GT#70 Wizards vs Pacers 7PM March 17

[Wizardspride]

I don't see Sessions or Frazier playing any minutes unless it's a blowout or someone isn't healthy. Meeks is likely locked in as the 4th guard.

The one question I have is whether Brooks will play Sato at SG alongside Wall. If he's willing to do so, then Sato can still get 16-24 minutes a game as the backup for both positions. If Brooks insists on having Meeks on the floor whenever Beal is out, then Sato will only get the 10-12 minutes available at PG when Wall sits. Sato might steal a few extra minutes at SF if the matchups permit Porter to spend more time at PF.

But I agree with you that we won't see Sessions or Frazier in the playoffs, unless Sato is really struggling to defend a diminutive PG.

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Answers some questions, Sato has been playing off the ball with Beal anyways. 50% 3pt shooter

Piggybacking on your post.
http://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/john-wall-takes-another-step-rehab-could-be-practicing-end-week

Wall was on the court during the five-on-zero drills going through plays with the first unit including Bradley Beal, Otto Porter and the other starters. He also played alongside Tomas Satoransky at times.

Satoransky is currently his replacement in the starting lineup. Satoransky and Wall played together, switching back between point and shooting guard, and Satoransky also played some at small forward.

[NatP4]

I’m telling you guys, we gotta get crazy with our lineups in the playoffs.

Wall-Beal-Sato-Oubre-Porter coming in hot. All 5 of those guys can rebound, shoot, put the ball on the floor, and guard multiple positions.

[payitforward]

We had people over for dinner last night, & I was busy all day. No chance to watch the game. What a disappointment as this was a terrific win.

If you had told me that Beal would only get 12 shot attempts & Porter only 7, I'd have been expecting a loss -- but a great game from Gortat & overall great shooting (90 points off of 73 FGAs!) did the trick.

I'm really impressed the way we've stepped up.

And Nat is correct, for sure, that Satoransky should not lose any minutes when John returns. He is playing at an exceptionally high level, among the very best PGs in the league.

[bsilver]

Played real tough defense last night. Maybe coaches finally got the message through, but will it last? If defense is valued then Sato should get some Meeks minutes at SG.
They try, but Meeks, Sessions and Frazier just aren't good defenders.
Scott definitely deserves time in the playoff rotation.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I don't think so...but I envision Sessions playing alongside Sato quite a bit.

I don't see Sessions or Frazier playing any minutes unless it's a blowout or someone isn't healthy. Meeks is likely locked in as the 4th guard.

The one question I have is whether Brooks will play Sato at SG alongside Wall. If he's willing to do so, then Sato can still get 16-24 minutes a game as the backup for both positions. If Brooks insists on having Meeks on the floor whenever Beal is out, then Sato will only get the 10-12 minutes available at PG when Wall sits. Sato might steal a few extra minutes at SF if the matchups permit Porter to spend more time at PF.

But I agree with you that we won't see Sessions or Frazier in the playoffs, unless Sato is really struggling to defend a diminutive PG.

Last season he failed playing Jennings and Bogdanovic.

Brooks has it in his mind that he needs an experienced traditional guard handling the ball. He will not play Tomas Satoransky any more than token minutes.

We will see the same old isolation basketball where Beal hogs the ball or Wall hogs the ball down the stretch.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

In my mind, you gotta play Otto the majority of his minutes at the 4, like 30 minutes a night there, replace his minutes at the 3 with Oubre, then give ALL of the backup guard minutes and a few minutes at the 3 to Sato. That should be close to 30 minutes.

If you gotta squeeze someone’s minutes, it should be Gortat Mahinmi and Morris. Lord knows, Brooks will probably throw out a 5 man bench unit first playoff game, play Sato and Oubre 12 minutes and never once go small ball.

Have to remember, he’s an idiot that will use the worst possible rotation

He will go small with Markieff Morris playing C.

I don't have a problem with 10 guys playing in the playoffs. What I don't want to see is Beal taking all the shots with the other four players standing around watching.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

In my mind, you gotta play Otto the majority of his minutes at the 4, like 30 minutes a night there, replace his minutes at the 3 with Oubre, then give ALL of the backup guard minutes and a few minutes at the 3 to Sato. That should be close to 30 minutes.

If you gotta squeeze someone’s minutes, it should be Gortat Mahinmi and Morris. Lord knows, Brooks will probably throw out a 5 man bench unit first playoff game, play Sato and Oubre 12 minutes and never once go small ball.

Have to remember, he’s an idiot that will use the worst possible rotation

Easier said than done. Basically, you are talking about a 7-man rotation (assuming Morris gets more backup center minutes since he is being displaced at PF). It's hard to structure a 7-man rotation. You have to play guys really long stretches of time with no rest.

I'll be happy with an 8-man rotation, with Sato backing up both guard positions, and Oubre backing up both forward positions. Gortat and Mahinmi split the time at center. If we need to play small, then Morris takes most of Mahinmi's center minutes, with Scott filling in Morris' PF minutes. (Oubre might be able to get a few more minutes in the smallball scenario, but as I said, it's hard to do while still making sure guys don't play crazy long stretches.)

What I want to see is a coach wisely use each of the 10 men that he has on his roster.

