Z and TM3 and Willie
Since Trey Murphy's return, the only two players that have spent less time on the court with him than Zion are Cody Zeller and Jordan Hawkins.
Zion has 9 potential assists to Murphy, 4 of those were in the first game. The process needs to be better. pic.twitter.com/6RnHBbdufO
— Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) December 21, 2023
by NeckChoice980
7 Comments
Willie just has to be better. That’s it. This isn’t good enough and this is on him. Do I think he is capable of improving his rotations? Yes.
Willie has always come across as a genuinely good human being. He genuinely cares about his players, their success, New Orleans, and creating a winning culture. So, yes, he is capable of the self-reflection necessary to be better.
And. Anyone that denies that this isn’t a coaching problem that needs to improve immediately, is just being stubborn or not paying attention.
He will still value his “hustle guys” more
For what it’s worth, tm3 had been much more effective when paired with BI thus far in his career.
It’s 8 games, relax. Every year at this point if the season, every team uses long rotations and experiment lineups.
The blown leads are very concerning, but Green has been consistent in favoring defense and hustle over flashy offense. Hawkins defense isn’t there and Trey looks too hesitant.
Trey and Hawkins minutes will increase the later the season goes on.
I understand the concerns about treys defense but the intangibles are there, he has a 7’0” wingspan and 38” vertical. Even if his defensive skills aren’t great, his athleticism can keep him on the court as a somewhat effective defender if he just puts in effort. The only way he’s gonna improve on that end is getting meaningful minutes; he doesn’t have to guard the opposing teams best player, he can be a switchable help defender
Here are a couple of things Shamit overlooks. First Zion has missed a game in the limited time Trey has been back. Zion got benched for part of the sac game for TM3 because of his D and got into big time foul trouble vs Memphis. Z also played less min vs the LAL shitshow of a game. This limited the min Trey and Zion could actually play together.
Next Trey subs in for Zion in the 1st and 3rd quarters because BI plays almost he entire 1st quarter. This is specifically done to make sure we have either Zion or BI on the floor. Zion then subs in for BI with 2 min left. Zion plays in shorter stretches overall and ends up to play less minutes than BI. The goal is to have Trey out there when either Zion or BI sit. This is the correct answer not just play Zion and Trey.
Lastly Green has been playing Zion or BI in small ball lineups a lot more since Nance went out. Trey is typically on the floor for these lineups. It has been a small sample but when BI has basic,y been playing part of the center min they have been better.
It is not about pairing Zion with Trey but what else is out there with Zion and Trey. Having Zion play the 5 is just not as good defensively. Playing Trey instead of Herb will just create a layup line for our opponents because we have no good on ball defenders.
In the end against smaller teams I would love to see us close a game with CJ, Herb, BI, Trey and Zion I just don’t think it will be consistently good enough defensively with Zion at the 5.
Trey is the back-up 4 in willies rotation is what I’ve noticed.
Hard for guys to share minutes when the first rotation is trey for Zion 🤔.