2023-2024 rotation post deadline.

[Klomp]

We have a legitimate Top 9 with NAW/Reid/SlowMo/Morris off the bench. That's 9 players you are happy with playing in a play-off series. It allows us to play different line-ups, depending on what the opponent decides to do.

Compare that to the end of the Denver series last year, where we were down to essentially 6 players (at best) that a person would be happy to play in a playoff series

[minimus]

We have a legitimate Top 9 with NAW/Reid/SlowMo/Morris off the bench. That's 9 players you are happy with playing in a play-off series. It allows us to play different line-ups, depending on what the opponent decides to do.

Naz Reid -- Punishes smaller 4's and less-athletic big-men with his ability to catch & shoot or drive/cut into space after a hard close-out or as a cutter, where he can then use his size to finish exceptionally well around the him. Defensively he can switch onto larger wings and less-quick wings and you feel comfortable in Reid to not get blown by.

NAW -- The pinnacle of 3+D Combo Guard who provides secondary ball-handling. Elite defensive piece who can guard most Guards and smaller wings and a 43% Corner 3P Shooter.

SlowMo -- Ball Handling Wing who is exceptional defensively, can legitimately guard 1-5. Inconsistent shooter but punishes smaller players with his turn-around hooks in the paint and plays at his pace, which can lead to him getting easy lay-ups around a snoozing defender.

Morris -- The New guy on the block. Mike Conley Jr 'Jr'. Ultimate Plug-and-play player. Shooter. Creator. Cutter. Spacer. Connector. He can handle ball-handling responsibilities and get the team in their sets quickly and effectively. He is strong enough defensively to stay on the court for extended periods.

The overarching theme of the Wolves Bench is Versatility. Naz Reid is a 4/5 who can shoot and finish and defends. NAW is a switchable guard who can play on or off ball while SlowMo is the cream of the crop defensively as a player you can throw on just about anyone in the NBA and live with the results.

When we face a team like Denver, we can match their different units with multiple defenders for Jamal Murray [Morris/NAW/SlowMo/ANT/McDaniels] and the size of SlowMo/McDaniels on Murray are intriguing from a personnel standpoint.

A team like the Lakers, we have multiple LeBron Defenders and match their size with Reid being a key bench piece vs the smaller Rui Hachimura at the 4.

All of this to say, Finch is in love with the palpability of the bench.

I didn't even touch on the fact that we have the best defensive player in the NBA in Gobert and a high-level starting 5.

I would add that Edwards is also able to guard multiple positions. He has proved this once again when he shutdown JJJ last night. Although I should add motivated Edwards can guard multiple positions.

[winforlose]

JMAC has been great in short spurts this season. That little infusion of energy and pace is like a spark when we are slumping. If he can drain the wide open 3 enough times t opponents might even start guarding him.

Minott and Miller have been ignored by Finch in a way I don’t truly understand. If you can find 10 minutes a night for Shake for all those games, why not give Minott 5 to play real defense in our scheme and maybe knock down an open 3? Miller is a similar principle.

On March first all the final cuts/buyouts will be made. Marcus Morris is obviously the gold standard, but I could see us move on to another 3/4 combo forward.

[winforlose]

Ant: 35
Rudy: 33
KAT: 33
BiteBite: 29
Jaden: 29
NAW: 23
Naz: 22
SlowMo: 22

This was true before the trade deadline. Now Karl was playing 32.8 minutes per game. Those 32.8 need to be reassigned while also keeping Mike’s and Ant’s minutes down.

Monte Morris has been averaging 16.7 MPG, I think we can expect that to rise to 21 or 22. Let’s compromise and say 21.5. That is 4.8 minutes of Karl’s 32.8. Naz averaged 23 to this point, I think for sure he goes to at least 33. That leaves 18. Kyle averaged 22, I think we see him get 8 more per game to 30. NAW probably picks up the rest.

[wolves_89]

Without KAT it will be interesting to see how the offensive usage gets redistributed. I'm hoping that Jaden and Naz both see a significantly bigger role in the offense. It might be the opportunity for McDaniels to take the leap towards being a legit 3rd option.