Should CBS add RJ or Terry to the rotation this early in the season?

[dwoumn]

Both rookies proved in the preseason their potential that DA saw when he drafted them. With the starters struggling to score the rock, and the bench picking up the score slack... should cbs turn to inserting either RJ or Terry into the rotation ?

I believe with his ability to knock down the three ball, RJ Hunter should be inserted into the rotation. He showed that his ability to pick up the defensive rotations and won't be a huge liability on that end of the court. With RJ's being a three ball threat and if he is consistent with knocking it down, he will open the floor for more of IT4 and Smart and other guards  to drive the lanes, the bigs more space for pick and roll/pop, and more potential scoring of the bench if the starting lineup gets tinkered with.

I understand that maybe RJ and Terry should probably get minutes in the D-League just to get some play but I think both (RJ more) proved they can contribute to this team.What do you guys think?

[Donoghus]

Probably not.  It's as much a matter of a numbers game than anything.  Who's minutes is Rozier going to take?  Same goes for RJ.  Up against the depth chart right now. 

Let those two develop in Maine right now.  Get them some real minutes there  If some of this roster glut is cleared up by the trade deadline or whenever, then I think you can start thinking about working them into the rotation. 

[PhoSita]

No.

The rotation needs to have fewer guys in it, not more.

[fairweatherfan]

I would really like to see a shooting specialist somewhere in the rotation - we don't really have anyone who can consistently keep the defense honest from 3.  Hunter + Young are the two guys on the roster who seem to fit the bill right now.

But neither one of them seems at all ready to play NBA rotation minutes, and I have no idea who gets pushed to the bench in that scenario.  So no to the question.

[OhioGreen]

No brainer for me--of course they should get some minutes.  If we were rollin' right along, playing great, shooting lights out, then maybe not, but these guys, especially RJ have shown they can play and contribute right now.
I always try to think what Pop would do, and he always gave talented rookies chances to play early on in the season.  Maybe only 3-5 minute stints, but he always got them feeling like they were a vital part of their teams, and it always paid off later in the season when he needed them to step up.  Let 'em rot on the bench, or worse IMO, send them to a substandard level of play in the DLeague, and you do way more harm than good to their confidence.

[Evantime34]

I don't expect them to get playing time until after the trade deadline baring an injury.

At some point I'd like to see RJ Hunter get Turner's minutes. If this team continues to struggle creating quality looks later in the year, I think you will see more of Rozier as well. They will get their chance, just not for a while.

[Evantime34]

I don't expect them to get playing time until after the trade deadline baring an injury.

At some point I'd like to see RJ Hunter get Turner's minutes. If this team continues to struggle creating quality looks later in the year, I think you will see more of Rozier as well. They will get their chance, just not for a while.

[Eja117]

I see that as a kind of a tanking type or desperation move and I don't think we're anywhere near that yet.
Maybe if they absolutely dominate some practices or something, but not before. Garbage time till then

[PhoSita]

I would really like to see a shooting specialist somewhere in the rotation - we don't really have anyone who can consistently keep the defense honest from 3.  Hunter + Young are the two guys on the roster who seem to fit the bill right now.

But neither one them seems at all ready to play NBA rotation minutes, and I have no idea who gets pushed to the bench in that scenario.  So no to the question.

I agree that this team really need a Dunleavy / Belinelli type in the rotation, but I agree with you that we have no reason to believe they're ready to contribute.  Guys like that typically take a couple years to become reliable shooters at the NBA level.

[feckless]

If the C's shooting remains as poor as it has been others should be given a chance.  That would be Hunter and Rozier, both have shown that they can shoot the ball.

It is hard to imagine that all the starters and the 2nd line can continue with no one finding a hot hand, even IT with a couple of big scoring games has not found his stroke.

[CelticGuardian]

The way they are shooting the Ball right now, I wouldn't say its far fetched for CBS to see if any of these two can provide a hot hand, I only see Bradley shooting consistently... Smart is taking less shots and just bringing the ball up the court and passing it to Lee, which makes me cringe because I think CBS is overplaying Lee, who I like but should be a complimentary player not the focal point..

[OhioGreen]

I can understand that BS is riding this out as his whole team is horrendous on offense right now!  He has to believe that the shots are gonna start falling and show his faith by continuing to run the same guys out there game after game.  I get it.  I just hope he's not still waiting and we're 2-8 or
1-9 before he decides maybe they just can't shoot!  Doc used to treat rooks the same way, only to find out, "hey, this guy can really play", half a season later.
Apparently some have very short memories and can't remember RJ and TR were two of best players in preseason, even towards the end when teams had pretty much gotten down to their set rosters.  RJ, in particular, showed an incredible all around game for a rookie.  If he's not ready for regular minutes, I've never seen a rookie who is!  Sure, you're not going to run him out regularly against the first units of great teams, but I think both he and TR will do just fine against most teams second units until they get acclimated a bit.  Just my humble opinion!

[OhioGreen]

Just another thing about playing these two--NONE of our backcourt players is shooting even 40%!  None shooting 3's over 33%.  And we're worried about our rooks not being ready??

[crimson_stallion]

Depends I guess on how the team goes.

Over the first three games our D has been rock solid, but our offense has really struggled.  That could just be due to early season jitters (chemistry, conditioning, etc) or it could be because we simply don't have enough scorers.  We'll find out which of those is true once we get up in the 7 or 8 games played range I would say.

If we get to that point and we are STILL struggling to put points on the board, then I would very seriously consider giving a few minutes (even if its just 6-8 mins a night) to Rozier and seeing how he goes. 

Rozier likely has the highest upside as a scorer of anybody on this team (not named Isaiah Thomas) and with his aggressiveness, swagger and athleticism he is the type of guy who could potentially be a great "instant offense" guy.  In preseason he was on of our most effective (and efficient) scorers when given the playing time, and didn't seem to have any problems getting his shot off against NBA defenders - even if it was only against the likes of Philly/Brooklyn/NY, that's still enough to convince me he's worth a shot.

RJ Hunter I think is a tougher one to justify.  He's struggled a bit with his offense so far, and it might take him some time to get his shot flowing in the NBA - this seems to be a pretty common thing for shooters coming out of College (e.g. Reddick, Stauskas, McDermott).  So far his greatest contribution has been with his defense and his playmaking, but those aren't really the things we're struggling with right now.

I'd also seriously consider giving Mickey some spot minutes from time to time.  So far teams have been killing us on the boards, and we have struggled against teams that have a strong inside presence (e.g. Spurs and Sixers both gave us a hard time in the paint).  It kinda feels like our interior defense really struggles when Amir Johnson isn't on the court, and I'd like to see what Mickey can provide in terms of his rim protection, rebounding, and potentially even some P&R offense.

If we continue to struggle in these areas, I wouldn't mind moving Amir Johnson into the starting lineup with Zeller or Sully (I think both combos would work well) and then trying Mickey + Olynyk on the second unit (which I also think would work well).

I feel Mickey (rebounding, shot-blocking) and Rozier (explosive speed and aggressive scoring) have some NBA-level skills right now that we as a team could use, so I wouldn't mind seeing both of those guys get a bit of action.

[LooseCannon]

RJ Hunter I think is a tougher one to justify.  He's struggled a bit with his offense so far, and it might take him some time to get his shot flowing in the NBA - this seems to be a pretty common thing for shooters coming out of College (e.g. Reddick, Stauskas, McDermott).  So far his greatest contribution has been with his defense and his playmaking, but those aren't really the things we're struggling with right now.

Reddick shot 39% from three as a rookie, the other two shot around 32%.