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What's the rotation? - Bucks at Wolves GDT
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2025 9:26 am
by 60WinTim
Something that didn't get talked about in the OKC game was the rotation. Mike and Clark weren't available, which made the rotation easier -- not as many mouths to feed. The rotation felt very similar to the prior two years -- 8 and a half. And it may have been more concentrated than that! The starters and NAZ all played 30+ minutes. The 7th and 8th men, Bones and Dilly, played 16 and 12 minutes respectively. The half was Shannon with 5 minutes.
Is Bones winning Finch's trust to be that 7th man? What happens when Mike is available?
They kind of HAVE to give Dilly minutes. He is way too expensive to not be playing. Ya gotta give him a chance to develop and earn minutes, or at least showcase some growth for other teams to see.
Anyway, we all know the 8.5 man rotation is right in Finch's wheelhouse. Mike and Clark being out fed right into that. But as Mike and Clark become available, what's Finchy gonna do?!?
Re: What's the rotation? - Bucks at Wolves GDT
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2025 10:05 am
by Lipoli390
60WinTim wrote: ↑Sun Dec 21, 2025 9:26 am
Something that didn't get talked about in the OKC game was the rotation. Mike and Clark weren't available, which made the rotation easier -- not as many mouths to feed. The rotation felt very similar to the prior two years -- 8 and a half. And it may have been more concentrated than that! The starters and NAZ all played 30+ minutes. The 7th and 8th men, Bones and Dilly, played 16 and 12 minutes respectively. The half was Shannon with 5 minutes.
Is Bones winning Finch's trust to be that 7th man? What happens when Mike is available?
They kind of HAVE to give Dilly minutes. He is way too expensive to not be playing. Ya gotta give him a chance to develop and earn minutes, or at least showcase some growth for other teams to see.
Anyway, we all know the 8.5 man rotation is right in Finch's wheelhouse. Mike and Clark being out fed right into that. But as Mike and Clark become available, what's Finchy gonna do?!?
Good points and good questions, Tim. If nothing else, the last four games without Mike Conley should have made it crystal clear to Finch that it’s time to move on from Conley as part of the rotation. Bones and Dilly have shown enough, with Donte improving his lead guard skills, to move forward without Mike. Bones and Dilly will only get better with playing time, which means they’ll both be better the second half of the season than they are now - perhaps much better by playoff time. The same cannot be said of Mike Conley. He’s as good as he’ll ever be and might decline as the season progresses. I love Mike Conley, but it’s time to move on.
Re: What's the rotation? - Bucks at Wolves GDT
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2025 10:17 am
by Q-is-here
Mike is the only one on the injury report for now and he's listed as Questionable, so the conundrum that Tim mentioned is definitely in play.
There is no question Bones has earned a rotation spot. He has been the most productive of the Dilly/Conley/Bones trio. So it really comes down to Dilly vs. Conley and that is a real conundrum and may end up being very situational versus picking one over the other. I think there are still situations where you want Conley out there, so I'm not ready to give him a clipboard just yet!
As for Dilly, I know this won't happen, but assuming Mike gets healthy, I would prefer Rob goes to the G-League and gets 30+ MPG over a long stretch of games. He needs to re-capture his shooting/scoring capability and it just isn't coming around against NBA competition. I think the combination of real NBA minutes and then an extended run of G-League minutes would be a nice combination for his development this season.
Re: What's the rotation? - Bucks at Wolves GDT
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2025 10:35 am
by 60WinTim
Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun Dec 21, 2025 10:17 am
Mike is the only one on the injury report for now and he's listed as Questionable, so the conundrum that Tim mentioned is definitely in play.
There is no question Bones has earned a rotation spot. He has been the most productive of the Dilly/Conley/Bones trio. So it really comes down to Dilly vs. Conley and that is a real conundrum and may end up being very situational versus picking one over the other. I think there are still situations where you want Conley out there, so I'm not ready to give him a clipboard just yet!
As for Dilly, I know this won't happen, but assuming Mike gets healthy, I would prefer Rob goes to the G-League and gets 30+ MPG over a long stretch of games. He needs to re-capture his shooting/scoring capability and it just isn't coming around against NBA competition. I think the combination of real NBA minutes and then an extended run of G-League minutes would be a nice combination for his development this season.
I potential benefit of Rob in Iowa is he could develop a real connection with Joan and Rocco, assuming Joan stayed down there, too.
