy offensively and is better offensive rebounder than Baby. At this point I'd probably take his jumper and finishing at the rim over Baby as well

Speaking for myself, it's not that I dislike Krstic that much - it's more that I'd like to see Green & Baby both play around 20 minutes a night. There's just not enough minutes available for him.

Yeah I hear what your saying. Not sure if I like Baby at the Center spot for 13 min though. I think generally Baby will back up KG for the most part and Green will back up Pierce depending on match up's. That leaves out Doc's end of game line up where Baby plays Center so I guess I have no idea

Thats what makes mocking the minutes a little tricky, b/c when Baby & KG are on the floor together Baby is probably considered the "center" but who they matchup against will vary. I'm assuming any minutes that Baby takes at the "center" position would be alongside KG.

[missyP]

With his mid range game, he could draw Noah or Dwight from the Key area, leaving more room for Rondo or PP to get to the hoop. That can help for a 8-10min stretch to rest JO and Shaq. I am not a fan on BBD at the center because most of them shoot over him.

[CelticG1]

With his mid range game, he could draw Noah or Dwight from the Key area, leaving more room for Rondo or PP to get to the hoop. That can help for a 8-10min stretch to rest JO and Shaq. I am not a fan on BBD at the center because most of them shoot over him.

I agree with your first point (although the same can pretty much be said for Baby)

I think for your second point Noah is not really a good offensive player in my opinion. He can hit a couple jumpers but he is not exactly lethal in the post. He'll get a  lot on offensive rebounds and broken plays. Since both Baby and Krstic aren't good defensive rebounders this really doesn't matter. Also I think Baby plays Howard very well (in short minutes). He pushes him away from the basket and although Dwight has improved in the post a bit, Baby will definitely make him work for those baskets. Also Baby is good for at least 1 charge a game against Dwight

[action781]

I think you're looking at an 8 man rotation if everyones healthy. Here's how I see it going:

Shaq (15) / Jermaine (20) / (Big Baby 13)
KG (35) / Big Baby (7) / Jeff Green (6)
Pierce (35)/Green (13)
Ray (35) / Delonte (13)
Rondo (40) / Delonte (8 )

EDIT: I'd love to see those Shaq and Jermaine Numbers Flip, but I think even 15 minutes of Shaq is optimistic

I like these but I'll tweak them a little.  I don't think there's anyway Doc plays JO as much as he does Baby.  Less healthy AND less effective.


Shaq (16) / Jermaine (14) / KG (13) / Krstic (5)
KG (22) / Big Baby (25) / Jeff Green (6)
Pierce (35) / Green (13)
Ray (35) / Delonte (10) / Green (3)
Rondo (40) / Delonte (8 )


This is how I see it playing out to some extent and moreso how I'd like to see it play out.  When we play KG and Baby together, I chose to put KG at the 5.  I did this because I could see Green playing spot minutes at the 4 alongside KG at the 5.  I also can see Pierce/Green playing together at the wings for spot minutes alongside 2 bigs.  I really like Jeff Green.

What a fantastic rotation.  There is one problem with these minute distributions.  They total 48 minutes per position.  There's no way these will be accurate at postseason's end because of all the garbage time minutes Arroyo, Murphy/Wafer will accumulate! 

[StartOrien]

I don't think there's anyway Doc plays JO as much as he does Baby.  Less healthy AND less effective.

Maybe it's just me - and forgive the videogame terminology - but if I can turn injuries & fatigue off, I'm taking JO over Baby 10 times out of 10

[wdleehi]

I just don't see it.



Three guys off the bench to play 2 positions while the other two guys off the bench play to play three positions.


I think we are more likely to see a 9 man rotation with players like Krstic getting spot minutes based on fouls. 

[slamtheking]

Can you change people from your active roster and inactive list in between rounds?  

Yes.  In fact, you can change active / inactive in between games; I believe the rule is that your roster for each game needs to be set one hour before tip off.

Is that a change in the rules?  I could have sworn I heard at some point in the past 2-3 years that the rosters are set per playoff round rather than per game.

In any case, I think it's a 10-man rotation as Doc mentioned.  (not just because he mentioned it but because with Shaq and JO's health and conditioning, Krstic will certainly need to see some time on the court at least through the first 2 rounds as I don't see Shaq and JO splitting 48 minutes between them and I definitely don't want BBD playing center when we have a talented, bigger player available to do so).

