Murphy, Arroyo, Pavlovic, or Wafer?

[JBcat]

So who would you choose if you had to add one of these guys to the rotation?

I would choose Murphy.   He has the best track record of the bunch and if he is fully healthy I really think he can help us.  It's embarrassing when Joel Anthony at times was the best big on the floor and Big Baby has a plus minus of minus 1000000 (I'm exaggerating).   So another big could be helpful.   

I like Pavlovic's toughness and maybe could try to play Lebron a little physical, Wafer's athleticism could be useful, and Arroyo knows the Heat team well but in the end I would choose Murphy. 

[Who]

None of them.

Keep the current players, just use them in different lineups. No more 4 man bench units.

[JBcat]

None of them.

Keep the current players, just use them in different lineups. No more 4 man bench units.

Wafer has grown on me over the course of the year.   However with Baby's subpar play and Krstic looking lost (We sure could use his play from the first 5 or so games with us) I wouldn't mind throwing Murphy into the fire for a couple minutes in the first half to see what happens.   I look at it he couldn't be that much worse than Baby or Krstic right now. 

I agree though no more 4 man bench units.   

[pearljammer10]

Arroyo. Rondo needs some breaks and West is much better at the 2 spot than running the system.

[Who]

None of them.

Keep the current players, just use them in different lineups. No more 4 man bench units.

Wafer has grown on me over the course of the year.   However with Baby's subpar play and Krstic looking lost (We sure could use his play from the first 5 or so games with us) I wouldn't mind throwing Murphy into the fire for a couple minutes in the first half to see what happens.   I look at it he couldn't be that much worse than Baby or Krstic right now. 

I agree though no more 4 man bench units.   

I don't like Troy Murphy here. He can't defend Miami's wings when they go small + he cannot defend Chris Bosh because Bosh is too quick for him + Joel Anthony is athletic and mobile enough to defend him comfortably when Murphy plays out on the perimeter.

The only decent matchup for Murphy is Big Z. Actually, I like that matchup a lot ... now that I think about it ... Boston could get a lot of joy by putting Big Z in pick and pop situations with Murphy. Big Z has struggled mightily against perimeter bigs and in pick and rolls for a couple of years now. Murphy would be problematic for him and Murphy is a solid matchup for Big Z on the other end of the floor and on the glass.

My other worry would be Murphy's lack of playing time. He just hasn't played enough. I am not confident in his ability to step in and knock down a bunch of long jumps consistently (in game 3 and/or for the rest of the series).

Edit: The problem with Big Z is that he is only playing the first 6 minutes of each half so far.

So to put Troy Murphy in the game against Ilgasukas ... you'd have to insert him into the starting lineup. Or bring him at the 3/4 minute mark but then he only has 2-3 minutes against Ilgasukas. Not really enough court time for a long distance shooter to get settled or to be consistently effective. No, Murphy would have to start. You'd have to breakup the starting five.

So there is a lack of opportunity there unless one is willing to use Jermaine O'Neal off the bench as a sixth man. So yeah, pretty much best off to keep T.Murphy out of the rotation.

[Who]

On another note, I have been wondering about Nenad Krstic as the first big off the bench.

I'd like to see him get some court time alongside the Big Four. He had a good chemistry with the initially and is a better finisher around the rim than Big Baby. With Jermaine coming out at the six minute mark in each quarter, it is a straight / natural substitution.

Then bring Jermaine back around the 10 minute mark with Garnett heading out. Use Jermaine + BBD as the big man combination against Bosh and J.Anthony who have been starting the second + third quarters for Miami.

Then bring JO out, KG in, around the 8 minute mark. Let JO rest until the final 4 minutes. Use BBD or Krstic alongside Garnett based on performance.

Miami have been mixing it up between a small ball lineup + a two big man lineup when finishing halves. Could bring JO back at that point or bring in Jeff Green in a smaller unit.

[TampaCeltic80]

def. not Murphy. i don't think our problem right now is size, it's hustle and speed to the ball... the Heat are beating us to loose balls and are getting wide open shots because we are simply not a fast, athletic enough team to out-hustle the Heat and close out on open shooters. Murphy does absolutely nothing to help in that department. he's old, slow and even in his prime was Edited.  Profanity and masked profanity are against forum rules and may result in discipline.e on the offensive glass. Murph was signed ONLY so the Heat wouldn't have another warm body to keep the bench warm.

Carlos Arroyo is equally useless on both sides of the ball. he's not exceptionally fast, not a great defender, not a great ball handler [averaging a 1.5:1 ast/TO ratio]... he, like Murph, was signed strategically with hopes that he might help us out with gameplanning having been a member of the Heat for half the season. that hasn't worked out. leave him on the bench.

