Rui Hachimura

[NatP4]

Apparently he is still out for a couple weeks, but hopefully it’s atleast a little bit sooner than anticipated. Need a big jump from Rui this year to hopefully eliminate some of the potential dumb lineup combos by Scott Brooks

Speaking of line-ups. One thing I don't understand is not starting Bertans next to Westbrook. I mean that would completely open the floor for Westbrook, right?

Don’t ask me!! Something about continuity with the 2nd unit blah blah blah.

Did you know Westbrook and Ish were friends in high school???

[DCZards]

Apparently he is still out for a couple weeks, but hopefully it’s atleast a little bit sooner than anticipated. Need a big jump from Rui this year to hopefully eliminate some of the potential dumb lineup combos by Scott Brooks

Speaking of line-ups. One thing I don't understand is not starting Bertans next to Westbrook. I mean that would completely open the floor for Westbrook, right?

Don’t ask me!! Something about continuity with the 2nd unit blah blah blah.

Did you know Westbrook and Ish were friends in high school???

Ish grew up and went to high school in NC and Russ is from Cali. So I’m not sure what you mean by “friends in high school”...or where you got that info from.

[NatP4]

Speaking of line-ups. One thing I don't understand is not starting Bertans next to Westbrook. I mean that would completely open the floor for Westbrook, right?

Don’t ask me!! Something about continuity with the 2nd unit blah blah blah.

Did you know Westbrook and Ish were friends in high school???

Ish grew up and went to high school in NC and Russ is from Cali. So I’m not sure what you mean by “friends in high school”...or where you got that info from.

That’s right, they are friends from OKC days and texted each other the night of the trade something something blah blah minus 21!!!!!

[nate33]

Apparently he is still out for a couple weeks, but hopefully it’s atleast a little bit sooner than anticipated. Need a big jump from Rui this year to hopefully eliminate some of the potential dumb lineup combos by Scott Brooks

Speaking of line-ups. One thing I don't understand is not starting Bertans next to Westbrook. I mean that would completely open the floor for Westbrook, right?

Westbrook goes to the bench early in the 1st and 3rd quarter so that he can come back in and lead the second unit, where he plays alongside Bertans. Also, Bertans will be finishing games in the 4th quarter. Effectively Westbrook is with Bertans for much of his time on the court.

You also have to factor that Bertans' absence on the 2nd unit would hurt the 2nd unit more than his absence on the starting unit would hurt the starters. At least the starting unit has a lot of other offensive options like Beal, Bryant and Rui.

[dckingsfan]

Apparently he is still out for a couple weeks, but hopefully it’s atleast a little bit sooner than anticipated. Need a big jump from Rui this year to hopefully eliminate some of the potential dumb lineup combos by Scott Brooks

Speaking of line-ups. One thing I don't understand is not starting Bertans next to Westbrook. I mean that would completely open the floor for Westbrook, right?

Westbrook goes to the bench early in the 1st and 3rd quarter so that he can come back in and lead the second unit, where he plays alongside Bertans. Also, Bertans will be finishing games in the 4th quarter. Effectively Westbrook is with Bertans for much of his time on the court.

You also have to factor that Bertans' absence on the 2nd unit would hurt the 2nd unit more than his absence on the starting unit would hurt the starters. At least the starting unit has a lot of other offensive options like Beal, Bryant and Rui.

I hadn't considered that and certainly a valid way to look at it and probably how Brooks looks at it.

But I would look at it as how to optimize scoring points over the entire game. I would say I would want Westbrook and Bertans to be on the floor at the same time as much as possible. In addition, I would only have Lopez on the floor when Westbrook isn't in the game (as an example).

I think a Westbrook, Beal, Avidja, Bertans, Bryant (with all that floor spacing is the right way to start and finish the game). You can sub in Bonga/Brown into the Avidja spot for finishing if you like.

