Nate’s substitution patterns

Starting Blake and bringing in Andre about 6 minutes into the game – For now, I support this move. It’s like comfort food. The team is used to Blake at the start of a game. Brandon usually lays low, LMA or Greg try to get established in the paint, and Marty and Blake are there to knock down 3’s if the opportunity presents itself. Brandon has been playing almost all of the 1st quarter, which gives him equal time with Blake and Andre. This is a short-term solution that gives Brandon and Miller a chance to work on chemistry, but still starts the team out in familiar territory. Hopefully, by game 20, Andre will be the starter getting 30 minutes to Blake’s 18.

Bringing Joel in after 6 minutes – Yikes!!!! My heart sank yesterday when a productive Oden was benched with 0 (or was it 1) fouls. If Greg is not in foul trouble, he should play the whole 1st quarter. Joel doesn’t care about minutes, and Nate needs to commit to Greg as a high minute player when he is not plagued by fouls.

Rudy at SF – I certainly want to keep Rudy happy and playing well, but he can’t come in as a SF for Marty on a regular schedule. Rudy is an SG. Against certain opposing players, he can hang as a SF, but he gets owned by many. If anything, I’d like to see Nate give Rudy some of Brandon’s minutes when possible simply because of the amount of damage Brandon takes out there. This may not be possible very often. One exception – When Rudy’s shot is dropping, find him minutes. Take the chance at SF, and hopefully, his offensive production will outweigh his suspect defense.

Travis – Ummm, SF, please. Travis just shouldn’t play PF no matter who he is matched up against. With Batum out, it has given Nate this unexpected flexibility with Travis, minutes at SF and PF. I think he got like 38 minutes one game. Way too many. Martell is a better choice at SF and should get the bulk of the minutes, there, and Travis should get no or extremely limited minutes at PF. No small ball unless Greg and Joel are in SERIOUS foul trouble. That won’t make Travis happy, but IMO Nate is the only one who care about this. Wait, Travis probably does too.

Blake at SG – No!!!!! I can’t explain this one. Please stop, Nate.

Andre – I basically support what Nate has been doing. Split his time with Blake, give him exposure to everyone, and hope something starts to click. At the end of the game when Brandon’s controlling every possession, I honestly don’t see a place for Andre. Brandon needs a Big and 3 shooters out there with him IMO. Miller’s a much better and more versatile player than Blake, but so far, he’s not clicking with the offense. I really want Andre to start and control more of the offense. I really want Brandon to expand his game and use the signing of Andre to learn how to play off the ball. I really want to be 20 years younger and much better looking. It’s good to want things I guess.

Juwan Howard – Play him at center when the Bigs are in foul trouble and give him Travis’ 10 -12 minutes at backup PF. His game is pretty solid, and he is in great shape. Every time Travis streaks across the lane, jumps, turns, and throws up a brick – I think of you Juwan.

LMA – I love ya, man. But you are as soft as the Pilsbury Dough Boy. Your rotation is fine. You should play big minutes. No changes needed. Could you maybe move forward when you get the ball in the post 6 feet from the basket? Why does that always turn into a 12 foot jumper? Those new, improved arms are probably great with the ladies. Love to see them help the team.

I think some of what we are seeing is a side effect of Batum being injured. Honestly, with Batum healthy, I think Nate sticks to a much more rigid plan at SG and SF, Rudy and Travis play a lot less, and Blake never plays SG. Greg is being mis-managed. I am a full-on Oden homer this year. Let him play, feed him, believe in him. It’s the future. Andre and Brandon have got to figure this out. But they haven’t. Blake is still relevant for the moment.