Sasha Pavlovic played 31 games for 3 different teams this season. he is a one dimensional spot shooter that can spread the floor, which is absolutely unnecessary if Ray and Paul can get going. he gives us nothing we shouldn't already be getting from our current rotation.

my pick is Wafer, only because he is the most athletic of the 4. i certainly wouldn't add him to any regular rotation but if Ray, Rajon and Delonte are cold or in foul trouble Wafer would be the guy to get some spot time.

i personally think our rotation is good from a personnel standpoint. we have the best guys rotating in and out, i'm just not so sure i like the timing of the rotations. Jeff Green should be the first person off the bench for any of the front court positions, including center. he is long and clearly our most athletic front-court player. the Heat are playing small ball... forcing Baby into the 5 when JO gets into foul trouble is not the answer: he's too short, not long enough and despite his deceptive quickness for a fat guy, he's not a run and gun guy. Joel Anthony is 6'9, 245 and doing just fine for the Heat at Center, there's no reason to continue sticking with big ball when Green is 6'9, 235, long and athletic with a bit of range.

i also think Delonte should be allowed to stay in games when he's hot and one of the starters is cold. IMO, one of the miscalculations of game 2 was taking Green and West out when they were both clearly producing for us while Pierce and Allen were dinged up.

our rotation needs to stay at 8 or 9 guys. Big 4 + JO starting, Green, Delonte and Baby off the bench and Nads only when Ilgauskas is on the court [Z is utter garbage, but his height has earned the Heat a few extra possessions over the course of the series.]

only change i'd make from there is putting Shaq back in if/when he comes back... not quite sure what he's waiting for... his career could potentially be over in 2 games, watching from the bench.

[Who]

Miami's substitution pattern so far

• Q1 - first six minutes - starting lineup - Bibby, Wade, LeBron, Bosh and Big Z
• Q1 - 6 minute to 9 minute mark - Miami bring in Chalmers and J.Anthony for Bibby and Big Z respectively
• Q1 - 9 mins to 12 mins - Miami switch to a small ball lineup. They have J.Anthony as their sole big man alongside J.Jones, M.Chalmers and Wade/LeBron.
• Q2 - first 7/8 minutes - Bosh and Joel Anthony start teh second quarter. They begin alongside three bench players; Chalmers, M.Miller and J.Jones. They get 2-3 minutes together and then Miami brings back in Wade or LeBron (Wade, I think). A few moments later, they bring back the other one (LeBron).
• Q2 - final 4 minutes - A few different lineups being used here. They came back with Bibby to finish the first half but kept Chalmers in the game during the second half. Big Z has remained on the bench. Then they decide whether to use (1) J.Anthony in a two big man lineup (2) or whether to go small with J.Jones with only one big (3) or whether to go big on the perimeter and use a non-PG lineup. I think this was the period in game one where they tried that (edit: it was the 6-9 minute mark of second quarter in game one). Most likely they go with Chalmers + J.Anthony alongside their Big Three but they have varied a bit here in use.

Miami's substitution pattern has been very similar in the second half as the first half.

So how do you match up against those lineups? How do you choose Boston's rotation?

• Starting lineup variation -- Bibby / Chalmers + Wade + LeBron + Bosh + Big Z / J.Anthony
• Small ball unit -- Chalmers + Wade/LeBron + M.Miller + J.Jones + J.Anthony
• Two bigs second unit -- Chalmers + Wade/LeBron/M.Miller + J.Jones + Bosh + J.Anthony
• Non-PG lineup -- Wade + J.Jones + LeBron + Bosh + J.Anthony / Big Z

[JBcat]

def. not Murphy. i don't think our problem right now is size, it's hustle and speed to the ball... the Heat are beating us to loose balls and are getting wide open shots because we are simply not a fast, athletic enough team to out-hustle the Heat and close out on open shooters. Murphy does absolutely nothing to help in that department. he's old, slow and even in his prime was ****e on the offensive glass. Murph was signed ONLY so the Heat wouldn't have another warm body to keep the bench warm.

Carlos Arroyo is equally useless on both sides of the ball. he's not exceptionally fast, not a great defender, not a great ball handler [averaging a 1.5:1 ast/TO ratio]... he, like Murph, was signed strategically with hopes that he might help us out with gameplanning having been a member of the Heat for half the season. that hasn't worked out. leave him on the bench.