The Westbrook, Beal, Avidja, Bonga, Wagner group was quite productive.

When Westbrook is out and Beal is the primary ball handler, then you can use any combo of Smith/Neto, Beal, Bonga/Brown/Avidja, Rui, Lopez.

[nate33]

Speaking of line-ups. One thing I don't understand is not starting Bertans next to Westbrook. I mean that would completely open the floor for Westbrook, right?

Westbrook goes to the bench early in the 1st and 3rd quarter so that he can come back in and lead the second unit, where he plays alongside Bertans. Also, Bertans will be finishing games in the 4th quarter. Effectively Westbrook is with Bertans for much of his time on the court.

You also have to factor that Bertans' absence on the 2nd unit would hurt the 2nd unit more than his absence on the starting unit would hurt the starters. At least the starting unit has a lot of other offensive options like Beal, Bryant and Rui.

I hadn't considered that and certainly a valid way to look at it and probably how Brooks looks at it.

But I would look at it as how to optimize scoring points over the entire game. I would say I would want Westbrook and Bertans to be on the floor at the same time as much as possible. In addition, I would only have Lopez on the floor when Westbrook isn't in the game (as an example).

I think a Westbrook, Beal, Avidja, Bertans, Bryant (with all that floor spacing is the right way to start and finish the game). You can sub in Bonga/Brown into the Avidja spot for finishing if you like.

The Westbrook, Beal, Avidja, Bonga, Wagner group was quite productive.

When Westbrook is out and Beal is the primary ball handler, then you can use any combo of Smith/Neto, Beal, Bonga/Brown/Avidja, Rui, Lopez.

I line up of Beal alongside Ish, Avidja/Brown, Bonga and Lopez would struggle to score offensively.

I think you always want two among Beal, Westbrook and Bertans on the floor at all times. Assuming Beal and Westbrook play 36 minutes and Bertans plays 24, you can accomplish that, but only if all 3 are never on the court at the same time. For each additional minute Bertans plays above 24, you can have a minute with all 3 on the floor together. Bertans will probably play 28 minutes, so that's a grand total of about 4 minutes with all 3 together. I think those minutes should be the final 4 minutes of the game, not the first 4. Therefore, Bertans can't start.

[DCZards]

I line up of Beal alongside Ish, Avidja/Brown, Bonga and Lopez would struggle to score offensively.

I think you always want two among Beal, Westbrook and Bertans on the floor at all times. Assuming Beal and Westbrook play 36 minutes and Bertans plays 24, you can accomplish that, but only if all 3 are never on the court at the same time. For each additional minute Bertans plays above 24, you can have a minute with all 3 on the floor together. Bertans will probably play 28 minutes, so that's a grand total of about 4 minutes with all 3 together. I think those minutes should be the final 4 minutes of the game, not the first 4. Therefore, Bertans can't start.

I can’t imagine not having Beal, Westbrook and Bertans on the court together for at least 10-12 mins a game. That would be my starting point when deciding on lineups and minutes.

[nate33]

I line up of Beal alongside Ish, Avidja/Brown, Bonga and Lopez would struggle to score offensively.

I think you always want two among Beal, Westbrook and Bertans on the floor at all times. Assuming Beal and Westbrook play 36 minutes and Bertans plays 24, you can accomplish that, but only if all 3 are never on the court at the same time. For each additional minute Bertans plays above 24, you can have a minute with all 3 on the floor together. Bertans will probably play 28 minutes, so that's a grand total of about 4 minutes with all 3 together. I think those minutes should be the final 4 minutes of the game, not the first 4. Therefore, Bertans can't start.

I can’t imagine not having Beal, Westbrook and Bertans on the court together for at least 10-12 mins a game. That would be my starting point when deciding on lineups and minutes.

Why is that a starting point? By what logic? As I just explained, for every minute all 3 are together, you are subjecting yourself to a minute when only one of Westbrook/Beal/Bertans are on the floor, and that can get pretty brutal offensively.

