FanPost

Rotations and minute distribution

I decided to just make a fanpost about this, because my breakdown became a bit more in-depth than I had originally planned. This is going off of a comment I made on a recent downbeat.

This is based on the "ideal" lineup, when everyone is healthy again.

Burke, Rush, Hayward, Kanter, and Favors start. At around the 6 minute mark, Burke goes to the bench and is replaced by Burks. At around the 3 minute mark either Kanter or Favors comes out and is replaced by Evans (Kanter slides to C if needed). Rush also goes out at the 3 minute mark and is replaced by Marvin. Hayward slides to the 2. End of 1st Q. Minutes so far: Burke 6, Burks 6, Rush 9, Hayward 12, Marvin 3, Evans 3, Kanter 9, Favors 12.

Start of 2nd Q. Burke, Burks, Marvin, Kanter, Gobert. At the 8 minute mark Gobert is replaced by Favors. At the 6 minute mark Hayward replaces Marvin. At the 5 minute mark Burke gets a quick 3 minute rest (coming right back in to close out the quarter) while Rush comes in at the 2 and Burks slides to the 1. Burke replaces Burks to close out the quarter. With about 3 minutes left, Evans comes in to give Kanter a breather. End of 2nd Q. Minutes so far: Burke 15, Burks 16, Rush 14, Hayward 18, Marvin 9, Evans 6, Kanter 18, Favors 20, Gobert 4.

Start of 3rd Q. Burks, Rush, Hayward, Kanter, Favors. At the 8 minute mark Rush is replaced by Burke, Burks slides over to the 2. Also at the 8 minute mark, Kanter is replaced by Marvin. At the 4 minute mark Favors is replaced by Gobert and Kanter comes back in for Marvin. Also at the 4 minute mark, Burks is replaced by Evans, and Hayward slides to the 2. End of 3rd Q. Minutes: Burke 23, Burks 24, Rush 18, Hayward 30, Marvin 13, Evans 10, Kanter 26, Favors 28, Gobert 8.

Start of 4th Q. Burke, Rush, Evans, Marvin, Kanter. This is kind of a weird lineup, so if it doesn’t work well it should be changed immediately. However, I think it could work if used properly, especially if Kanter has developed his 3-point shot. Rush and Kanter on the outside, Burks running the high PnR with Evans while Marvin either posts up or moves without the ball and makes cuts to the basket down the baseline? Could work. Anyway, back to rotations. At the 9 minute mark, Rush is replaced by Burks. At the 7 minute mark, Evans is replaced by Hayward and Marvin is replaced by Favors, with Kanter sliding back over to the 4. At the 4 minute mark, Rush comes back in, replacing Burke, sliding Burks over to PG. EDIT: Kanter should get a quick breather during sometime between the 10 minute mark and the 6 minute mark; Gobert should come in to spell him and give him a minute or two of game-time rest so he can close out the game. End of 4th Q. Minutes: Burke 31, Burks 33, Rush 25, Hayward 37, Marvin 18, Evans 15, Kanter 36, Favors 35, Gobert 10.

Turns out I was a little "off" from my original estimate of minutes, but I am almost positive I had at least 2 of the 4 "C4" on the court at all time, except for maybe a 3 minute stretch to open the 4th Q. John Lucas III should be an emergency-only option (foul trouble, injury, EXTREMELY cold night for Burke or Burks, etc), and I made this breakdown with the assumption that Ian Clark wouldn't pan out. Obviously if he surprises us and ends up being effective, he should leech minutes primarily from Rush and Marvin (meaning Hayward plays almost exclusively at the 3).

Thoughts?

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