Sasha Pavlovic played 31 games for 3 different teams this season. he is a one dimensional spot shooter that can spread the floor, which is absolutely unnecessary if Ray and Paul can get going. he gives us nothing we shouldn't already be getting from our current rotation.

my pick is Wafer, only because he is the most athletic of the 4. i certainly wouldn't add him to any regular rotation but if Ray, Rajon and Delonte are cold or in foul trouble Wafer would be the guy to get some spot time.

i personally think our rotation is good from a personnel standpoint. we have the best guys rotating in and out, i'm just not so sure i like the timing of the rotations. Jeff Green should be the first person off the bench for any of the front court positions, including center. he is long and clearly our most athletic front-court player. the Heat are playing small ball... forcing Baby into the 5 when JO gets into foul trouble is not the answer: he's too short, not long enough and despite his deceptive quickness for a fat guy, he's not a run and gun guy. Joel Anthony is 6'9, 245 and doing just fine for the Heat at Center, there's no reason to continue sticking with big ball when Green is 6'9, 235, long and athletic with a bit of range.

i also think Delonte should be allowed to stay in games when he's hot and one of the starters is cold. IMO, one of the miscalculations of game 2 was taking Green and West out when they were both clearly producing for us while Pierce and Allen were dinged up.

our rotation needs to stay at 8 or 9 guys. Big 4 + JO starting, Green, Delonte and Baby off the bench and Nads only when Ilgauskas is on the court [Z is utter garbage, but his height has earned the Heat a few extra possessions over the course of the series.]

only change i'd make from there is putting Shaq back in if/when he comes back... not quite sure what he's waiting for... his career could potentially be over in 2 games, watching from the bench.

Here is your 1st TP.

Some good points but Murphy isn't that old.  He is only 30 and technically should still be in his prime.  He did put a 24 and 17 on us last year I believe.  Who made a good point though in that the only good matchup for him in this series may be against Big Z.

I do agree Doc should ride guys a little longer if they are playing well.  I think West was something like 4 for 5 on his jumpers (also thought played Wade ok on D) but was yanked from the floor too early in my opinion. 

[Dunn]

No just sit them and run the starting unit into the ground. Paul's strain and Rondo's Back will be ok. Von had a good game vs Miami this year and excuse me if Glen Davis can screw our team the way he clearly has I wouldn't mind seeing all of the bench players. Glen would be benched by a better coach, because he is a disgrace to his uniform...again. I don't care how slow Troy is, you ever want a waiver wire player to consider C's you'll play him. I would like to just see what Sasha and the others have to offer. Seen enough of Baby, thank you.

[Bahku]

I had to go with Wafer, primarily for "experience at position needed" reasons, but I'd rather see minutes for Avery Bradley than any on this list.

I think this kid has amazing potential, and given the chance, will prove to be a major contributor.

He's had few chances to prove his worth, but the last time he did, he scored 20 PTs, 3 RBs, 2 ASTs, and 2 STLs, in 27 minutes against the Knicks, and with some power moves to the rim.

He was one of the top high school players in the country, ranked from 1st to 5th, (depending on the source), and averaged over 11 PPG for the Longhorns as a Frehsman.

I'd like to see some more substantial chances for Avery to show his worth at the NBA level.

I like Arroyo, too, depending on the match-up, and Pavlovic has shown some signs of talent, but Murphy, IMO, is a waste of court-time.

Wafer has the most experience with the current group, and we need back-up at the 2-guard position, so of the four listed, he's my pick.

[the_green_truth]

Von Wafer. He has the speed and athletic enough to guard the heat superstars. Much like Nate Robinson, I think he can motivate the 2nd unit and make them explode too.

[Drucci]

Wafer. Actually he looked good in game 2 even if he played like 2 minutes. I think his defense is OK and most importantly he can give us a real boost offensively. He is not afraid of driving to the hoop or taking jumpshots, he is aggressive and this kind of mindset usually pays off even whe nthe opposing team has great D. Also his energy is huge too.

[2short]

I had to go with Wafer, primarily for "experience at position needed" reasons, but I'd rather see minutes for Avery Bradley than any on this list.

I think this kid has amazing potential, and given the chance, will prove to be a major contributor.

He's had few chances to prove his worth, but the last time he did, he scored 20 PTs, 3 RBs, 2 ASTs, and 2 STLs, in 27 minutes against the Knicks, and with some power moves to the rim.

He was one of the top high school players in the country, ranked from 1st to 5th, (depending on the source), and averaged over 11 PPG for the Longhorns as a Frehsman.

I'd like to see some more substantial chances for Avery to show his worth at the NBA level.

I like Arroyo, too, depending on the match-up, and Pavlovic has shown some signs of talent, but Murphy, IMO, is a waste of court-time.

Wafer has the most experience with the current group, and we need back-up at the 2-guard position, so of the four listed, he's my pick.

bradley wow
if he looked like a deer in headlights during the regular season no way he's handling the heat in playoffs
i voted for pavlovic, i feel he isn't afraid to be physical but as some others put I'd like a more even rotation of :
rondo,ray,paul,kg, jo
then green,west,davis and yes krstic with starters til shaq (ever) comes back

[greenpride32]

Wafer - he's the most effective player on the roster at attacking the rim, and this is something we're sorely lacking.