Bertans costs you points at the defensive end. If you play him, you want to make sure he gets enough touches on offense to offset his negative impact defensively. He'll get more touches as a 2nd option than as a 3rd option.

[dckingsfan]

I think Neto/Beal/Brown/Rui/Lopez doesn't have a scoring problem, but I could be off on that...

[payitforward]

I line up of Beal alongside Ish, Avidja/Brown, Bonga and Lopez would struggle to score offensively.

I think you always want two among Beal, Westbrook and Bertans on the floor at all times. Assuming Beal and Westbrook play 36 minutes and Bertans plays 24, you can accomplish that, but only if all 3 are never on the court at the same time. For each additional minute Bertans plays above 24, you can have a minute with all 3 on the floor together. Bertans will probably play 28 minutes, so that's a grand total of about 4 minutes with all 3 together. I think those minutes should be the final 4 minutes of the game, not the first 4. Therefore, Bertans can't start.

I can’t imagine not having Beal, Westbrook and Bertans on the court together for at least 10-12 mins a game. That would be my starting point when deciding on lineups and minutes.

Why is that a starting point? By what logic? As I just explained, for every minute all 3 are together, you are subjecting yourself to a minute when only one of Westbrook/Beal/Bertans are on the floor, and that can get pretty brutal offensively.

Hmmm... I think that's only true if all 36 of Russ & Brad's minutes are played together.

Assume for a moment that only 30 of their 36 minutes overlap. Each of them is on the floor 6 minutes without the other guy. If Bertans plays w/ Russ the 6 minutes Beal is off the floor, & he plays w/ Beal the 6 minutes Russ is off the floor, that leaves 12 or more minutes Bertans can be on the floor with both guys.

edit... slight error, as that leaves 6 minutes with none of the 3 on the floor. Let's assume Brad & Russ play 27 of their 36 minutes together. That leaves 18 minutes when 1 of them is on the floor without the other. Bertans plays those 18 minutes & another 10 when they are both in the game.

That still leaves 3 minutes without any of them, but that's liable to happen on its own anyway.

[nate33]

Hmmm... I think that's only true if all 36 of Russ & Brad's minutes are played together.

Assume for a moment that only 30 of their 36 minutes overlap. Each of them is on the floor 6 minutes without the other guy. If Bertans plays w/ Russ the 6 minutes Beal is off the floor, & he plays w/ Beal the 6 minutes Russ is off the floor, that leaves 12 or more minutes Bertans can be on the floor with both guys.

edit... slight error, as that leaves 6 minutes with none of the 3 on the floor. Let's assume Brad & Russ play 27 of their 36 minutes together. That leaves 18 minutes when 1 of them is on the floor without the other. Bertans plays those 18 minutes & another 10 when they are both in the game.

That still leaves 3 minutes without any of them, but that's liable to happen on its own anyway.

My assumption was Westbrook and Beal playing 36 and Bertans playing 24. In that scenario, they are playing a combined 96 minutes, which means if two are kept on the court together for the 48 minutes of a basketball game, there are no spare minutes available for all 3 to be on together.

The reality is that Bertans will play a bit more than 24 minutes. If he plays 28, that's 4 minutes that they can all 3 be on the court together.

[tontoz]

The important thing is to have zero minutes with 3 pgs on the floor.

[Frichuela]

The important thing is to have zero minutes with 3 pgs on the floor.

This! Pleaseeeeee

I am amazed beat reporters have not grilled Brooks about this

[DCZards]

I line up of Beal alongside Ish, Avidja/Brown, Bonga and Lopez would struggle to score offensively.

I think you always want two among Beal, Westbrook and Bertans on the floor at all times. Assuming Beal and Westbrook play 36 minutes and Bertans plays 24, you can accomplish that, but only if all 3 are never on the court at the same time. For each additional minute Bertans plays above 24, you can have a minute with all 3 on the floor together. Bertans will probably play 28 minutes, so that's a grand total of about 4 minutes with all 3 together. I think those minutes should be the final 4 minutes of the game, not the first 4. Therefore, Bertans can't start.

