Mikkeman wrote:AbeVigodaLive wrote: I think the Thibs issue is a lot of nothing. Derrick Rose has played only one season averaging more than 35 mpg under Thibodeau. The first one... he also averaged more than 35 mpg under Del Negro.
Deng and Butler seem to be exceptions and the only players with multiple seasons at 35+mpg under Thibs.
Abe, Thibs playing too many minutes his players has been real issue. If you check just their average minutes, they won't seem that bad but those averages are lower mainly because his players have had typically quite many injuries and thus they have played in some games just couple of minutes. One could wonder whether frequent injuries are because those mega minutes his players tend to play in tight games. 12-13 playoffs were maybe most drastic example about Thibs going with extremely short rotation. In first four games it was Deng, Hinrich and Boozer playing mega minutes. After Hinrich was injured in 4th game (played 60 minutes in that triple overtime game), Nate Robinson started playing mega minutes. In 5th game Deng was injured and after that Butler, Belinelli and Noah started playing 40+ minutes.
In 12-13 season, Chicago team players played total 123 games with 40 or more minutes in regular season. In 12 post season games they played 32 more games with 40 or more minutes. These figures are crazy compared to some other teams. For example San Antonio players played in same year total of 16 games with 40 or more minutes. In playoffs also San Antonio used less bench but still they had only 21 40+ minutes games from their players and they played 21 playoff games that year.
Even Thibs has been playing his starters less later but still Chicago players have this season already 48 games with 40+ minutes. In comparision San Antonio has about ten, Golden State about 20 and Atlanta just one that kind of game.
It's dicey to use the playoffs as evidence. Teams should be going for broke in the postseason. And that's why many teams shorten their rotations. When you're already working with rotation guys like Thibs was doing... it's pretty tough to dole out minutes for guys who would otherwise be #3 options at a position.
In 2006, the Suns surprised a lot of people by making it to the WCF with a weird team created on the fly without Amare Stoudemire. They played a very different style than the Bulls... but there are similarities. In those playoffs... the Suns had 5 guys average 39+ mpg. Two other guys averaged 31+ mpg. One guy 18 mpg. Nobody else was even assured of getting in the game. And they hardly ever went past 8 deep.
The 1987 Celtics had 5 guys average 35+ in the playoffs. Bird played 44+ mpg.
LeBron James averaged 45 mpg in the playoffs some years in Cleveland.
Basically, the Spurs are the anomaly. Very few teams have the system/culture/egos/coach/tradition/players/etc. to pull off what they're doing. It's an older team with multiple guys at or near or over 1,000 games played. Plus, they're playing up to 100 games per year. It's a nice model to emulate... but SO MANY things have to be exactly right... for it to be done effectively. I don't think it's realistic. And even with that... when one of those things I mentioned above are out of whack, Pop will play those guys more. Duncan played 47 and 44 minutes in back-to-back games earlier this season.
Golden State might be the closest "young" team to the Spurs. It's another team buying into the culture/chemistry thing. But even there... those minutes will rise in the playoffs. Curry played 42 minutes in the playoffs last season... up from 36 during the season. We'll see what happens this season. But I have to think that in the loaded West, Kerr will ride with Curry around 40 mpg per game if he wants to sneak past other teams.