Somedays Jodie Meeks provides a spark. Same with Mike Scott. Same with Ian Mahinmi. Ramon Sessions is an experienced point guard who has handles and some offense. Tomas Satoransky runs this offense and sees the floor better than anyone not named John Wall.

There is no reason for each of them not to be playing. I think one of the stupidest things that coaches do is say "I'm only going to play eight guys in the playoffs", just because it's the playoffs. Just because one player is better doesn't mean he's better on that night. Jodie Meeks hit the 3 to send a game to overtime that Bradley Beal was not going to make. Thank goodness Meeks was in the game to take that shot and hit it.

It is idiotic to play certain guys 40 minutes when 32 minutes would be better. 5 to 10 minutes for any particular player should not hurt a team.

The key is who has it going on that night.

[nate33]

The key is who has it going on that night.

But you can't know ahead of time when someone is going to have "it going on that night". The opportunity cost of playing Meeks for 8-12 minutes to see if he is hot means that you're not playing Sato more minutes. If it turns out that Meeks is ice cold, you've lost 8-12 minutes of Sato.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

The key is who has it going on that night.

But you can't know ahead of time when someone is going to have "it going on that night". The opportunity cost of playing Meeks for 8-12 minutes to see if he is hot means that you're not playing Sato more minutes. If it turns out that Meeks is ice cold, you've lost 8-12 minutes of Sato.

What position does Jodie Meeks play? Primarily shooting guard. Beal does not have to play 40 minutes. I envisioned playing Satoransky with Meeks.

I do not believe in playing starters heavy minutes just because they're starters. They are not always the best option. Last season in the playoffs against boss and there's absolutely no good reason Sheldon Mac did not play. He and Satoransky were very effective before Bogdanovic became a Wizard.

I believe that the coaches should use 10 players.

[nate33]

The key is who has it going on that night.

But you can't know ahead of time when someone is going to have "it going on that night". The opportunity cost of playing Meeks for 8-12 minutes to see if he is hot means that you're not playing Sato more minutes. If it turns out that Meeks is ice cold, you've lost 8-12 minutes of Sato.

What position does Jodie Meeks play? Primarily shooting guard. Beal does not have to play 40 minutes. I envisioned playing Satoransky with Meeks.

I do not believe in playing starters heavy minutes just because their starters. They are not always the best option. Last season in the playoffs against boss and there's absolutely no good reason Sheldon Mac did not play. He and Satoransky were very effective before Bogdanovic became a Wizard.

I believe that the coaches should use 10 players.

So you are suggesting that Meeks back up Beal, with, I presume, Sato backing up Wall. That means Sato and Meeks will play 8-12 minutes each. With this strategy, you are restricting Sato to just 8-12 minutes a game. If you went with a 3-guard rotation, Sato plays 16-24 minutes and Meeks doesn't play at all. I prefer the 2nd option. Meeks should only play in special situations when 3-point shooting is desired in late game situations.

Basically, I think we have enough evidence that Wall, Beal and Sato are sufficiently better than Meeks on a consistent basis that I think it's unwise to sacrifice 8-12 minutes of their time just for the maybe 20% chance that Meeks is having a good night. We're talking about playing the odds here. 80% of the time, Beal, Wall and Sato are better than Meeks. You are sacrificing a 4 out 5 probability event for the 1 in 5 probability event that Meeks ends up outplaying one of them.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

But you can't know ahead of time when someone is going to have "it going on that night". The opportunity cost of playing Meeks for 8-12 minutes to see if he is hot means that you're not playing Sato more minutes. If it turns out that Meeks is ice cold, you've lost 8-12 minutes of Sato.

What position does Jodie Meeks play? Primarily shooting guard. Beal does not have to play 40 minutes. I envisioned playing Satoransky with Meeks.

I do not believe in playing starters heavy minutes just because their starters. They are not always the best option. Last season in the playoffs against boss and there's absolutely no good reason Sheldon Mac did not play. He and Satoransky were very effective before Bogdanovic became a Wizard.

I believe that the coaches should use 10 players.

So you are suggesting that Meeks back up Beal, with, I presume, Sato backing up Wall. That means Sato and Meeks will play 8-12 minutes each. With this strategy, you are restricting Sato to just 8-12 minutes a game. If you went with a 3-guard rotation, Sato plays 16-24 minutes and Meeks doesn't play at all. I prefer the 2nd option. Meeks should only play in special situations when 3-point shooting is desired in late game situations.

Basically, I think we have enough evidence that Wall, Beal and Sato are sufficiently better than Meeks on a consistent basis that I think it's unwise to sacrifice 8-12 minutes of their time just for the maybe 20% chance that Meeks is having a good night. We're talking about playing the odds here. 80% of the time, Beal, Wall and Sato are better than Meeks. You are sacrificing a 4 out 5 probability event for the 1 in 5 probability event that Meeks ends up outplaying one of them.

Sato can play 1,2, or 3. Meeks can be on court in three guard lineups.

I'm saying be flexible and keep things open. Don't pre-judge situation and limit your roster to only 8 people. That kills any synergy from having everyone on the team involved and kills the possibility of two to four other players contributing. It gives options instead of having two guys jack all the shots.