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Re: Wolves vs Suns - Vengeance is sweet
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2017 12:05 pm
by thedoper
We won handily without our starting PG, I think Thibs coached a great game. Unfortunately on nights when our bench has nothing we got to play the starters more. Our big 3's average minutes are consistent with the major contributors on other winning teams in the league.
Re: Wolves vs Suns - Vengeance is sweet
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2017 3:55 pm
by KiwiMatt
Q12543 wrote:crazy-canuck wrote:Tired legs.
You can't play hard for 30 minutes and still expect to have fresh legs on little rest in the 4th.
The bench need to give us something... Anything.
Thibs likes to stagger Kat (2nd+4th) or Wiggins (1st+3rd) with the bench. Why not do it with Butler and Taj as well and completely forgo that all second unit line up.
Yup, missed this post when I just put mine up, but this is exactly what Thibs should be doing. He should not only forgo an all second unit lineup, but also any four-man 2nd unit lineup. There should never be more than three bench guys out there at once. And Crawford and Bazz especially should never play together. Wiggins and Butler need to be staggered, as you said above.
I said that before the season started. There should be atleast two out of the four of KAT, Butler, Wiggins and Teague in the game at all times. Sub Wiggins, Taj and Teague out with 4 minutes to go in the 1st quarter and bring in Crawford, Dieng and Tyus. Then start the 2nd quarter with Teague/Crawford/Wiggins/Belly/Dieng.
Hockey substitutions do not work. You need to build chemistry by mixing starters and second units. The only time I want to see the second unit all playing together is late in the 4th in a blowout game. And this is not a knock on the second unit, as they've played well together. It's more to help the starters and reduce their minutes without sacrificing productions.
Re: Wolves vs Suns - Vengeance is sweet
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2017 5:31 pm
by BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]
I say go full hockey mode. 4 on 4 with 3 lines. No free throws, just in bound and keep it moving.
Re: Wolves vs Suns - Vengeance is sweet
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2017 7:17 pm
by crazy-canuck [enjin:18955461]
monsterpile wrote:10 game or so ago people were saying how awesome the bench was performing (even with Bazz being bad) and lately its been less good. People were also saying Belly needed to play more and wondered why he wasn't. Now he has missed 2 games with a foot issue. My theory was they wanted to keep his minutes down because he struggles to stay healthy. Maybe that has some merit. Maybe not. So at what point did the bench start to struggle? 10 games ago? 7? Its had some pretty good moments and its no surprise with Belly out who was a complementary glue guy and someone who could do a lot of things out there that they would struggle. I agree with staggering guys but for a few games it seemed like the bench group was doing some good things out there. Maybe its time to make an adjustment now. I'd guess Thibs also wanted to get his starters minutes together to get them on the same page when they play together especially with the shorter preseason etc. It will be interesting to see how things play out as the season progresses. Dieng and Bazz playing better will help matters.
Bazz being crap has created a domino effect.
The bench looked great early because Crawford played more of a facilitating role than a scoring one. But as the games have added up, he's taken on the burden of trying to take too much of the scoring load because Bazz has been useless and Dieng was struggling.
Now that Bjelly is hurt, hes going straight hero mode and not even looking at anyone else.
Re: Wolves vs Suns - Vengeance is sweet
Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2017 7:53 pm
by Q12543 [enjin:6621299]
If Thibs is going to start his five best players, he can't then have four or five out of the five on the bench at any one time. It's not rocket science. Guys like Tyus, Bjelly, and Dieng seem perfectly capable of blending in with other starting-caliber players and doing their part. But when you sit everyone down, none of these guys have the moxie to really lead an entire bench unit. Crawford has his moments, but if he's not hitting his shot and making plays, he's a major liability. Same with Bazz.