The Cheeks Rotation

Now that we're three games into the young season and we have a couple of days off to ponder the state of the Sixers, I thought we'd take a look at the minute distribution for the roster. The hope is that we'll be able to see what Mo is thinking about the best combinations, and the team's best chance of winning, from a personnel perspective. First, the numbers:

Starters (minutes/game)

• Andre Iguodala (41.3)
• Andre Miller (35.7)
• Willie Green (34)
• Samuel Dalembert (30.7)
• Reggie Evans (23.7)
• Starters Total (165.3)

Bench (minutes/game)

• Kyle Korver (29)
• Lou Williams (15)
• Rodney Carney (13.7)
• Jason Smith (13.3)
• Calvin Booth (4)
• Bench Total (75)

So, Mo has been using a 9-man rotation, plus a cup of coffee for the worst player on the roster (if not in the entire league), Calvin Booth. Notable is the absence of any playing time at all for Kevin Ollie (wasted roster spot) and Thaddeus Young (the #12 pick in this year's draft).

If you told me Lou Williams had the second-most minutes off the bench through three games I wouldn't have believed you. I would've thought Jason Smith, but Lou is slowly but surely earning more time. Carney's minutes are as sporadic as his play. I'd like to see Willie Green playing about 8 minutes less per game, with those minutes going to Lou and Carney. Otherwise, I've been pretty happy with the rotations. Especially the fact that Mo is fluid with his substitutions, sticking with the hot hand more this year than he has in the past.

One thing these numbers tell us is that Mo is using a small lineup very, very frequently. Evans, Dalembert, Smith and Booth account for 71.7 minutes per game (out of 96 total minutes for the 4 and 5 positions every game).  Mo is going with a small lineup (either Korver or Iguodala at the 4) for about 14 minutes per game. That's a significant amount of time. The good news is that the small lineup hasn't hurt the Sixers where you'd think it would. They still hold a 146-118 edge in rebounding. I expect Mo to take some time away from the small lineup when Herbert Hill comes back from knee surgery (6-8 weeks). For the mean time, it's working well, so he should stick with it.

According to 82games.com, the Sixers most effective group on the floor last season was Miller, Iguodala, Korver, Joe Smith and Dalembert. We haven't seen too much of it, but I expect this year's most potent lineup will consist of Miller, Iguodala, Korver, Evans and Dalembert. Part of me thinks Mo should do away with Korver as sixth man, and just put him in the starting lineup already. He plays starter minutes, and the big advantage of Willie Green in the starting lineup (quick offensive starts) hasn't been happening.

The Sixers take on the Bobcats in Philly on Wednesday night. Charlotte has a surprisingly solid starting lineup, and virtually no bench. I'm especially looking forward to the Andre Iguodala/Gerald Wallace match up.