Your 9-man rotation - Everyone Healthy

[Braggins]

Al and Biz are only centers so we would need a backup for Zeller in the 9 man but other than that this is the lineup I would like to see. I think we will more likely see a 10 man rotation since he loves to take all the starters off the floor at the same time.

It's the damnedest thing. Clifford keeps preaching about the 9-man rotation, but boy does he love his 5-man substitutions.

Well if we go nine man two reserves have to be Marv and Biz because Al cannot play PF and he refuses to put Biz there at all. Not saying Biz could play there but he has not even tried it. That means we have to have a backup center and PF in the reserve 4. Then you have to have Mo as backup PG so now one spot has to cover both SG/SF which I guess has to be Taylor/PJ/Lance. My guess would be Lance since he is the most expensive and has the most upside if he can ever find his game.

I think I forgot to mention I would give MKG some PF minutes. Backup PF would basically be MKG/Vonleh. A lot of teams go small so it wouldn't be too hard to find minutes for MKG at PF. There are even some real PF's hed be fine to guard. He would create more space than Marvin, despite not being a 3 point threat, because he can actually drive and force defenses to collapse.

I guess it technically wouldn't be a 9 man rotation, more like 9.5.

[Braggins]

Kemba
Hendo
MKG
Zeller
Biz

Mo
Al
Lance
Marv

I wish Lance had enough time to possibly win the starting spot back so that he could play on my first unit with Biz instead of the second with Al. It doesn't matter though. Al is going to start an play 35 minutes while Biz is relegated to spot minutes as a backup so he'll be playing with Lance irl anyways.

[HornetJail]

Kemba
Hendo
MKG
Zeller
Biz

Mo
Al
Lance
Marv

I wish Lance had enough time to possibly win the starting spot back so that he could play on my first unit with Biz instead of the second with Al. It doesn't matter though. Al is going to start an play 35 minutes while Biz is relegated to spot minutes as a backup so he'll be playing with Lance irl anyways.

My only argument would be putting Vonleh instead of Marvin, but if Marvin manages to be a little more consistent with his jumper, then this is spot on.

[Braggins]

Kemba
Hendo
MKG
Zeller
Biz

Mo
Al
Lance
Marv

I wish Lance had enough time to possibly win the starting spot back so that he could play on my first unit with Biz instead of the second with Al. It doesn't matter though. Al is going to start an play 35 minutes while Biz is relegated to spot minutes as a backup so he'll be playing with Lance irl anyways.

My only argument would be putting Vonleh instead of Marvin, but if Marvin manages to be a little more consistent with his jumper, then this is spot on.

I agree about Vonleh. I'd like to see him in the rotation as well but it just obviously isn't going to happen this year. If Al is the starter, which is what I expect, then I like Marvin just fine next to Biz off the bench. If Al is the 6th man I'd rather just go with Vonleh to possibly prevent us from getting destroyed inside.

[fatlever]

at this point, I'd be shocked if Noah is even in the 9-man or even 10-man rotation next year.

[Liver_Pooty]

at this point, I'd be shocked if Noah is even in the 9-man or even 10-man rotation next year.

Hes a bigger project than Biyombo was. At least Biyombo came into the league with a legit skill in shot blocking. I have high hopes for Vonleh, but hes a long way away from being an NBA starter unless he has one of the most amazing off seasons ever.

[fatlever]

Assuming Jefferson opts in to his contract and we re-sign biz, then I expect our bigman rotation to be the exact same next year. Vonleh will move into Max's spot as the 5th big. Maybe there is a chance Vonleh passes Marvin by the end of the year next year. When Marvin's deal is up Vonleh then moves into the backup PF spot in 2016-2017 - that's assuming we don't sign a bigman free agent in the summer of 2016 or assuming we don't draft another big man who passes him on the depth chart.

Bottom line, its going to be a long road for Noah to work his way into the starting lineup.

