Raptors are playing a numbers game
Casey has a delightful dozen playing regular minutes, but it’s time to pare that down
Dwane Casey has one of those good coaching problems.
The Toronto Raptors’ head coach has 12 players giving him decent minutes right now, but ideally he’d only give nine or possibly 10 regular playing time.
For the last four games, he’s been running 12 out there on a consistent basis. He expects the players will make the decision for him.
Through those four games, Casey got solid minutes from the likes of Pascal Siakam, Jakob Poeltl, Fred VanVleet and Lucas Nogueira — some of the likely candidates for players going from rotation minutes to perhaps having to wait for their turn again.
When the decision comes, and there doesn’t appear to be a firm timetable for that, it’ll be a difficult one for the head coach.
None of the aforementioned has done anything to lose playing time. It’s the lack of rhythm caused by playing with 11 and 12 guys that appears to be the issue.
C.J. Miles was part of a regular fiveman bench unit early on as part of a 10-man rotation. Lately, he’s played with different groupings, making it hard to find chemistry and a rhythm.
“It’s going to be hard,” Miles said of the decision awaiting Casey. “I think you still can play nine. Maybe if Kyle (Lowry) or DeMar (DeRozan) are in with us, there’s going to be nights where you’re still going to need 10 or 11 guys. When you have three games in four nights and the last one’s a back-to-back, you don’t always have the energy and it’s good there’s somebody who’s been sitting for three days who’s as fresh as can be. That’s going to factor into it.’’
“We definitely have a lot of (options), but it’s a good problem to have,” Miles said.
Over a 12-year career, Miles has tended to be among that group on the bubble. He said he knows it’s never fun being the guy who gets told he might be needed tomorrow, but not today.
Those days are over for Miles, who has become the offensive fulcrum of the second unit and a frequent contributor with the starters down the stretch when the game is on the line.
But for guys like VanVleet, Nogueira, Siakam and even Poeltl, there are no guarantees. VanVleet is the third guard behind Lowry and Delon Wright and the second point guard in that second unit beside Wright, so he’s always going to be a candidate to have his minutes contracted.
Siakam’s energy has been a godsend, and he’s a bit of an outlier because he’s not vying for centre minutes, which is where the real excess appears to be.
The three centres — starter Jonas Valanciunas, Nogueira and Poeltl — all bring something different to the table. But a consistent rotation is the goal, and there are simply too many bodies involved.
Injuries are going to occur — that is a given. When they happen, those players whose minutes are cut will once again find a role. It’s not ideal, but it’s not exactly a new thing in the NBA.
Casey has always said the decisions eventually get made for him. He does not appear in a hurry to get the rotations down, but that time will come. When it does, there figures to be players who might be deserving on the outside looking in.