Could the starters buy into the bench?

[magnifier661]

Aldridge, Lillard, matthews and Batum took much of the scoring load last season. Because of that, we had 2 20+ scorers and two others above 15 a game.

My question, if the bench is actually good, is will the starters be fine scoring less to have a more dynamic team? Obviously we could have all star snubs because of it, but our team would be so much stronger.

Anyone?

 

[Natebishop3]

Our guys care about winning. I think that's the most important thing. I think they also realize that they were all exhausted by the end of the season. A bench is a must.

 

[Strenuus]

So far, the starters have felt like they are team guys. Lets hope that continues.

 

[Strenuus]

It's also up to Stotts to actually use the bench, and forget about past transgressions of said bench. I'm a little skeptical of that.

 

[Eastoff]

If the guys don't get mentioned in the all-star race, that might be an issue. But really Damian and LaMarcus are the only guys in that conversation, and they aren't going anywhere anyway.

 

[magnifier661]

Our guys care about winning. I think that's the most important thing. I think they also realize that they were all exhausted by the end of the season. A bench is a must.

I agree with this... I'm just thinking we may see a 2000 blazer team with over 7-8 player averaging double figures.

 

[julius]

Aldridge, Lillard, matthews and Batum took much of the scoring load last season. Because of that, we had 2 20+ scorers and two others above 15 a game.

My question, if the bench is actually good, is will the starters be fine scoring less to have a more dynamic team? Obviously we could have all star snubs because of it, but our team would be so much stronger.

Anyone?

they only had 3 player who averaged more than 15 ppg. LaMarcus, Damian and Wesley. Nic didn't average 15 (and never has).

 

[magnifier661]

they only had 3 player who averaged more than 15 ppg. LaMarcus, Damian and Wesley. Nic didn't average 15 (and never has).

13 my bad... Still will these players accept dropping their scoring for wins?

 

[riverman]

they only had 3 player who averaged more than 15 ppg. LaMarcus, Damian and Wesley. Nic didn't average 15 (and never has).

Nic did however have 2 triple doubles, at least one 9/9/9 game, a lot of games just under double digits and a 5x5 game. Against Haifa, we had 121 pts with high scorer being Rolo with 13...that's an unselfish team. I'm not worried at all about scoring this season. I think our starters will still play 34 minutes a game most nights.

 

[Strenuus]

Nic did however have 2 triple doubles, at least one 9/9/9 game, a lot of games just under double digits and a 5x5 game. Against Haifa, we had 121 pts with high scorer being Rolo with 13...that's an unselfish team. I'm not worried at all about scoring this season. I think our starters will still play 34 minutes a game most nights.

Id say that's more about how bad the competition was more than we were unselfish. They all knew they could get points at will.

 

[riverman]

Id say that's more about how bad the competition was more than we were unselfish. They all knew they could get points at will.

LaMarcus had 5 assists at halftime..yeah the competition was bad but credit unselfish play. There was a ton of ball movement.

 

[riverman]

The Wizards beat this team by 6 so I guess that makes us 41pts better than the Wiz?

 

[Strenuus]

LaMarcus had 5 assists at halftime..yeah the competition was bad but credit unselfish play. There was a ton of ball movement.

I want to see it against an nba defense before I get too excited. That's just me, though.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

Just win baby. I'm positive that nobody will give a shit.

 

[magnifier661]

Just win baby. I'm positive that nobody will give a shit.

If they take up that famous quote, they will be "winning"!

 

[PDXFonz]

I don't think we see very many/if any lineups consisting of 5 bench players. I think the way Stotts has rotated in the preseason won't change. Some minutes might go up or down, but we will see the bench play with starters often. It's a great way to keep players happy, and good for keeping consistent play.

Natural a system like this will mean less touches for certain players. Aldridge and lillArd will get theirs when they are on the court, Batum and matthews will see their shots go down. But Mathews is a player who will make the most out of his opportunities, and Batums scoring going down allows him to be more of a facilitator.

 

[kjironman1]

Or the team stops having those long droughts where they don't score and the overall team scoring average goes up. This would give the starters the same numbers and the bench a few points. If they went from 106 a game to lets say 110 a game this would make them extremely hard to beat.

 

[MARIS61]

It's also up to Stotts to actually use the bench, and forget about past transgressions of said bench. I'm a little skeptical of that.

Agreed. Stotts seemed almost bewildered last year when he had to look to the bench for help. Like he was picking names out of a hat rather than looking at matchups or lineups.

It's a question of awareness and imagination.

Some coaches see a team of 12 players, all with unique skill-sets and capabilities.

Some coaches see a team of 5 players, 1-2 backups, and 5 guys they practice against.

 

[tlongII]

Lots of guys on contract years. It will be interesting.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

Our guys care about winning. I think that's the most important thing. I think they also realize that they were all exhausted by the end of the season. A bench is a must.

yeah, I don't think it's about the numbers for any of these guys. They are pretty well locked in on what they need to do to be successfull.

 

[riverman]

Stotts stated at the end of last season that he wanted to improve at utilizing the bench. Now he actually can.

 

[Strenuus]

Stotts stated at the end of last season that he wanted to improve at utilizing the bench. Now he actually can.

I'll believe it when I see it when it counts. Until then, it's just placating.

 

[riverman]

I'll believe it when I see it when it counts. Until then, it's just placating.

Stotts set that goal for himself. I like hearing that from a coach. I'm optimistic, more so than in the last few years.

 

[kjironman1]

Stotts set that goal for himself. I like hearing that from a coach. I'm optimistic, more so than in the last few years.

My favorite quote from Stotts is "It's a process. You need to stay true to the process of winning".
This tells me he is always looking to improve.

 

[Strenuus]

Stotts set that goal for himself. I like hearing that from a coach. I'm optimistic, more so than in the last few years.

Still needs to prove it. Words are words until they are put into action.

 

[riverman]

Still needs to prove it. Words are words until they are put into action.

I watched his miked up video from practice today, plenty of action. Teachers don't always use action to get their points across though. They teach with words.

 

[Strenuus]

I watched his miked up video from practice today, plenty of action. Teachers don't always use action to get their points across though. They teach with words.

Still doesn't prove anything. Just because he's miked up doesn't mean he's going to tell the truth. He knows he's being miked, hes going to choose his words carefully.

He's shown a track record of relying on starters too much. Until he proves it when it counts, then it's just him placating the media and us. Not buying it.

 

[kjironman1]

http://www.nba.com/preview/2014/POR/index.html
Read this.

 

[riverman]

Still doesn't prove anything. Just because he's miked up doesn't mean he's going to tell the truth. He knows he's being miked, hes going to choose his words carefully.

He's shown a track record of relying on starters too much. Until he proves it when it counts, then it's just him placating the media and us. Not buying it.

Hard to use scientific method to prove anything before a game has even tipped off but string theory works for me...it's all about the possibilities, not failed experiments from days gone by and scoreless bench players of the past..Stotts wanted to win last season and he did.

 

[Strenuus]

Hard to use scientific method to prove anything before a game has even tipped off but string theory works for me...it's all about the possibilities, not failed experiments from days gone by and scoreless bench players of the past..Stotts wanted to win last season and he did.

Hard to validate a string theory without trial runs and some data, soo... here we are.