MDA's future rotations.

Alright, while the Phil/D'Antoni discussion seems very heated right now, let's just focus on a different topic... something that certainly doomed coach Brown this year. His rotations.

We hired coach D'Antoni, like it or not. He's a better coach then Brown IMO. How will his rotation impact the team. Who will be his favorites?

I assume he will play a 10-men rotation this season. Obviously

Nash
Kobe
Metta
Pau and
Dwight will play a lot.

Additionally, he will have to play Blake or Duhon behind Nash. Do you guys think he will favor Duhon over Blake? He certainly liked to use him in NY where Duhon played his best ball actually. How will this impact the team? Would this be a good decision? What does that mean for Morris? Will he be asked to run a lot and specialize in shooting that corner 3? Is he going to use Morris as a 3rd string SG (because that's what Morris really is IMO)?

Next, Meeks and Jamison will most likely be used a lot. He will use them as spacers, and I hope we won't see Tawn at the 3 anymore. That doesn't seem like MDA's style at all. Are they going to play with Dwight?

That's 8 players already (starters/second string players). Now, Hill is our best bench guy, he's mobile, works extremely hard, can rebound which can give us second opportunities and has some scoring ability as well. I assume he would get some serious minutes, because we need his hustle. Every team needs a player like this.

Who would be our 10th guy? Ebanks? Will he make him into a Marion type player, with his defensive ability, length, and athleticism? Will he be used to score "garbage points" and defend?

How is coach D'Antoni going to use our players in general? Nash and Dwight... that's pretty obvious. Kobe? Metta? Is Metta going to dribble less and shoot the long J more? That might be a good thing.

My big question mark: what happens with Gasol? He's the only one who doesn't exactly fit... although I love Pau. Is he going to be traded ofr an athletic wing player who can shoot and a filler? Can it be done? Should it?

I know... lots of questions here. That's why I opened this thread. I think rotations are the key to a successful season.

It's not gonna be pretty, Mike yanks guys for not shooting or not making shots, so he's going to be yanking a LOT of guys unless we trade for a bunch of shooters.

I'm hoping Jamison will be playing the 4 rather than the 3 and then perhaps Hill can switch over to the 5. With Ebanks out with the DUI issue, we really don't have a backup SF other than Kobe. I hope we can cut Ebanks and sign Pietrus who will provide additional defense and much needed shooting off the bench. Either way it will be very interesting to see how his rotations will play out, but I do know MDA loves shooters and that's something we really lack.

Can he play Meeks at the 2 and Kobe at the 3 to solidify the SF position and spread the floor?

karacha wrote:Can he play Meeks at the 2 and Kobe at the 3 to solidify the SF position and spread the floor?

I'm sure he will at some point, I believe we saw our interim coach try that lineup last night.

I imagine wel see this lineup at some point

Nash
Meeks
Kobe
Tawn
Pau

talk about floor spacing. This lineup will also get abused on the other end. But still.

if history is any guide, he'll play a 7-man rotation and run nash, kobe, pau, and howard into the ground.


i also expect some jamison at center.

ok, not really, but that kind of thing.

TheOp wrote:I imagine wel see this lineup at some point

Nash
Meeks
Kobe
Tawn
Pau

talk about floor spacing. This lineup will also get abused on the other end. But still.

Replace Pau with Dwight and it'll be much more successful. Pau doesn't seem to get doubled as often anymore, which may be because he tends to go away from the basket than towards it.

What's done is done...Buss wanted Showtime 2.0

Well if MDA wants to give it to him, I really see Pau either moved or he goes to the bench.

Nash
Jodie
Kobe
Tawn
Dwight

You got spacers on the floor for Dwight with good shooters on the perimeter along with guys that can slash/dive to the rim off of Dwight double teams. That team can run run run and you got a formula that will work for MDA in the regular season. Honestly it will be fun to watch.