Re: What's the rotation? - Bucks at Wolves GDT
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2025 10:49 am
by rapsuperstar31
60WinTim wrote: ↑Sun Dec 21, 2025 10:35 am
Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun Dec 21, 2025 10:17 am
Mike is the only one on the injury report for now and he's listed as Questionable, so the conundrum that Tim mentioned is definitely in play.
There is no question Bones has earned a rotation spot. He has been the most productive of the Dilly/Conley/Bones trio. So it really comes down to Dilly vs. Conley and that is a real conundrum and may end up being very situational versus picking one over the other. I think there are still situations where you want Conley out there, so I'm not ready to give him a clipboard just yet!
As for Dilly, I know this won't happen, but assuming Mike gets healthy, I would prefer Rob goes to the G-League and gets 30+ MPG over a long stretch of games. He needs to re-capture his shooting/scoring capability and it just isn't coming around against NBA competition. I think the combination of real NBA minutes and then an extended run of G-League minutes would be a nice combination for his development this season.
I potential benefit of Rob in Iowa is he could develop a real connection with Joan and Rocco, assuming Joan stayed down there, too.
They should cut Freeman's 2 way, give the 2 way back to Newton. Call up Newton to back up Bones and Mike for a bit. Have Rob, Joan, and Rocco develop for a month + down in Iowa. Have Rob really work on that lob pass to Joan, and a floater. If he can get anywhere near Trae's level of floater game where the lob and the floater look the exact same, that would be huge for him.
Re: What's the rotation? - Bucks at Wolves GDT
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2025 11:52 am
by 60WinTim
Mike is back. Everyone is available. Finch is left with some tough decisions. Unfortunately, he has a tendency to favor seniority. We'll see...
Re: What's the rotation? - Bucks at Wolves GDT
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2025 11:56 am
by Q-is-here
60WinTim wrote: ↑Sun Dec 21, 2025 11:52 am
Mike is back. Everyone is available. Finch is left with some tough decisions. Unfortunately, he has a tendency to favor seniority. We'll see...
Ok, we'll see what Finch does then. I still think it will be situational. Mike will be brought in only if adult supervision is needed because the offense devolves into iso-ball, people are throwing it away, etc.
Re: What's the rotation? - Bucks at Wolves GDT
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2025 12:54 pm
by Lipoli390
Q-is-here wrote: ↑Sun Dec 21, 2025 11:56 am
60WinTim wrote: ↑Sun Dec 21, 2025 11:52 am
Mike is back. Everyone is available. Finch is left with some tough decisions. Unfortunately, he has a tendency to favor seniority. We'll see...
Ok, we'll see what Finch does then. I still think it will be situational. Mike will be brought in only if adult supervision is needed because the offense devolves into iso-ball, people are throwing it away, etc.
I think you’re probably right that it will be mainly situational, Q. But Finch also has shown a strong seniority bias, which i think he’s taken to an extreme. Given that bias, I think I’ve come around to your view that Rob should go to Iowa for a long stretch of extended minutes. I also like Tim’s point about giving Rob the chance to develop some chemistry with Beringer and Rocco. But it’s a close call. I think Rob can help us right now as he did in the Golden State game and I think giving him the chance to develop chemistry with the NBA squad will pay dividends later this season.
Re: What's the rotation? - Bucks at Wolves GDT
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2025 2:27 pm
by FNG
Before Mike got hurt, Rob was the odd man out in the rotation replaced by Bones. I've seen some green shoots with Rob in the last few games, but I don't think he's shown enough to get back into the rotation. I see him as 11th man. But if Mike is still gimpy, they may rest him and give Rob some minutes tonight.
If Rob indeed is 11th man, I agree with the consensus above that it would be better for him to be in Iowa.
Re: What's the rotation? - Bucks at Wolves GDT
Posted: Sun Dec 21, 2025 4:07 pm
by 60WinTim
After tonight, the Wolves play the Knicks and then the Nuggets on Christmas night. The Thunder win was very impressive. It sure would be nice to get a couple more wins against the top teams in the league.
Hopefully the team is not looking ahead to those games. Just take care of business tonight. As mentioned already, the rotation tonight will likely offer a glimpse into the rotation we see in the next two games.
I hope it works, and makes sense tonight, and not just hodgepodge of getting everyone minutes...