- Joined
- Aug 20, 2005
- Messages
- 36,828
- Reaction score
- 94,248
- Points
- 148
Backcourt depth won't truly be in place until December at least. With KI and Shump out, it will be a challenge to keep Lebron in the low 30s in terms of MPG, which is where he should be. We will have some combination of Lebron, Mo, Delly, JR, RJ, JJ, and Cunningham to handle 3 positions / 144 MPG. At least two of those players -- JJ and Cunningham -- are problems to have on the court, and RJ can't handle many minutes and is something of a defensive liability.
Every NBA team has weaknesses in the last four spots on the bench. Every single one. Let those faulted players get burn now rather than next spring. The first seed is nice, but isn't as important as health. Last season, I thought Jones could have put in more games early. I remember LeBron and Delly (of all people) being the banged up guys early. They ended up being the relatively healthy bodies near the end.
The team has a lot of players on the mend early, but I believe its manageable if they tread water until mid-December. The old guard of the NBA don't believe the season really begins until Christmas anyway. If the Warriors can keep Livingston, Curry, Barbosa, and Bogut upright all last season we can keep these guys upright. Everyone has players with a history and mileage.