The real test is when we get to the postseason where it becomes more of a half-court set and defense is emphasized. Dwight by then should be a 100%. We can go back to a more traditional half court set with Nash, Kobe, Metta, Pau, Dwight....but I would've been tremendously confident in that starting lineup running the triangle. Not so much with MDA.....but here's hoping he proves us wrong.

IMHO, personnel changes on the horizon. We gotta get younger if the Showtime Revival is our end game.

Well, I don't think he'll play 7 guys... he didn't have a deep bench in PHX and I don't think Kobe/Nash would agree with this short rotation at all. He knows they are not exactly young. They also play while injured. MDA will have to use more players. Our bench is not amazing, but I do think it's solid. They just need to play the right role, if that makes sense.

What are some of these roles?

1: Nash: playmaker, shooter. Duhon, Blake: defenders/shooters.
2: Kobe: primary scorer, spacer. Meeks: shooter.
3: MWP: primary perimeter defender/stationary shooter. Ebanks: defender/slasher/hustler ("garbage man")
4: Hill: hustler/rebounder. Jamison: shooter (scorer)
5: Dwight: primary scorer/anchor/rebounder. Pau: ???/rebounder/playmaker at the PF/C. Can Pau be an effective mid-range spacer?!

That's 11 players. And they should all be used in some way. We'll see if Mike likes Ebanks or if he's going to be in the doghouse with Kobe getting minutes at the 3...

Dwight needs Meeks/Nash/Tawn on the floor in any combination. Pau needs Hill. Etc.

I would think that Ebanks will eat into Peace's minutes especially if the latter can't hit shots. D'Anthoni's rep for a quick hook might be a powderkeg for an unstable Peace so that could be an issue. Same can be said with Duhon at the expense of Blake. Speed...speed..speed. Both can change ends faster than their counterparts which will Nash can take advantage of. D'Anthoni prefers "quick hitters" as opposed to half court sets. Morris will get scraps unless Duhon goes full dumb***. Bearing that in mind, Gasol will have to give way to Hill and Jamison as the stretch 4.

When the pace slows down, then he will go with Nash at the controls to involve Howard. I really think Howard will benefit more than what is assumed under D'Anthoni with more impact than Stoudemire did. The difference though is that Stats can hit that mid-range shot. Or he can parlay that with Gasol who could as well. Or simply give the ball to Mr. Death Stare...let him do what he does best. His offensive schemes are free flowing and uncomplicated which plays to the instincts of his personnel. D'Anthoni can and will adjust it to fit them.

THE biggest question mark with D'Anthoni is his ability to adjust. That offense he had in Phoenix hummed to the point where he felt that he didn't need to. With a less athletic, older squad on hand...D'Anthoni will have to and can he dial up the right ones?

Defense? Well that will be on the younger, fresher legs that McMillan will address should he be on board as reported.

How much would he be willing to "stay out of the way" as Mamba says, and let Kobe and Nash take care of things here and there? Because, let's be realistic, both Kobe and Nash could be (assistant) coaches if they wanted to.

Nash
Mr. Death Stare
Peace
Gasol
Howard

Ebanks [for Peace or Mr. Death Stare...likely the former first]
Hill for [for Howard]
Jamison [for Gasol]
Duhon [for Nash]
Blake [for either one of the starting backcourt]

That's ten with one left in for one of the starters in the front court either Gasol or Howard. Blake will be a situation sub. Morris? I'd say only in blowouts or if the Nash/Duhon combo are in foul trouble.

So you definitely think Duhon will get the nod here over Blake?

karacha wrote:How much would he be willing to "stay out of the way" as Mamba says, and let Kobe and Nash take care of things here and there? Because, let's be realistic, both Kobe and Nash could be (assistant) coaches if they wanted to.