I can’t imagine not having Beal, Westbrook and Bertans on the court together for at least 10-12 mins a game. That would be my starting point when deciding on lineups and minutes.

Why is that a starting point? By what logic? As I just explained, for every minute all 3 are together, you are subjecting yourself to a minute when only one of Westbrook/Beal/Bertans are on the floor, and that can get pretty brutal offensively.

I don’t agree with the logic that two of the three (Beal, Westbrook, Bertans) have to be on the floor at all times. I can see lineups with Russ but no Bertans and Beal, as well as lineups with Beal but no Bertans and Russ.

Last season, there were plenty of lineups with Beal on the floor without either Bertans or Russ and the Zards had a pretty decent offense most games. And this season we have an additional offensive weapon/playmaker--Deni.

It's a missed opportunity to fail to not find at least 10-12 minutes where Beal, Russ and Davis are on the court together.

[nate33]

I don’t agree with the logic that two of the three (Beal, Westbrook, Bertans) have to be on the floor at all times. I can see lineups with Russ but no Bertans and Beal, as well as lineups with Beal but no Bertans and Russ.

Last season, there were plenty of lineups with Beal on the floor without either Bertans or Russ and the Zards had a pretty decent offense most games. And this season we have an additional offensive weapon/playmaker--Deni.

It's a missed opportunity to fail to not find at least 10-12 minutes where Beal, Russ and Davis are on the court together.

That's actually not true. Looking at the 2-man combinations last year for Beal, the team got crushed pretty much whenever he was not on the floor alongside Bertans. The team was +2.0 (per 100 possessions) in 1029 minutes with the two together. They were -4.7 in all of 2053 of Brad's minutes, which means they were -6.7 in the 1024 minutes that Beal played without Bertans.




Likewise with Bertans, the team was getting crushed except when he shared the floor with Beal. They were +2.0 in the 1029 minutes they were together; and Bertans was -0.3 in his 1587 minutes overall; which means the team was roughly -4.6 in the 558 minutes Bertans was on the floor without Beal.

[NatP4]

Per Brooks, Rui is back and will play 20 minutes tomorrow

[NatP4]

With Rui back, I would expect to see this:

Westbrook Ish
Beal Brown
Avdija Bonga
Bertans Rui
Bryant Lopez

Still leaves a massive problem at backup C&PG and no Mathews. Hot take: just play Brown at PG and get Mathews into the rotation on the wing, play small with Rui at the 5 so there’s less Lopez.

[DCZards]

With Rui back, I would expect to see this:

Westbrook Ish
Beal Brown
Avdija Bonga
Bertans Rui
Bryant Lopez

Still leaves a massive problem at backup C&PG and no Mathews. Hot take: just play Brown at PG and get Mathews into the rotation on the wing, play small with Rui at the 5 so there’s less Lopez.

I expect Rui to start. Bonga might also start with Deni coming off the bench.

Rui’s physicality will be a welcome (and important) addition to the Zards front court play.

[tontoz]

With Rui back i think he will play the 4 in the 3 pg lineup instead of Brown.

[tontoz]

With Rui back, I would expect to see this:

Westbrook Ish
Beal Brown
Avdija Bonga
Bertans Rui
Bryant Lopez

Still leaves a massive problem at backup C&PG and no Mathews. Hot take: just play Brown at PG and get Mathews into the rotation on the wing, play small with Rui at the 5 so there’s less Lopez.

I expect Rui to start. Bonga might also start with Deni coming off the bench.

Rui’s physicality will be a welcome (and important) addition to the Zards front court play.

I would prefer Deni off the bench anyway. He isn't going to get many touches playing with Beal and Russ.