[Braggins]

I completely disagree about Vonleh compared to rookie Biz. Vonleh has better size, is quicker, and is way more coordinated. His hands are way better, he shoots way better, and he handles the ball a lot better. Biyombo had a much better motor and was much better defensively at that age, but Vonleh's defensive ceiling should be close to as high, and his offense is miles ahead of Biz at that age. If Vonleh actually got any minutes he would show flashes off all his skills. He wouldn't be very effective because he is way too green, but I think he would look better overall than Biz did his rookie year. Clifford giving him 0 minutes means nothing to me, and that is really the only thing fueling the idea that he is way too raw to even touch the floor. He is definitely raw, but it is overblown by Clifford refusing to play him. If Biz was in his rookie season this year he would not touch the court either. He wasn't even in the rotation at all until 10-15 games into the season and he was behind Jason Maxiell...

[LofJ]

Vonleh is not a project on the level of Biyombo, that's just hyperbole. He has a good jumper for a big and he can rebound. Biz could barely catch a ball on offense and was useless on offense outside of put backs. Biyombo had the edge defensively but only because of his shot blocking. His defensive positioning was every bit as bad as Vonleh's is now.

[Braggins]

Assuming Jefferson opts in to his contract and we re-sign biz, then I expect our bigman rotation to be the exact same next year. Vonleh will move into Max's spot as the 5th big. Maybe there is a chance Vonleh passes Marvin by the end of the year next year. When Marvin's deal is up Vonleh then moves into the backup PF spot in 2016-2017 - that's assuming we don't sign a bigman free agent in the summer of 2016 or assuming we don't draft another big man who passes him on the depth chart.

Bottom line, its going to be a long road for Noah to work his way into the starting lineup.

This is spot on. Although, I am very skeptical that Vonleh shouldn't actually be the backup instead of Marv next season. I agree that it won't happen, but It is pretty pathetic if Patrick Ewing and our staff can't make him better than Marv in two off-seasons and one regular season. Marv is borderline useless and obviously isn't really even capable of playing the PF position in the first place.

[fatlever]

Agreed that Noah is no more raw than Biz when comparing their rookie years. If Biz was a rookie under Clifford on a team with playoff aspirations he would not come near the floor, same as Noah. 29 other teams in the league would have sent Biz to the d-league his rookie year.

Anyone expecting Noah to feature in the lineup anytime soon is going to be very disappointed. It will be 2016-17 at the earliest, barring injuries or a bad off-season.

[yosemiteben]

Yeah, I can't help but chuckle when I see folks penceling Vonleh in as a starter over Cody. We're like four to five years away from that being a remote possibility, assuming Cody stays around, which is fine because he's only 19.

[BeesWax]

I get a chuckle when staunch supporters of Cody question how long it will take Vonleh to crack the lineup. It really is funny how one solid season where we make the playoffs changes the thoughts on how people view prospects.

[yosemiteben]

I get a chuckle when staunch supporters of Cody question how long it will take Vonleh to crack the lineup. It really is funny how one solid season where we make the playoffs changes the thoughts on how people view prospects.

See my post in the Vonleh thread, think this is a conversation worth having.

[BeesWax]

I get a chuckle when staunch supporters of Cody question how long it will take Vonleh to crack the lineup. It really is funny how one solid season where we make the playoffs changes the thoughts on how people view prospects.

See my post in the Vonleh thread, think this is a conversation worth having.

I think the fact you don't is hilarious. Talking about taking five years when Cody had less PF skills coming into the league is very funny.

[yosemiteben]

I get a chuckle when staunch supporters of Cody question how long it will take Vonleh to crack the lineup. It really is funny how one solid season where we make the playoffs changes the thoughts on how people view prospects.

See my post in the Vonleh thread, think this is a conversation worth having.

I think the fact you don't is hilarious. Talking about taking five years when Cody had less PF skills coming into the league is very funny.

Tried to point you to the Vonleh thread so we could have the conversation there, but BBIQ is a major weakness for Vonleh. Virtually every scouting report on him says he has the physical tools but he hasn't put it together yet. By contrast, BBIQ and offensive and defensive awareness was a major strength of Cody in college.

I think it'll be two years (i.e., the 2016-17 season) before Noah is even given 20 mpg, much less a starting role receiving most of the minutes.