D'Anthoni is a players coach and he will do that to a point. What he should be doing is to monitor the pace and see how the starters are holding up. If matters are unraveling, we all would think he'd call a timeout to let know what is going on and get their bearings straight. There is already spoken mutual trust between all parties and now all there is to put it into play. Where D'Anthoni should earn his coin is setting up Ebanks, Hill and Duhon to succeed with the right matchups and that they are running the sets properly. I really like that trio's potential with their lenght and mobility.

Minutes wise, Gasol and Peace will have theirs shaved though I think at crunch time both will be there.

karacha wrote:So you definitely think Duhon will get the nod here over Blake?

More so... You know what? I completely forgot Meeks! He should get the lion's share of backup time for Mr. Death Stare. He'd be what Barbosa was for him in Phoenix. Blake should get the nod over Morris however.

Who knows if Sacre can get some spot minutes to relieve Howard? It would not be implausible either. Kid is smart and plays within himself. When Nash was with him, he set up the rook for easy scores. No question that D'Anthony has more options here than he had in Phoenix or New York. Tougher mentally, more skilled and far more intelligent albeit older.

Historically D'antoni has preferred athletic 4s over traditional paint players, but that also could be a personel issue from what he's had to work with in the past.

I'll admit the Phoenix and NY job definitely weren't ideal situations and coaching in NY proved different for even the most capable coaches/management (Larry Brown/Donnie Walsh).

One plus side about D'antoni is that he still seems very hungry to coach and was part of coach K's assistant coaching staff for the US olympic team. i have to mention though that D'antoni's micromanaging style might not fit this team as much as Phil's anti-authoritarian laid back type of style that works best on veteran players (also why historically Phil has gone away from younger/rookie players)

I want to know who the hell's gonna run 'Antoni's system when Nash is our injured or even just out of the game resting. Who do we have that can run it? I don't see a single player besides MAYBE Duhon, it sure isn't Blake, and unless Morris suddenly flourishes under it I don't see it being him. There's no Barbosa here, so how's it going to work?

I don't think Mike has ever ran a 10-man rotation in his life.

He's might run a 9-man rotation since this team is old. Anybody else will only get garbage time. This is the same guy who used to run 7-man rotations with the Suns and ran Lin into the ground last season.

Weezy wrote:I want to know who the hell's gonna run 'Antoni's system when Nash is our injured or even just out of the game resting. Who do we have that can run it? I don't see a single player besides MAYBE Duhon, it sure isn't Blake, and unless Morris suddenly flourishes under it I don't see it being him. There's no Barbosa here, so how's it going to work?

duhon could do it. but i agree, this is an area of concern.

Weezy wrote:I want to know who the hell's gonna run 'Antoni's system when Nash is our injured or even just out of the game resting. Who do we have that can run it? I don't see a single player besides MAYBE Duhon, it sure isn't Blake, and unless Morris suddenly flourishes under it I don't see it being him. There's no Barbosa here, so how's it going to work?

Duhon... He did a fair job for him in New York just to maintain order. Meeks doesn't have to BE Barbosa but he can fill the role somewhat with good, consistent minutes. Morris won't see much time on the floor. I really think that D'Antoni will utilize the younger yet seasoned components of the squad.

So where does that leave Blake then if Duhon is now the backup? Can you just flat out bench a guy that's been our backup for 2 seasons now in his 3rd? Do you have to trade him?

I hope Mike can play Duhon over Blake once Nash returns. Or at least play Duhon over Morris.

Weezy wrote:So where does that leave Blake then if Duhon is now the backup? Can you just flat out bench a guy that's been our backup for 2 seasons now in his 3rd? Do you have to trade him?

like you said, either on the bench or traded. unless people still want to see him as the backup 2

I do not want to see Blake as a backup 2, that's what concerns me. Blake has seniority on this team right now, I'm not sure you can just bench him, but Meeks needs to be the backup 2, and I trust Duhon more under 'Antoni. I don't know if Blake can be traded for anything worthwhile, but he might have to be simply to avoid issues.