Post deadline: What’s the rotation now?

[JockItch43]

Definitely think we will utilize Vuc to initiate the offense at the high post, makes more sense to move Thad back to the bench so he can do the same thing with the 2nd unit... especially since he and the 2nd unit excelled with him in that role previously.

[Leto]

I was thinking BD might have Sato come off the bench again to pair him with Thad.

White/Sato
Zach/Temple
PW/Aminu
Lauri/Thad
Vuc/Theis

[AshyLarrysDiaper]

The young guys' minutes (Pat, Coby, Lauri) are gonna get pinched big time.

If we're serious about the postseason, I don't see any other way.

"The young guys".

So you finally found the only common denominator that made it possible for you to you group Lauri in with those two. Age. LOL

Yeah I have no clue what you’re talking about.

[ZOMG]

Lots of battles now. Theis vs Thad vs Lauri for PF/C minutes. Brown vs PW for SF. Garrett vs Coby vs Arci for back up guard minutes. Green and Aminu might play as well as Valentine.

I still think people are going to be surprised on how this shakes out. Beating out the new guys won't be as easy as beating out 0.4 PER Hutchinson.

Theis is purely a small ball C. He can hit the open long ball better than Wendell but that doesn't make him a PF.

[Rose2Boozer]

First Team
Satoransky
Lavine
Williams
Markkanen
Vucevic

Second Team
White
Temple
Valentine
Young
Theis

Out of Rotation
Arcidiacono
Aminu
Brown
Dotson
Felicio
Mokoka

[DorO]

Some changes in rotation is expected and need flexing rotation. Maybe starting with Sato, Zach, PWill, Thad, Vuc. Other new pieces will start from bench. I don’t think Lauri has future with Bulls but he will be fitted in some stage with Thad resting and gets his last chance to show something, anything in D.

[VolumePoster]

Sato / Coby
Zach / Temple
Paw / Brown
Lauri / Thad
Vuc / Theis

We went from kiddie club to grown ass man team.

That starting lineup is huge! And I do really like the idea of Thad off the bench. There is some duplication of skills with both Thad and Vuc playing as postup “hubs”. Much rather have Lauri as pop off valve sniping from the corners and attacking closeouts. And much rather have Thads playmaking help the bench.

Look, that’s a playoff team. They need to gel quickly, the young players need to develop, but I think if you don’t make it that’s a major disappointment.

I hope they ball out. And if they beat Boston, somehow someway, my basketball joy will be complete.

[Michael Jackson]

I was thinking BD might have Sato come off the bench again to pair him with Thad.

White/Sato
Zach/Temple
PW/Aminu
Lauri/Thad
Vuc/Theis

I think Sato starts still. No way you want to start two projects if you are going for the playoffs. Having temple and Thad out there with white stabilizes him in the second unit and still lets him be ball dominant which he can’t do as a starter now.

[WindyCityBorn]

I second that. IMO these trades will lead to two things: Young getting less minutes and Coby (in the name of God) getting less minutes.

To be blunt, Coby's honeymoon, baby years, evaluation period, what you want to call it, ended de facto yesterday.

Too bad for Thad, though.

Not feeling sorry for Thad. He's ancient and has already had a great run. As an aging, undersized, non-shooting interior player, you can't expect to be a starter for any team. He's at the stage where he should be getting 15-20 mpg tops.

Basketball aside for a moment... He's a good guy. I always hope the best for good guys. He's done nothing wrong and believe he's good in the locker room too. In my world he'd deserve more.

Deserves more? He gets to play a key role on winning team(hopefully)? He was never meant to be a starter and he clearly cannot handle starter minutes any more. He will be in perfect situation giving us a max of 20 minutes playing against PF and not centers. Also remember he is Zach’s guy.

[WindyCityBorn]

I was thinking BD might have Sato come off the bench again to pair him with Thad.

White/Sato
Zach/Temple
PW/Aminu
Lauri/Thad
Vuc/Theis

I think Sato starts still. No way you want to start two projects if you are going for the playoffs. Having temple and Thad out there with white stabilizes him in the second unit and still lets him be ball dominant which he can’t do as a starter now.

Yeah there is no way we are turning team over to White again. He is awful right now. He will probably see less minutes tbh.

[FranchisePlayer]

Not feeling sorry for Thad. He's ancient and has already had a great run. As an aging, undersized, non-shooting interior player, you can't expect to be a starter for any team. He's at the stage where he should be getting 15-20 mpg tops.

Basketball aside for a moment... He's a good guy. I always hope the best for good guys. He's done nothing wrong and believe he's good in the locker room too. In my world he'd deserve more.

