It is getting to that time of year where it is time to speculate on playoff rotations. On most cases, playoff rotations get shortened to 8 or 9 men simply because of the increased magnitude of the games as well as the long layoffs between games. Since Monty is a rookie head coach, we have no idea how he will handle his shortened rotations, how many minutes he will play his starters, and so on. However, his decision to play Chris Paul the entire 2nd half the past two games speaks volumes about what Monty intends to do in the playoffs. It appears that Paul will play the entire 2nd half while getting a 5-6 minute rest in the first half. It also suggests the possibility of other starters mainly, West and Okafor, reaching the 40 minute mark come playoff time. Monty’s toughest take will probably be how he distributes minutes between Jack, Belinelli, Green, and Ariza. Certainly matchups will dictate Monty’s decisions on who to put on the floor. However, it is noteworthy that Jarrett Jack typically only plays well when receiving significant minutes(25+).
Obviously the playoff rotation will consist of the 5 starters(paul, belinelli, ariza, west, and okafor) as well as the 3 main bench players(jack, landry, green). It is highly likely that a possible 9th man will be included for a limited role (5-6 min). That role will likely be served by either Aaron Gray or Jason Smith, determined by how each one plays the rest of the season along with specific matchups. We all saw how Gray fared when matched up with a superior athletic big in what people call “The Birdman.”
This is how I see the minutes being distributed:
PG:Paul(42) Jack (6)
SG:Belinelli(26), Jack (16), Green (6)
SF:Ariza(34), Green (10), Belinelli(4)
PF:West(38), Landry(10)
C:Okafor(34), Landry(9), Gray or Smith(5)
thoughts? opinions?
10 responses to “Playoff rotation”
i think your pretty much right, wether i agree or not…
i really think who gets the most minutes outta green and jack should be determined by whose playing best early. beli deserves starter minutes at the moment
and landry should probably get more minutes, (i understand there is none) but in the case of fould trouble
We need a backup 3 that’s better than today’s Quincy.
Boooooo q-pon 4ever
“The President” never takes a day off plus you saw when he vetoed that dudes shot from behind. And hes draining the threes, more qpon all dee time
Ha. I back Q more than most, but today . . . he needs some help. I’m all for more minutes for him; it’ll speed his development.
I’d give Landry some more minutes maybe 3-4 more.
I agree. I would want Landry to play about 23 minutes a game.
i want landry in there as much as possible to….i love his game
PG CP 36 JJ 12
SG MB 30 JJ 6 WG 12
SF TA 36 WG 6 QP 6
PF DW 36 CL 12
CF EO 36 CL 6 AG 6
CP3- 41 / JJ- 7
Belly- 22 / JJ- 16/ Green- 12
Ariza- 38 / Green- 10
West- 40 / Landry- 8
Okafor- 36 / Landry- 12
I just can’t imagine Monty going more than 8 deep unless a big gets in foul trouble. I also think he goes with the hot hand that night between Jack, Green, and Marco and therefore the minutes will be up and down throughout the playoffs but they will average out this way. As for Landry, I would like to see him get more than 20, and he might depending on the matchup, but West is vital to the offense and Okafor is vital to the defense, so I think he just gives those guys breathers, unless he is killing it on offense, in which case he could get 25-28 minutes