In my best Jim Mora voice...

[sturt]

 

Well, yes. Playoffs. Let's look at how McM has seemed to approach the playoffs, shall we? Starting with minutes distribution...

 

[Guest]

So if he basically plays only nine guys in the playoffs (not unusual for most coaches), and assuming we get some players healthy who are currently out (Gallo, Hunter, Snell, for example), then ...

Trae, Bogi get 34 minutes each?

Collins, Capela get 32 minutes each?

Hunter, Huerter, Gallo get 26 minutes each?

LouWill gets 18 and Snell gets 12? 

I'm assuming Hunter doesn't get up to full strength by the first round.  Okongwu gets spot minutes if needed.  

[hawkman]

I hope Nate doesn't go to a shortened rotation with the Hawks this postseason. I'd rather the Hawks use the depth they have to their advantage. The NBA packed a lot of games in a relatively short season and there will be some tired/banged up teams in the Playoffs. The Hawks will have some relatively fresh guys who will have shaken the rust off right in time for the postseason.

[JayBirdHawk]

Just now, hawkman said:

I hope Nate doesn't go to a shortened rotation with the Hawks this postseason. I'd rather the Hawks use the depth they have to their advantage. The NBA packed a lot of games in a relatively short season and there will be some tired/banged up teams in the Playoffs. The Hawks will have some relatively fresh guys who will have shaken the rust off right in time for the postseason.

I think how certain games play out will determine  how deep he goes with the roster.  Time and circumstance should dictate.  I don't think he should predetermine that he's only going 8 or 9 deep from the jump for a whole game.

Some games it might be Snell, some game it might be Hill, Gwu may see a little action in spot minutes if Capela gets in foul trouble.

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

Hawks' playoff minutes breakdown

PLAYER	MINUTES
Trae Young	36
Bogdan Bogdanovic	32
Tony Snell	20
John Collins	28
Clint Capela	30
Danilo Gallinari	27
Kevin Huerter	25
Lou Williams	18
Solomon Hill	20
De'Andre Hunter	30*

No Okongwu and Dunn.

Hunter has an asterisk next to his minutes total because we still don’t know if he’ll be available.  (If Hunter is available with no restrictions, it gives the Hawks a starting five and closing group that all have a positive Estimated Plus-Minus, arguably the best catch-all advanced metric publicly available.)

Quote

McMillan said Monday how he’s comfortable with rotations that are nine to “nine and a half” deep — he doesn’t quite literally mean having half a body available but a flex option who can play in certain matchups or in certain moments of the game.

That means players are going to have to put their egos to the side and possibly accept smaller roles as the season progresses and the stakes rise.

“Everyone wants to play, especially in a situation like this where we have had so many injuries that a lot of guys have basically become our rotation,” McMillan said. “A guy like Solomon Hill came to this team at the start of the season not expecting to play the minutes and the role he has had to play the last couple of months. Solomon has been a starter, he’s come off the bench, he’s played the three, he’s played the four — he’s done a number of things for us. Tony Snell wasn’t even playing at the beginning of the season and has came in and given us some good minutes and has become a starter. He’s played the three, he’s guarded some of the best players on opposing teams. (On Monday), he started on (Damian) Lillard. He has had to play that role. Brandon (Goodwin) has been a starter for us and has had some success. Once we get everyone healthy, it’s just impossible to (play everyone). It shows the depth we have. If we take advantage of that and understand that we all are going to have to sacrifice a little for the sake of the team, again, we should be a stronger, tougher team.”

Sacrificing was the message during Tuesday’s practice, McMillan said. It’s a good problem to have though if you’re the Hawks. They’re getting healthier at the right time of the season, and figuring out who your top eight, nine, ten guys are is a luxury and not a laborious issue.

 

[JayBirdHawk]

6 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

 

Hawks' playoff minutes breakdown

PLAYER	MINUTES
Trae Young	36
Bogdan Bogdanovic	32
Tony Snell	20
John Collins	28
Clint Capela	30
Danilo Gallinari	27
Kevin Huerter	25
Lou Williams	18
Solomon Hill	20
De'Andre Hunter	30*

No Okongwu and Dunn.