Deserves more? He gets to play a key role ok winning team(hopefully)? He was never meant to be a starter and he clearly cannot handle starter minutes any more. He will be in perfect situation giving us a max of 20 minutes playing against PF and centers. Also remember he is Zach’s guy.

Naturally in my book he's behind Lauri in the pecking order and not a starter. Now with the new guys he won't see 20 MPG, probably even less. So yeah, wouldn't want to see that happening. He definitely deserves more minutes than White.

[WindyCityBorn]

Basketball aside for a moment... He's a good guy. I always hope the best for good guys. He's done nothing wrong and believe he's good in the locker room too. In my world he'd deserve more.

Deserves more? He gets to play a key role ok winning team(hopefully)? He was never meant to be a starter and he clearly cannot handle starter minutes any more. He will be in perfect situation giving us a max of 20 minutes playing against PF and centers. Also remember he is Zach’s guy.

Naturally in my book he's behind Lauri in the pecking order and not a starter. Now with the new guys he won't see 20 MPG, probably even less. So yeah, wouldn't want to see that happening. He definitely deserves more minutes than White.

96 minutes in the frontcourt
Vuc (32)/ Theis (16)
Markkanen (28)/ Young(20)

I could see Theis taking some of Lauri’s minutes if he isn’t performing and I can see Thad still closing games with Vuc. 20 minutes should be the max for Thad until the playoffs though. He is starting to look worn down to me. Playing center was taking a toll.

Aminu is wild card that could see some small ball PF minutes, but I’m not counting on him for anything just yet. Coby could easily lose minutes to Brown who can handle the ball and is a significantly better defender.

[2018C3]

I almost want to see both Coby, and Markkanen coming off the bench. They can still get good minutes, and maybe even more then the starters in those positions.

This might fit the teams roster better both defensively and offensively. If either Coby or Markkannen start there shots will be reduced at the beginning of a game, and it might make sense to feature them as scoring options in a reserve role, and then keep them in whenever they get hot.

[bad knees]

Deserves more? He gets to play a key role ok winning team(hopefully)? He was never meant to be a starter and he clearly cannot handle starter minutes any more. He will be in perfect situation giving us a max of 20 minutes playing against PF and centers. Also remember he is Zach’s guy.

Naturally in my book he's behind Lauri in the pecking order and not a starter. Now with the new guys he won't see 20 MPG, probably even less. So yeah, wouldn't want to see that happening. He definitely deserves more minutes than White.

96 minutes in the frontcourt
Vuc (32)/ Theis (16)
Markkanen (28)/ Young(20)

I could see Theis taking some of Lauri’s minutes if he isn’t performing and I can see Thad still closing games with Vuc. 20 minutes should be the max for Thad until the playoffs though. He is starting to look worn down to me. Playing center was taking a toll.

Aminu is wild card that could see some small ball PF minutes, but I’m not counting on him for anything just yet. Coby could easily lose minutes to Brown who can handle the ball and is a significantly better defender.

Theis has been playing PF this year when he has been on the floor with Tristan Thompson, which is quite often. He has become more of a volume 3 pt shooter and off ball cutter, with good success. And he continues to play strong defense, including good rim protection. I can definitely see him getting some PF minutes on the Bulls. I think the team would benefit from him playing more than the 14-16 minutes that he will get as Vuc's backup. I like a PF rotation of Lauri - 20, Thadgic - 20, Theis - 8.

https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/sports/nba/celtics/2021/02/11/boston-celtics-daniel-theis-finds-new-role-perimeter/6728287002/

https://www.celticslife.com/2021/02/the-strengths-and-weaknesses-of-each-of.html

[coldfish]

Lots of battles now. Theis vs Thad vs Lauri for PF/C minutes. Brown vs PW for SF. Garrett vs Coby vs Arci for back up guard minutes. Green and Aminu might play as well as Valentine.

I still think people are going to be surprised on how this shakes out. Beating out the new guys won't be as easy as beating out 0.4 PER Hutchinson.

Theis is purely a small ball C. He can hit the open long ball better than Wendell but that doesn't make him a PF.

The Bulls have 3 positions on offense:
- Hub center
- Guard
- Forward

The forwards move off ball, cut and hang out in the corners looking for 3's. Offensively, Theis will not play as center. He will play the same positions as Lauri, which is forward. He won't be great at it but that's not really his primary contribution. His job is going to be to play defense.

