When you get to the playoffs, usually a coach shortens his rotation to eight or nine players, but yet in a pivotal Game 2–Billy Donovan had twelve players seeing action in a game in which OKC’s bench was worse than brutal.
OKC is stretching it big time to go with nine players, twelve is bordering on coaching malpractice. That stretch at the end of the third period never should have happened. If your bench is so pathetic you can’t go two minutes or so without giving up a 9-0 run, then call a timeout to give Westbrook a rest, do it twice if you have to, but you cannot under any circumstances just spot a team a nine point spurt ending the third period.
This isn’t the North Edmond Mother’s Youth Soccer League. That’s for meaningless end of regular season games. In post season, you go with your best eight or nine players and double or in some cases triple shift them to create mismatch advantages, which btw is exactly what Mike D’Antoni is doing so far in this series against Billy Donovan. Like a ruthless Little League coach waiting with baited breath to see either Kanter, Singler, Christon, or Sabonis touch the floor, D’Antoni waits with baited breath for Westbrook and his better teammates to leave the floor.
This is not complex. This doesn’t require being a metrics savant. Go with your best eight or nine and live with it. If Russell Westbrook has to play 46 minutes then that’s the way this rolls. But enough of the North Edmond Everyone Plays bullshit. OKC’s season is literally on the line tonight.
The nine I’d go with are Westbrook, Roberson, Grant, Oladipo, Adams, Gibson, McDermott, Abrines, and Collison (depending on foul trouble). I’m tired of watching Bambi basketball. I feel certain Russell Westbrook and his agent probably share the same sentiment.
Give your team a chance. Go with your best players, if that’s not good enough, then live with the results and either go fishing or hit the golf courses. But this bullshit with this team playing twelve players in the post season is beyond absurd.
Rant over.