Hunter has an asterisk next to his minutes total because we still don’t know if he’ll be available.  (If Hunter is available with no restrictions, it gives the Hawks a starting five and closing group that all have a positive Estimated Plus-Minus, arguably the best catch-all advanced metric publicly available.)

 

There is no way Okongwu doesn't get playoff minutes.

[Gray Mule]

10 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

There is no way Okongwu doesn't get playoff minutes.

Yep.  See last night's box score for proof!

[AHF]

12 hours ago, JayBirdHawk said:

There is no way Okongwu doesn't get playoff minutes.

Exactly my reaction as well.  The idea that we would sit him to play only Gallo and Solo off the bench is kind of crazy.

[ATLHawks3]

15 minutes ago, AHF said:

Exactly my reaction as well.  The idea that we would sit him to play only Gallo and Solo off the bench is kind of crazy.

He could really help us in a matchup against the Knicks.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

Quote

This had to have been the kind of performance that Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk envisioned when constructing this roster in the offseason.

He must have thought that in its most ideal form, the team would be led by Trae Young, one of the best playmakers across the NBA who is consistently double-teamed. When Young would get doubled, he would have Bogdan Bogdanovic somewhere on the perimeter, who might be open for a 3. If Bogdanovic isn’t open, maybe Danilo Gallinari is or Tony Snell or De’Andre Hunter (when healthy) or Kevin Huerter or John Collins. Maybe Clint Capela is rolling to the rim or maybe Collins is.

What makes this team so dangerous is the amount of options it has. Bogdanovic recently said he felt like the Hawks are “capable of having a lot of guys going off every single night.” A scarier thought is what happens when not one singular player goes off and this team can still put up 135 against the now former No. 1 team in the Western Conference? Capela was the Hawks’ leading scorer in the team’s 135-103 win over the Suns on Wednesday night. He had 18 points. The last time the Hawks put up 135 in a game without a 20-point scorer was in 1965, when the Hawks were located in St. Louis.

“They have a lot of players out there,” Suns guard Devin Booker said after the game. “They space the floor well. They have dynamic rollers, great spacing, have shooters and playmakers, so it’s a recipe for a really good team. They have been playing really well of late, and I’m sure they have the mindset of us — trying to get it going before the postseason starts.”

“They have a lot of guys who can knock down shots, but not just 3-point shots,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “Bogdanovic and Trae are two guys who can get into the paint and make shots creating off the dribble. Capela has been huge for them. He generates offense diving and gets extra possessions. His defense covers up a lot of the mistakes that the guards can make. Gallinari is a versatile scorer. They’re deep. They look like a playoff team. They look like they’re getting into playoff shape. I don’t think many teams want to play them if they’re going to continue to shoot the ball like that.”

 

[Spud2nique]

23 hours ago, ATLHawks3 said:

He could really help us in a matchup against the Knicks.

Vs anybody and should have gotten more burn against the Pacers last night. He’s been ready.

[sturt]

Quote

 

This had to have been the kind of performance that Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk envisioned when constructing this roster in the offseason.

He must have thought that in its most ideal form, the team would be led by Trae Young, one of the best playmakers across the NBA who is consistently double-teamed. When Young would get doubled, he would have Bogdan Bogdanovic somewhere on the perimeter, who might be open for a 3. If Bogdanovic isn’t open, maybe Danilo Gallinari is or Tony Snell or De’Andre Hunter (when healthy) or Kevin Huerter or John Collins. Maybe Clint Capela is rolling to the rim or maybe Collins is.

What makes this team so dangerous is the amount of options it has. Bogdanovic recently said he felt like the Hawks are “capable of having a lot of guys going off every single night.” A scarier thought is what happens when not one singular player goes off and this team can still put up 135 against the now former No. 1 team in the Western Conference? Capela was the Hawks’ leading scorer in the team’s 135-103 win over the Suns on Wednesday night. He had 18 points. The last time the Hawks put up 135 in a game without a 20-point scorer was in 1965, when the Hawks were located in St. Louis.

