I have been thinking about our upcoming playoff rotation. With MDA’s history in mind, I don’t see him going to a consistent 9 or 10 man rotation come playoff time. Outside of our core 5 of Beard, CP, EG, Clint and PJ, I believe that both Manimal and Rivers have shown enough to earn the 6th and 7th slots in the rotation. But who will be the 8th man in terms of consistent minutes? I’m basing this on our current roster. I would take House as the 8th man, but I have no idea if he will be here. The Candidates: 1. Shumpert Shump was actually playing well this year prior to the trade. He was shooting 36.5% from 3 on nearly 5 attempts. His defense was solid, and he became a leader in the Kings locker room. He has to get healthy, but because of his defense and hustle I would make Shump the early front runner. 2. GG Gerald has helped the team a lot this year when we were plagued with injuries. He is the definition of streaky. If he is hot he could actually be an X factor to help us win a game or 2 in the playoffs. If he is cold he could shoot us right out of a game or cost us a championship. His defensive awareness terrifies me at times. I love him for the fearless energy he brings off of the bench, but I personally don’t know if I would trust him in an important playoff game. 3. NeNe The old man has actually been giving solid rotation minutes lately. He can still defend the post vs Large 5’s. He getting a few boards and knocking down his shots at a pretty good clip. He is making up for his loss of explosiveness with smarts. He could help vs the likes of Jokic, Nurk, ect. I thought he defended Boogie pretty well during their last match up. 4. The dark horse Gary Clark He does defend and rebound well. He hustles and has a high defensive IQ. He has even started attacking the basket a little when the close out comes. 2 problems though. His 3 point shooting and MDA trusting a rookie in the playoffs. I don’t know if he is a realistic option at this point but he is the only bench player left who MDA could turn to. I had to take break from all of the morning show hot takes you guys have privileged me with today. A lot of laughs. I just wanted to know if anyone had any thoughts on which way MDA may decide to roll come playoff time. I am fully aware that he may stick with a 7 player playoff rotation btw. MDA can be stubborn.
We should just go with the hot hand Also , shumpert needs to actually get on the floor and prove something
I agree, but I have learned to not get my my hopes up for players not currently on the roster. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard any signs from Morey or House that he will be signed or converted before the playoffs.
The "7 man rotation" is a terrible take/claim. The rockets went with a minimum 9 man rotation in the playoffs a year ago, up until the rockets realized who became unplayable being down 2-1 against GS. An extreme exaggeration. But somehow this fake news of a 7 man rotation became some thing because of cp3's injury and the lack of houston's bench being able to actually contribute on one of the biggest stages in the nba.
I imagine a dynamic 8th man role. Meaning it will depend on who we are playing and what skill set is required. If we play UTAH for example, Nene will play to ensure we have post defense covered. If we play OKC Green will be in. If were are falling behind Green will probably be the 8th man for quick scoring.
I'm thinking Shumpert, for his perimeter defense, or Nene if we need size in the paint. If we need offense, Gerald will get the call. Clark might as well buy a comfortable seat cushion.
We have to pick between Clark, GG, Nene, Shumpert? Can we pick none of them? Srs question. Clark is so inconsistent, whether it's due to him not playing enough, being young or being nervous. Being part of a playoff rotation all of a sudden, doesn't help matters. If Gerald Green is not absolutely ON that night, he's a negative on both ends of the floor. Nene might not be dependable, even in a playoff series where there are no games back-to-back. Shumpert has shown next to nothing, since coming to the Rockets.
Not fake news at all my friend. I know his history. Check out this article and more importantly the minutes distribution for MDA playoff teams going back to his Phoenix days. It’s in his DNA. The deeper he gets into the playoffs, he historically has tightened his playoff rotations. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.th...rockets-james-harden-dantoni-playoff-rotation
i couldn't care less about the history. The team he has now and its core is what is best used to draw actual logical conclusions. A "7 man rotation isn't one of them*. you know the history? well you obviously didn't look at his rotation close enough a year ago. Apparently, the logic is to ignore his rotations in 13/17 games played in the playoffs and attribute mda's 7 man rotation for the last 4 games of the GS series. 2 in which put Houston up 3-2 and well, we know what the cp3 situation all too well. We're supposed to care what he did in phoenix years ago. Because that impacts the rockets now? well that's odd
The title of the thread is the 8th man. I was just teasing a bit with the 7 man comment. Relax dude. I ain’t trying to spread any “fake news”.
either Shumpert or Green i don't trust Green on defense he's great when he's hot if not, better go with Shumpert (if he's healthy)
you may or may not try to spread it but that's how misinformation continues to pop up time and time again. people list silly narratives and others run with it for whatever reason
