Wizop wrote:JMaster5K wrote:I see him (Nwora) as your 3rd forward at either position.
if Buddy were gone, would Nwora move up to the 2nd forward at one position or the other?
Ideally, at least for me, it would all depend on matchups,.. My 1st guard off the bench, at either position would be Nembhard. (Nembhard as the second unit point & getting some minutes at the SG.) My first F/G off the bench would be Nesmith (the second unit SF getting some minutes at SG). Both due to versatility and 2-way skills & comittment. But that isn't going to happen on our current team as that would have Brown, Mathurin, Hield, and Haliburton all starting, which obviously just doesn't work, at all, in any universe. So, if one of those 4 has to play off the bench, that is going to affect the PT for both Nembhard and Nesmith. (and this doesn't even address Shephard, who has a great upside in his own right.)
Nwora for me is in competition with Walker to be guy who gets the extra minutes at SF and the extra minutes at PF. Maybe 12 - 16 a night? When the team matches up with a faster, team that switches more often, usually with a smaller 4, the Nwora should be playing more minutes at the 4 than a typical night. When we play a team that has a bigger, not as quick 3, then Nwora should get more minutes at the 3. There could also be nights where we face a team that runs a big 4, and a quick 3,.. on those nights, Stix, or Jackson, or Walker should probably be getting more minutes at the 4, with Nesmith getting the bulk of the minutes at the 3, and little time for Nwora.
Don't get me wrong. I do like Nwora's game, but for me, on a real contending team, he is likely to be the number 8 or 9 guy in the rotation. For the current Pacers, I think, if he really started to max out his game, he could become the primary back up at the 4, with Stix getting the double-big minutes. But, he would have to really essentially demand that spot in the rotation with his play. If that makes any sense?