“They have a lot of players out there,” Suns guard Devin Booker said after the game. “They space the floor well. They have dynamic rollers, great spacing, have shooters and playmakers, so it’s a recipe for a really good team. They have been playing really well of late, and I’m sure they have the mindset of us — trying to get it going before the postseason starts.”

“They have a lot of guys who can knock down shots, but not just 3-point shots,” Suns coach Monty Williams said. “Bogdanovic and Trae are two guys who can get into the paint and make shots creating off the dribble. Capela has been huge for them. He generates offense diving and gets extra possessions. His defense covers up a lot of the mistakes that the guards can make. Gallinari is a versatile scorer. They’re deep. They look like a playoff team. They look like they’re getting into playoff shape. I don’t think many teams want to play them if they’re going to continue to shoot the ball like that.”

 

 

It's because of what's discussed in this excerpt that I yearn for McM to reconsider his commitment to "9.5" guys in his playoff rotation.

I get it. There is a point of diminishing returns, and you're giving too many minutes to your lesser players to the deficit of your better ones... and moreover, with more players seeing the floor, less chemistry/continuity is bound to happen.

But. This is a fairly unique circumstance this year, and it might be only this year, where you genuinely do not have the same talent differential from players #8 to #15 that is typical for any given good team in any given year. There is a legit argument that you can keep all of your roster's players fresher from game to game by adapting to that reality.

Accordingly, next time Nate calls for my advice, I'm going to recommend to him that he seriously consider thinking of his team in terms of two 8-man rotations instead of two 5-man units, and prepare for the playoffs accordingly. And, until Hunter returns, the first group is a 7-man, and until Cam returns, the second group is also a 7-man. Watch for that to happen soon after our conversation.

[sturt]

I'm the first to admit I'm no head coach even at a high school level, but it pains me to read that McM has no plans to incorporate Dunn into the rotation at all...............

 

 

[AHF]

On 5/10/2021 at 8:48 PM, sturt said:

I'm the first to admit I'm no head coach even at a high school level, but it pains me to read that McM has no plans to incorporate Dunn into the rotation at all...............

 

 

I'm with you.  Lou has not been good enough to shut Dunn down if he could potentially be a defensive alternative to Lou's scoring off the bench.

[macdaddy]

I understand the desire to have Dunn's defense but i think we're overrating what his impact would be given he has no chemistry with the team, been out for over a year, can't shoot on a good day, and has zero playoff experience.     What Nate is saying is the time for experiments is over.  

[sturt]

PMd you, macdaddy

[sturt]

On 4/20/2021 at 12:01 PM, sturt said:

Let's look at how McM has seemed to approach the playoffs, shall we? Starting with minutes distribution...

 

 

 

And through 4 games in 2021...

30+ = 3

20-29 = 4

10-19 = 2

Par for the course. So, even with arguably the deepest roster McM has ever had at his disposal, the man sticks to just his first 9 guys for the most part.

If Cam gets healthy, I don't look for him to squeeze into the rotation, but I most certainly do look for him to get some floor time in some lower-leverage (non-elimination) games.

 

 

[macdaddy]

Cam might get the Snell / Hill minutes.

[Diesel]

On 5/12/2021 at 4:03 PM, macdaddy said:

I understand the desire to have Dunn's defense but i think we're overrating what his impact would be given he has no chemistry with the team, been out for over a year, can't shoot on a good day, and has zero playoff experience.     What Nate is saying is the time for experiments is over.  

If I could push the like button twice I would.  Lou is our Derrick Rose.  Kinda.   He gives our second unit a scoring option.  Our defense has to come from elsewhere for that second unit.   Hill and Snell are both solid guys.   Snell is big and he plays defense.   Something we should remember when we see him.   This is not the time to tinker too much... this is the time to match. 

 

[sturt]