We have seen that, at times, Monty loves to troll us. And I have to admit that he got me again. I studied every word he said over the last month, and I thought I had his rotation pegged coming into this game. I wanted Monty to play Rivers and Jimmer together, but Monty strongly implied it was one or the other. I saw Ajinca and Babbitt getting key minutes in the preseason with starters, and assumed they would be in the rotation. I saw Salmons struggle, and saw Monty scale back his minutes because he was terrible offensively and defensively. Because of all this, I thought it was a lock that the rotation would feature 9 guys (The Big Six, Ajinca, Babbitt, and Rivers) and that we would see 8-10 minutes of the three big man lineup.
I was wrong.
The AD-Asik-Anderson trio only got a minute and a half of playing time together, and Jimmer surprisingly got 18 minutes, while Salmons got 10. Even more surprisingly, both Babbitt and Ajinca registered DNP’s for all intents and purposes. They got in the game, along with Withey, when the game was already over (Pels up 23 with 2 and a half mins left). Now, maybe this was a matchup thing, but if there was a team that Babbitt could play SF against, it is Orlando. Same goes for Ryan Anderson.
No complaints here. You can’t nitpick after a blowout win to start the season, but I will say that Monty got me yet again. What did you guys think about the rotations? What would you change, if anything? (Box Score)
13 responses to “Monty Williams Threw Us All Off the Scent With His Rotations”
Agree, Michael, but it was against Orlando, in a situation where management (I am sure) wanted to start off with a win at home, and when the next game was four days away. So Monty could shorten his bench here with no repercussions next game, and he was motivated to do that and improve the odds of winning tonight. (Look how long the starters stayed in with a 20 point lead.) I expect both Ajinca and Babbitt to play more as we get further into the season.
We could have kept AFA if Salmon’s is going to be that invisible
I think Rives played a
Little more because, as Jrue said himself, he wasn’t 100%. Also the injury to the eye
Monty had the luxury this game of experimenting with the lineup. Early season shakedown cruise. It was clear early that Pelicans were underperforming and that Orlando didn’t have another gear. He could afford to take chances with unconventional substitutions as long as his bigs were shutting down the paint and controlling the boards. I doubt we see any experiments next game against a divisional rival. We’ll be closer to projected subs with an opportunity to put an L on a team the Pelicans need to replace in the playoffs.
Bot sure I agree that this was the game for ryno and babbitt at sf…. Harris may have size but also speed and is a pretty lethal scorer. I see them in vs less dangerous Corey brewer t prince types
504ever I was expecting him to play 9 guys. That is not ‘shortening the bench’ IMO. That should be the norm. I was surprised who the 9 were. I thought Babbitt and Ajinca would get the minutes Salmons and Jimmer got.
Monty probably wanted to give Jimmer more run, just to see how he would fit with the other guys….He struggled with his shot, but I think he’ll bounce back. He’s like the new kid in a different school….He has to feel his way around to get comfortable…IMO…..Match ups will also dictate rotations as the season progress……Mavs next up in the Blender…GO PELS !!!
I didn’t mind so much. I didn’t expect Jimmer/Salmons to play as much as they did. The bench got some time at the end. I really didn’t expect to see Withey at all.
This game was about coming out and getting a statement victory to jumpstart the team and serve notice to the league.
Asik/Brow/Ryno/Tyreke’s performances were awesome to watch.
And Eric Gordon got UP for a block!
Great Win!
Michael McNamara 504ever
This team is deeper than any Hornet/Pelicans team I recall, so I expect Monty to use that depth more this season than we saw tonight. Whether that ends up being a 10 man rotation or not, time will tell. My guess is yes, with Ajinca getting some run each night.
Very excited about this season. The team is just so talented.
I have no problem with the rotation for THIS game. We only played 3 big men, and that’s probably all we should play unless one of them is in foul trouble.
Jimmer played and Babbit didn’t due to matchups. I don’t think Monty was worried about any of Orl guards penetrating. Lets see if Jimmer gets run against Dallas, who have penetrating guards in Ellis and Nelson.
I knew you guy had it wrong the moment I heard it. The Jimmer/Rivers was outstanding in preseason so I don’t see why you change that. Guess my basketball instincts are better.
Jimmer played great D, especially in the 3rd quarter where they went on their big run. He forced lots of deflections, stops and turnovers. We all know he’ll bounce back with his shooting, but his defense has been far better than average so far this year.
I think you keep playing Jimmer because he’s a great defender if for nothing else, he had a better Defensive Rating than Rivers during preseason and last season.
Jimmer “defensive stopper” Fredette! LMFAO