Jb and Koby can both go for all i care but that would require Dan Gilbert stepping in because Usher surely doesn't have enough pull to make that happen.jbk1234 wrote:JujitsuFlip wrote:This is not the answer...toooskies wrote:I think JBB gave the starters extended run because:
- the team has two days off to rest up
- the bench groups stunk and the adjustment was play the starters
The starting group was positive on the night while anytime two of the starters were out, we gave up runs. All of LeVert, Niang, Merrill, and Morris were huge liabilities when they were on the floor-- all of them nearly a negative point per minute in plus-minus. We couldn't guard Booker or Durant when our bench guys were out there. We miss Okoro.
I maintain that Niang is fine as a deeper bench guy but if his shot isn't falling, he's a big liability. Even if he does a good job on his man, he's not a good helper. We miss Wade.
LeVert was just bad.
I actually thought the starters played well. Mitchell and Garland made it a point to drive to the hoop and they looked better getting to the rim than they have lately.
So the only guys we can play are our starters? Yeah I've read this book, I've seen this movie.
Jb has to go if this is the answer at the end of every season, smh I'm sick of it. I thought we were supposed to be this team stacked with depth. Yeah now 5 games from the playoffs our answer is play the starting 5, 48 minutes per game or we lose, wonderful.
I think our bench gets pretty overrated by our fan base because they were able to beat some bad teams during the soft part of our schedule, before some of them even appeared on scouting reports, and opposing defenses were primarily focused on Mitchell. Also, you can get some wins by out-hustling teams in the middle of the season, but playoff teams start locking in come March.
Bob Bol shoots 45% from 3, offers rim protection, makes $2M per, and gave the Suns great minutes last night. The Suns got O'Neale for next to nothing at the deadline, went 4 first 5 from 3 and played good enough defense to stay on the floor.
If we're being honest, we lack two-way players on our bench. In theory, we should be able to play Wade, LeVert, and Okoro against most teams in the NBA, but they've shown a real inability to put points on board against solid defenses. On top of that Wade, and increasingly Okoro, can't stay healthy. Conversely, Niang and the SL Champs really can't defend at a playoff level.
In theory, you should be able to balance offense/defense with bench rotations, but Merrill, and occasionally Wade/Okoro, are the only ones who are good enough on one end to justify their limitations on the other. I feel like we're going to have guys like Niang and LeVert defaulting into a playoff rotation, but on a true contending roster, they wouldn't get meaningful minutes.
That's not on JBB, that's on Altman. He signed them last summer.
We'll see how the next few weeks go but i fully believe a change needs to be made, the team can't continue down this treadmill path.