8 Responses to “Who plays, and how much? One man’s guess at the Warriors’ rotation”

1. 

   ballerbaggins October 21st, 2008 at 12:37 pm

   That’s a great take. My only additions are really hopes/prayers. Hopefully B-Wright, Randolph, and Buike can all handle their 10-20 mpg and be suitable backups to 2-3 main players for the Dubs.

   I always think of the Warriors as having this super deep bench, but it’s really only b/c I know our bench so well. So many players on our team are still rather unproven. It’s easy to say every player has tremendous upsides, and I’m sure we’ll see nights when the Dubs hit 15/20 threes, Belinelli gets 25+ points, and they actually keep opposing teams withing double-digit scoring. But for every game like that, there’re games where StackJack can’t hit a thing, we turn it over 25+ times, and Biendrins fouls out in the first quarter.

   I just pray that our unproven players are able to squelch all doubts and assumptions of their inablities and actually prove that the Warriors are a strong, young, solid organization. We shall see…

2. 

   the evil monkey October 21st, 2008 at 12:40 pm

   Probably, with Marco’s best chance at stealing minutes oddly being Marcus Williams - based on the reports. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if Turiaf played a little more than your projection and Biedrins a little less; say 30/18

   Also think it’s imperative that Wright plays alongside Turiaf. He looked best w/ Webber taking up space on defense and defending down low; along with Webber’s penchant for hanging out on the perimeter to shoot jumpers to free up the lane.

   Agreed, Al may see a spike in his minutes early on, but if the season goes as most expect, those minutes will soon be gone.

3. 

   petaluman October 21st, 2008 at 1:10 pm

   I pretty much agree with your overall conception. Here are my own personal caveats:

   1. I’d still like to see Biedrins and Turiaf get a chance to work together. If Al is injured this year or opts out, we may need Ronny to play some PF. I’m also a little concerned about depth at the 5. We’ve been giving Hendrix some run there in the preseason, and hopefully he’s ready to contribute a few minutes.
   2. Wright and Randolph will likely find their minutes constricted often by foul trouble. Especially early on, I think Al will get more minutes than you’ve projected.
   3. I’m hoping Jackson gets a little more rest, and Azubuike a few more minutes than your split. It’ll keep Stephen fresher, and Kelenna has earned the role of 6th man.
   4. Splitting up PG duties by minutes per game is the trickiest. There’s a fair chance that it could end up fluctuating dramatically, based on match-ups. We have 3 different kinds of players: strong and defense-oriented, quick and scoring-oriented, and a more classic pass-first PG.
   5. Belinelli has to earn his way onto the court; in today’s 2-years-and-out NBA, his future here may depend on it.

4. 

   Spree October 21st, 2008 at 1:33 pm

   Biedrins - 30 mins
   Turiaf - 20 mins
   Harrington - 30 mins
   Randolph- 12 mins
   Wright- 6 mins
   Maggette - 37 mins
   Azuibuke - 24 mins
   Jackson - 37mins
   Nelson - 22 mins
   Watson - 22mins

5. 

   Bob October 21st, 2008 at 7:02 pm

   Our youngsters need mins, reps, they need experience. I know Nellie says he’s gonna play the youngsters(BWright, Beli, Randolph) but I’ll believe it when I see it. Knowing Nellie he’s gonna play (Azubuike/Jack/Maggette) together alot taking minutes away from BWright and Randolph at the 4. Instead of playing Belinelli I see DeMarcus sliding to the 2 with CJ/MWill at the 1. It may help us win now but its not good for the future.

6. 

   JoeSez October 21st, 2008 at 8:02 pm

   I’m NOT a fan of playing the young guys for the sake of giving them experience or minutes.

   To me experience is learning you DON’T get charity or development minutes at the expense of the team. It means you take practice and the off season serious.

   Leon Powe earned an NBA Championship ring with the CEltics. He didn’t get charity minutes, he earned his time. Doc Rivers probably did more than Nelson could for developing Powe’s confidence but I doubt Rivers or the vets cut Powe much slack.

   Why does this GSW team need to sacrifice the present for the future? Tomorrow never comes.

7. 

   the dude October 21st, 2008 at 9:27 pm

   just think how dominant this team could be if they still had adonal foyle…

   /sarcasm.

8. 

   Son of Ahmed October 22nd, 2008 at 12:40 am

   Nice post, Geoff, and good responses from the readers.

   Here’s how I would do it:

   CENTER
   Andris Biedrins 30 minutes per game
   Ronny Turiaf 10 mpg
   Anthony Randolph 8 mpg

   AB should be in most of the game. He’s the best post player we have. Turiaf will be a very solid back up. Randolph can play depending on the match ups (i.e., against leaner centers) and during times when Nelson wants to play a smaller line-up. I don’t think anyone has even considered that possibility.

   POWER FORWARD

   Brandan Wright 20
   Anthony Randolph 18 mpg
   Hendrix/Turiaf 10 mpg

   Notice that Harrington is missing. That’s because I think he should play 3 on this team. We are deepest at the 4 spot, and we should give these players minutes because they do what Al cannot do: score inside consistently and rebound. It’s a no brainer. Conversely, there are much fewer players who are natural 3’s on the team. Al can have some of Maggette’s minutes. But not too many. (Really folks, let’s be honest. Al is a misfit on this team.) The first half of the season Wright will average the most minutes here. The second half of the season, AR will get the most minutes. Turiaf should get time here too. Actually, I think he’s a better 4 than 5. Hendrix should play solely in the 4 spot. He should not be sent down to the D league as some suggest. There will be games where his rebounding is needed, and coach Nelson would be wise to play him in those situations. He’s a rebounding specialist. Putting Hendrix in at the 5 will hurt the team and undermine his development and confidence.

   SMALL FORWARD
   Corey Maggette 30 mpg
   Al Harrington 18 mpg

   I reduced Maggette’s minutes to give time to Al. But the reality is, Al should not be taking many of Maggette’s minutes, and there should be minutes allocated to Azubuike here. Again, Al doesn’t seem to be good fit.

   SHOOTING GUARD
   Stephen Jackson 30 mpg
   Kelenna Azubuike 18 mpg
   Belinelli/Nelson 10 mpg* (injuries)

   Azubuike needs to play and he needs to play more than 18 mpg. But team depth may interfere. Well, there are always injuries. I’d also plug in Nelson and Belinelli for 10 mpg when there are injuries at the 2 or 3 positions.

   POINT GUARD
   DeMarcus Nelson 16 mpg
   C.J. Watson 16 mpg
   Marcus Williams 16 mpg

   Who knows on this one. Nelson has been the best player during preseason, but I think the point guard auditions will continue into the regular season. Nelson has has surprised us all by making the team, and shocked us all by becoming the starter. It’s nice that the Dubs found another good guard, but its bad news because it reveals how mediocre Williams and Watson have been. I’m thinking that Williams becomes the starter by December.

   REST OF THE ROSTER

   Rob Kurz OR Anthony Morrow
   Monta Ellis

   Garbage time minutes for Kurz and Morrow. Ellis….Well what’s the over/under on the number of games missed before he comes back 100% healthy?

   My distribution of minutes will not come to pass. Nelson has a different philosophy.

   Al Harrington is out of place on this team. His poor rebounding and inconsistent scoring him are a problem. The team is talking like he’s going to score 20 a night. Not likely. I’ll be thrilled if I’m wrong though.