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Did we see the opening night rotation last night?

K

KqWIN

Well-Known Member
Felt like Hardy played his real rotation for the full first half night with some small exceptions. Here's what I thought the important parts were:

- The nine rotation players are the starters + Sexton/Dunn/George/Olynyk
- Even stagger with THT/Sexton. Each played 6 minutes, then sub.
- 4 smalls + Kessler bench unit

Thoughts?

I think Hardy has picked the best 9 guys and is just making them work rotation wise. The small lineup is cute, but I think it will see slightly less minutes during the RS and against certain matchups. You can easily put KO/Lauri in for some of those minutes if it's too small of a lineup or doesn't work.

I like staggering THT/Sexton, they shouldn't see a minute together and I expect this to be sort of a matchup dependent/hot hand approach. I don't think it matters much who starts, but THT's edge in playmaking+defense makes more sense in the starting unit.
 
We only have 1 more "real" pre-season game left. I doubt THT was just a token starter for the first 3.

Maybe Hardy will let the training camp scrubs + Brice get some actual minutes vs the Aussie team then we will see a legit legit rotation against the Kings.
 
Basically that (you missed Ochai among regular rotation guys of the bench, and who knows bout Luka or Simone playing spot minutes, but around that). I imagine the next two games may serve as reps and test for another combinations when rotating the starters with bench unit, but the major looks overall to start the season are already there (we'll have to wait for the Kings game to get a glimpse of what It looks like against a competent NBA team, as weird as It may sound refer to them as that)
 
Another semi related thing I'd like to point out is that while Collins split his time evenly with and without Kessler, his role didn't change much. We played 5 out with KO+Collins+Lauri which had Collins mostly in the corner still. While there are advantages to playing 5 out, there are also advantages to playing with one of the best rim finishers in the league around the basket. I'd at least like to see Collins used as the screener during those lineups. Right now, it looks like his success will be heavily reliant on his jumper, and while I'm hopeful we all know what happened last year. I don't think he has the BBIQ like Lauri to make the same cuts and movements towards the basket, but maybe that's something he'll pick up on.
 
I think Hardy will use 9-11 players when season start. Not sure if KO will start or not. I think they will play Collins and see what he bring.
For me Starter at PG position will be THT/JC. This is the best pair and it may work, if THT continue to improve.
I just concern that if we keep Sexton and play him 20-25 min, it may slow down Keyonte development.
 
Agent#00 said:
That 4 guard + Kessler isn’t sustainable. Maybe Hardy threw it out there to confuse other teams
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I'd say maybe I have better hopes for It If there's THT instead of Sexton ? Maybe that would completely kill the spacing, but in terms of height and switching they'd be much better. Still would take subbing out THT for Sexton earlier. And i problably would prefer a wing for a guard there
 
rjfan said:
I'd say maybe I have better hopes for It If there's THT instead of Sexton ? Maybe that would completely kill the spacing, but in terms of height and switching they'd be much better. Still would take subbing out THT for Sexton earlier. And i problably would prefer a wing for a guard there
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No, it's better with Sexton. THT needs to run with the bigs to work on his more traditional guard skills and so the bigs can take advantage of his passing.

Sexton works in the small lineup because it's better spaced and it let's him get downhill more easily and have kickout options and also doesnt rely on him to be the PG as much because Dunn/Keyonte are out there.
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
No, it's better with Sexton. THT needs to run with the bigs to work on his more traditional guard skills and so the bigs can take advantage of his passing.

Sexton works in the small lineup because it's better spaced and it let's him get downhill more easily and have kickout options and also doesnt rely on him to be the PG as much because Dunn/Keyonte are out there.
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Real difference i see for Sexton and THT as a starter (and the bench units) ain't really the playmaking, but how much they're fit to being between a 3rd to 4th option to shoot, the type of shots that fits their skills and one should take under those circumstances.

Yet I reckon THT size, arm lenght, core strenght and rebounding capacity would be at a much higher need among a 1-4 group along Keyonte, Dunn and Ochai, than at a group with Clarkson as SG, and a Lauri, Collins and Kessler frontcourt, than Sexton small frame that makes him look even tynier than he actually is, tho i also reckon at that lineup Sexton could fit much better as a 1st to 2nd option on the floor, and THT wouldn't necessarily be as fit at that, and putting extra pressure on Keyonte's as a nearly sole scoring creator among said group.

Also, i say that not as campaigning for Sexton starting over THT (so far THT earned that spot fair and square), but distribution of their minutes between lineups
 
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Sooo.... John Collins. Predictably, he's looked good in preseason when he's been in his extremely narrow comfort zone (diving to the rim, catching alley oops) and meh/bad when doing other things (handling the ball, staying active when the play's not for him, defending).

The fit is still iffy, but IMO there's something interesting going on. I used to think there's no way Collins and Kessler can co-exist in the same lineup, but lately I've been less sure about that. Kessler is something of an underrated passer for a young big, and unless he's within dunk/layup distance of the rim, his first instinct is to look for open teammates (which is not always ideal, but I digress). That's a trait Collins should be able to take advantage of.

I don't see as much chemistry potential between Collins and Lauri. Both are strictly play finishers who like to go hard to the basket and need space. Whenever they share the court, one of them always ends up standing in the weakside corner (which is a spot we rarely use effectively). To start the season, I'd pair Lauri with Olynyk, the best passer on the team, as much as possible, and see what Collins and Kessler can do together.
 
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