Purely from an on-court tactics standpoint, it makes sense to pair Theis and Vuc as one pairing and Thad and Lauri as the other. Offensively, Vuc and Lauri work great so we will see it but there are defensive concerns.

The two guys who can't play together are Lauri and Theis because offensively, neither is going to do the hub center thing.

[bad knees]

Lots of battles now. Theis vs Thad vs Lauri for PF/C minutes. Brown vs PW for SF. Garrett vs Coby vs Arci for back up guard minutes. Green and Aminu might play as well as Valentine.

I still think people are going to be surprised on how this shakes out. Beating out the new guys won't be as easy as beating out 0.4 PER Hutchinson.

Theis is purely a small ball C. He can hit the open long ball better than Wendell but that doesn't make him a PF.

The Bulls have 3 positions on offense:
- Hub center
- Guard
- Forward

The forwards move off ball, cut and hang out in the corners looking for 3's. Offensively, Theis will not play as center. He will play the same positions as Lauri, which is forward. He won't be great at it but that's not really his primary contribution. His job is going to be to play defense.

Purely from an on-court tactics standpoint, it makes sense to pair Theis and Vuc as one pairing and Thad and Lauri as the other. Offensively, Vuc and Lauri work great so we will see it but there are defensive concerns.

The two guys who can't play together are Lauri and Theis because offensively, neither is going to do the hub center thing.

I agree with how you identify the positions, and the fact that Vuc and Thad are the only real candidates for the Hub Center position (until we see what Theis can do). The challenge, however, is that we need Theis to play backup C when Vuc is off the floor, so it's hard to say that Vuc and Theis should be paired up. So I think that we should probably start Vuc and Lauri, and have Thad and Theis working together on the bench squad. The pairings can be mixed and matched to some degree, but I think one of the hard rules is that Theis has to be the backup C. This obviously limits the extent to which Vuc and Theis can play together. I do think that it can happen for 6-8 minutes each game. Indeed, Vuc and Theis may end up being our end-of-game frontcourt since Vuc and Thad are somewhat redundant in that both are Hub Centers, and Vuc and Theis are such an appealing combo given Theis's ability to shoot 3's and play strong defense. It will certainly be interesting to see how BD goes about determining the best way to maximize this group.

[MGB8]

If I had to use standard positions, in the near term I’d think:

5: Vucevic, Lauri
4: Thad, Theis, (Lauri), Aminu
3: Paw, (Aminu)/Temple, Val, Brown
2: LaVine, Coby, (Brown)/Green
1: Sato, (Temple), Arch, (Coby)

As soon as Theis is up,to,speed, I think he and Thad swap, because of the pairing and passing issues others have mentioned. Outside shot that Aminu grabs the starting 4 spot, too, after acclimation. Until then, you stagger so as to try to have a passing big on the Court as much as possible. You’ll see plenty of Vuc/Lauri.

That said, I disagree that Thad and Vuc are redundant in terms of passing. Can’t have enough smart passers on the court at once, the bigger issue would be getting in each other’s way on offense, but both are versatile enough...

[GoBlue72391]

First Team
Satoransky
Lavine
Williams
Markkanen
Vucevic

Second Team
White
Temple
Valentine
Young
Theis

Out of Rotation
Arcidiacono
Aminu
Brown
Dotson
Felicio
Mokoka

Swap Denzel with either Brown or even Aminu.

I'm so over Denzel's inexplicable confidence, unnecessary flashy plays, boneheaded decisions, and taking shots from more deserving players. Awhile ago I saw someone describe him as either "the smartest dumb player" or the "dumbest smart player" and that's so fitting.

[GoBlue72391]

I was thinking BD might have Sato come off the bench again to pair him with Thad.

White/Sato
Zach/Temple
PW/Aminu
Lauri/Thad
Vuc/Theis

I think Sato starts still. No way you want to start two projects if you are going for the playoffs. Having temple and Thad out there with white stabilizes him in the second unit and still lets him be ball dominant which he can’t do as a starter now.

Sato is definitely starting. I think Temple or even Archi would start at PG over Coby at this point. No way we try that again barring disaster. That would force Zach to split PG duties since Coby's incapable of running point consistently.

[GrowingHorns]

Sato, Zach and Vuc are lock for starters. On Saturday, Pwill probably starts. It means we start off with Markkanen for spacing and bring him out as one of the firsts for Thadd. If it seems pwill ain't a fit with starters we might even start with Temple in some point. In that case, his 3pt threat is decent and we wouldn't need Lauri to start, but I suppose he still might.

One thing I know - I am real surprised if Lauri can improve his D so much we could END games with him more than against weaker match-ups.