shrink wrote:Which Nuggets bench players will be in the playoff rotation every game?
For the Wolves, I think Finch only plays 8, with Naz Reid, Ayo Dosunmu and Kyle Anderson. After that, he may have spot use for Bones Hyland (shooting), Terrence Shannon Jr (attack the hoop), Jaylen Clark (perimeter defense) and Mike Conley (settle them down), but I imagine those four pick up DNP-CDs in most games.
How’s DEN look? Will minor injuries have them playing ten or eleven deep?
Interesting for the Wolves that for a team that struggled to find 8 quality guys for much of the season... they have a few more options to choose from in the playoffs.
- Mike Conley... after an incredibly dismal and almost inexplicable season shooting the ball (<30%), he hit 12 of his final 19 threes. Between being able to hit threes and his veteran savvy, there
could be a spot for him in the rotation.
- Bones Hyland averaged 11 ppg while shooting 41% on three pointers over the past 3 months while bringing a unique brand of energy and pace. I think he's been too invaluable to overlook entirely at this point.
- TJ Shannon was supposed to be a big part of the Nikiel-Alexander replacement plan with mercurial scoring off the bench. He struggled all season... but went from deep rotation guy to averaging 27+ ppg over the past week to close out the season.
- Jaylen Clark is all about defense coming off the bench.
It'll be interesting to see how often Finch pulls the right strings. I wouldn't be surprised if 12 Wolves players see the court in this series (even if the games are close). Not every game... one game might be Bones. One game might be Conley. Maybe a sprinkle of Shannon and Clark.
In any event, who would have thought the Wolves would have 12 guys to choose from as recently as a couple of months ago. Maybe if some of these guys did better earlier in the year, the Wolves wouldn't be facing such an uphill battle vs. one of the best teams in the league.
