Four wins in a row...Any lingering concerns?

[BooomBaby]

5.

[8305]

I actually like the idea of an eight man rotation.

When you go to your bench there will be two starters on the floor. That's got to be better than players 9 and 10.
If you treat the three bench guys like starters (in terms of minutes) you won't wear out your first 5 guys.
I think a solid player getting 25 to 30 a game will be more productive than the same player getting 15 to 20 minutes per game.
Playing through mistakes, getting into the flow of the game comes easier with more minutes.

Granted you need well rounded players and all eight guys need to be at least border line starters. I think we have that covered.

[HurricaneDij25]

Anyone want to see Joe Young or Alex Poythress in game action? Looking for honest answers...

[Pacers_Freak]

Anyone want to see Joe Young or Alex Poythress in game action? Looking for honest answers...

Yes. Want to see them get minutes in Ft. Wayne.

[boomershadow]

Anyone want to see Joe Young or Alex Poythress in game action? Looking for honest answers...

I wouldn't rather see them play than the guys we are giving decent minutes to, but if injury happens or something and they end up a part of the rotation, I am not gonna be super worried that disaster is on the way.

I do wanna see more Leaf, but it kinda depends on how his development is going. Hopefully he is putting in some time in the weight room and studying up on defense.

[Wizop]

Anyone want to see Joe Young or Alex Poythress in game action? Looking for honest answers...

absolutely. I like watching garbage time at the end of blow out wins.

more seriously, Joe Young has shown he can contribute against small ball lineups with small point guards. I wouldn't be afraid to use him situationally. I have expected to see Poytress get some pt with GR3 out but the coaches must not have confidence in him.

not long ago some were debating the merits of player development and wins. the voices who preferred the lottery over being competitive are pretty quiet now.

[pizza guy]

Anyone want to see Joe Young or Alex Poythress in game action? Looking for honest answers...

I wouldn't rather see them play than the guys we are giving decent minutes to, but if injury happens or something and they end up a part of the rotation, I am not gonna be super worried that disaster is on the way.

I do wanna see more Leaf, but it kinda depends on how his development is going. Hopefully he is putting in some time in the weight room and studying up on defense.

Leaf Rejoins Rotation with Focus on Improvement
http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/leaf-rejoins-improvement-171205

Most of Leaf's growth needs to come on defense. Even with sporadic playing time, he's hitting 46 percent of his field goal attempts, including 45.5 percent of his 3-pointers. Defensively, however, he's having to guard stronger players near the basket and quicker players away from it.

It's going to take time to get that worked out. Not only the physical part of it, but the intellectual side of knowing where to be and being able to tell others what to do from the back line of the defense.

"I'm just trying to learn the right positioning," he said. "Defensively, it's a different game. Reading the keys, things like that, I'm trying to learn. I'm just trying to learn all of it."

Meanwhile, he lifts weights every day. It might not be noticeable to the casual observer, but those close to him see it, and he feels it.

"Oh, man. Night and day," he said, when asked how much stronger he is than when he was drafted. "You can't always see it, but I feel so much stronger. I'm playing these guys who were two or three times stronger, and I'm starting to feel stronger. I'm definitely getting there."

Leaf's primary mentor in the locker room is Thaddeus Young, who can relate to his challenges. Young entered the NBA at 19 years old, a year younger than Leaf, and was an equally skinny forward trying to learn on the fly. Young also had played one season of college basketball (at Georgia Tech) and came off the bench as a rookie for Philadelphia, often very briefly. At the end of the season, he was starting for the 76ers in the playoffs.

"The biggest thing right now is to continue to be in the weight room and get stronger. A lot of guys are going at him as soon as he checks into the game and he just doesn't understand right now. But for the most part, offensively, he knows how to get his open shot, he knows where to be on the court. it's just defensively things move a little too fast for him. When he's out there on the court I try to slow things down for him and tell him, your first call is what the guards have to listen to. If you do anything out there, just continue to communicate with those guys. If you don't communicate, it's bad for everybody. He's beginning to understand that.

Sounds like Leaf is going to start seeing a few more minutes regularly and the development must be progressing at least enough that he gets to see the floor. I'm glad to hear he's hitting the weights so much and that Thad is helping to mentor him. Definitely good signs for his future.

As for Joe Young and Poythress and Uthoff, I'm ok with keeping them in garbage time and/or G-League.

[Wizop]

As for Joe Young and Poythress and Uthoff, I'm ok with keeping them in garbage time and/or G-League.

Young is on the roster. Poythress has a 2-way deal so can be in Indy 45 days this season.

Uthoff was waived and just has a contract with the Ants where I believe he has played a lot of small ball 5. perhaps we'll give him a 10 day deal later in the year.