Mailbag: Rotations without LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum
By David MacKay
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@ripcityproject what's the rotation gonna be this week without LA, batum? Super small ball on the fly?
— yolojumpshot (@yolojumpshot) March 23, 2015
Well, we don’t know that LaMarcus Aldridge (hand) or Nicolas Batum (back) will actually miss time, though it seems likely that both of them will need reevaluation before stepping back onto the court. Hopefully neither will require an extended period of recovery. For sake of answering your question, let’s assume that the Trail Blazers have to go without for the immediate future.
The starting lineup would look something like:
PG – Damian Lillard
SG – Arron Afflalo
SF – Dorell Wright
PF – Meyers Leonard
C – Robin Lopez
However; the time that the starting five shares together would likely become less rigid as Head Coach Terry Stotts makes strategic substitutions. It is possible that we see stretches where C.J. McCollum takes over at shooting guard while Afflalo is pushed to small forward to plug some defensive holes. This would be the small ball you suggested. The Trail Blazers could really take advantage on spot-up threes here, but would give up quite a bit of size in doing so.
The bench rotation, on the other hand, has a lot to do with the health of Chris Kaman, who is recovering from a shoulder strain. If Kaman is unable to go, McCollum would spend more time leading the second unit than he would with the starters (in theory). The bench scoring has to come from somewhere.
Kaman’s health also affects how Joel Freeland is used. Would Freeland absorb the bulk of the backup minutes at center, or would he slide in behind Leonard at power forward? Either way, he would be relied upon more heavily as a stopper and should see increased minutes off the bench.
Most likely, we would see players used in pairings to maximize their potential as a unit. Lillard and Afflalo would often share the court so that the Trail Blazers don’t get overwhelmed by high screens, while Leonard and Lopez would often share the court to do some overwhelming of their own on the other end. In fact, Erik Gundersen of The Columbian wrote an interesting article about how Stotts uses them as dual screeners just last week.
Not everyone has a “partner in crime,” of course. The aforementioned Freeland could be plugged into most lineups successfully, as could Alonzo Gee for short stretches where defensive energy is needed, but that’s a bit deeper into the rotation than we’re focused on here.
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Ultimately, the Trail Blazers would need to go small to combat fatigue. Wright is capable of sliding down to power forward to relieve Leonard and make room for McCollum, so we may see that against the Golden State Warriors, who have rolled with the undersized Draymond Green at the four this season. Consequently, you may see several Trail Blazers playing out of position as needed if foul trouble becomes an issue.
Stotts rarely keeps the same rotation night-to-night when faced with a dearth of available players, so predicting his next move can be futile (believe me, I’ve asked him). If Aldridge and Batum are forced to sit, we could see anyone find a niche role to play. While most players would have their responsibility bumped up a notch or two, I personally believe that Wright and Leonard will feature most prominently in any upcoming rotations.