As for 11th and 12th men, plan on Arroyo and Wafer.  C's can't afford to have injury-plagued Delonte as the sole backup for both Rondo and Ray.  If Delonte goes down and those two aren't available, C's are going to be chalking up a loss.

[BballTim]

I just don't see it.



Three guys off the bench to play 2 positions while the other two guys off the bench play to play three positions.


I think we are more likely to see a 9 man rotation with players like Krstic getting spot minutes based on fouls. 

  In any give day we're likely to see an 8 man rotation with a smaller spot for a 9th player (4th big). But based on matchups or who's healthy or playing well those 8-9 players might vary. For instance in 08 House and Cassell both played at times but the lion's share of those backup minutes went to one or the other as opposed to splitting the minutes evenly in a given game.

[Roy H.]

Can you change people from your active roster and inactive list in between rounds?  

Yes.  In fact, you can change active / inactive in between games; I believe the rule is that your roster for each game needs to be set one hour before tip off.

Is that a change in the rules?  I could have sworn I heard at some point in the past 2-3 years that the rosters are set per playoff round rather than per game.

The current rule has been in place since the 2007 season, I believe.  Basically, playoff rules are no different than regular season rules in this regard.

[ManUp]

Yes, I think after our starters(including Shaq) West, Green, Davis, and J.O'neal are going to see somewhere from 15-20 minutes off the bench. Krstic will find limited minutes because I don't expect Shaq to play regular starter minutes. So it will technically be 10 man rotation, but we'll be playing have 2 centers coming off the bench.

[ram]

a more important question is:

In a close game, who are the 5 on the floor for the last 5 minutes?

It's been Glen all season but that doesn't suit me well at all.

I'd have to go with J. O'Neil. He's the best all-around player.

[slamtheking]

Can you change people from your active roster and inactive list in between rounds?  

Yes.  In fact, you can change active / inactive in between games; I believe the rule is that your roster for each game needs to be set one hour before tip off.

Is that a change in the rules?  I could have sworn I heard at some point in the past 2-3 years that the rosters are set per playoff round rather than per game.

The current rule has been in place since the 2007 season, I believe.  Basically, playoff rules are no different than regular season rules in this regard.

Thanks Roy

[slamtheking]

a more important question is:

In a close game, who are the 5 on the floor for the last 5 minutes?

It's been Glen all season but that doesn't suit me well at all.

I'd have to go with J. O'Neil. He's the best all-around player.

That's an excellent point about the last 5 minutes.  I would hope Doc would go with the best matchup based on the situation rather than just a pre-determined group.  I think the big 3 are a given.  it's the PG and C/PF spot that's open for variations.

If Rondo's FT shooting (or shooting in general) is a risk, it'll be Delonte.  If the team needs size on the boards, it'll be Shaq or JO.  If it needs offense or mobility on D it'll be either Green or BBD. 

I think the return to health for this team is what'll put it over the top since Doc will have a number of options available to cover pretty much every scenario.  Doc can even load up on the one situation he couldn't before and that was an end-of-game intentional FT miss by the other team.  Not that it's a frequent situation but with this team's rebounding woes over the past few years, I'd feel very comfortable seeing Doc put Shaq, KG and JO out there on the lane to grab that last rebound.

[ozman]

If Shaq and JO could actually play enough minutes to keep Krstic on the bench, I'd be impressed. I mean, you're talking 24 min from each of them, something JO has only done twice and Shaq 9 times. Do we really want either one HAVING to play 20 minutes, let alone 24 min, in the playoffs?

Either way, Krstic apparently looked good in his first game back, especially considering he came off the bench.Unless he just blows it in the last few games, he'll find his way on the rotation. You can never have too many effective bigs, and Krstic is that if nothing else, especially off the bench.

not realy, baby would most likley see minutes at center.
How many minutes can we expect off KG in the playoffs?

I like how you ask me how long KG should be expected to play right after saying BBD will likely see minutes at center. If Shaq, JO, AND Krstic are all healthy, there shouldn't be ANY room for BBD at center. So, that said, KG probably plays possibly 30-35 minutes in the playoffs, with BBD taking the rest of the minutes at PF..hopefully.

my point was that neither shaq or jermaine will have to play 20 minutes each at center because Garnetts minutes would be increased and baby to get his 20+ mins a game.