Is this just a matter of trying to keep Mann and Luke together, who do seem to like to play together. If that’s the case, I’m legit ready to start Boston. The thing which really should be done is move Paul George back to SG and start Batum and Morris when he’s back healthy. But then again, Morris is more and more earning a spot with his butt on the bench.

Really the only things I think Ty could’ve done differently are 1) actively scheme for more looks in the paint, and/or 2) bring in the young guys sooner.

Re: (1), what was the point of going big if MM and Serge were just going to (ineffectively) put up jumpers from the outside? This lineup obviously wasn’t working defensively, since none of MM, Serge, and Zu have the footspeed to switch out onto the perimeter, so the best thing we could’ve hoped for was for it to work offensively, which is a lot easier to do when you’re using your size to get into the paint/to the bucket instead of settling for contested outside jumpers.

Re: (2), we saw how lackadaisical the defense was right from the get-go. If the veterans need the night off, just rip off the band-aid and give it to them – it’s not a demotion, it’s called “we got screwed this season schedule-wise, and we’re gonna need you guys healthy for the rest of the season.” KJ definitely bothered Fox on some possessions, Boston at least has the length (if obviously not the IQ/experience) to obstruct some shots, and Winslow has been surprisingly decent defensively this season. I’m actually kinda surprised Winslow hasn’t already gotten more run this season, considering our injury situation and the contract we signed him to.

I almost want to say OK, you’ve had your tikering/rest time and now were at 500. No time to lose more ground. Grace period over.

Unfortunately we don’t have the luxury of figuring out how Kawhi and PG13 work together – we gotta figure out how the heck the rest of our pieces fit together (*cough Reggie/Bledsoe cough cough) first. Plus, if we keep playing like this I don’t see any reason for Kawhi to even come back this season at all – we ain’t contending for anything from like the 9 or 10 seed, and a 1st round matchup against Phoenix or GS w/ a rusty Kawhi and an exhausted PG13 would wind up in us getting swept anyways.

So far MM and Serge have been anywhere from “not horrible” to “wtf are they doing out there” as they make their way back from injury, which is…not ideal, considering both are paid to be above-average starters. I’m more willing to give Serge more slack, on account of him having to re-learn how to play PF and because he’s working his way back from back surgery, but MM hasn’t looked good since as far back as last season’s playoffs. I’m seriously wondering if playing him as small-ball C and having him on guys like Gobert and Ayton broke him…hope he finds his form again, but the best we can say about him this season is that “he’s looked spry sometimes.”

Reggie/Bledsoe starting experiment needs to go into the dust bin already, Ty. Each of them is fine individually, and they both bring their own strengths to the table (Reggie scoring creativity and bailouts, Bledsoe perimeter defense and occasional drives to the bucket), but they’re undersized and for some reason or another just don’t fit well together (I’m guessing because Bledsoe isn’t accustomed to being offball so much). Move Bledsoe to the bench where he can handle the ball more, and start Mann or Luke. This experiment has clearly not produced the results we were all hoping for.

Mann and Luke’s numbers looked better than they actually were for the most part, thanks to extended garbage time. I mentioned Mann needing a “go to” move before, but I think his “go to” move is “catch ball in corner, pump fake, then either drive or stepback 3,” on account of him doing that last night even when he was wide friggin open on the initial shot and had no need to pump fake at all, and actually wound up giving the defender time to recover to him. That being said, he’s been mostly ok this season (his discipline on defense is noticeably better), but his offense hasn’t been consistent at all, and he definitely still hasn’t taken the leap.

Luke’s been in a pretty horrendous shooting funk recently, but that happens to everyone at some point. What’s actually concerning to me is that when he’s out there w/ the regulars he’s often been unable to get himself open off-ball, and when that fails he just slowly wanders off away from the play and passively ball-watches. Last night was a bit better because I saw him take a couple dribbles into the elbow area and take open mid-range shots (which unfortunately he bricked), but we need him to be involved in the offense out there because he sure isn’t there to be a defensive stopper – we can’t have our entire offensive set be Luke running around a screen and when that fails have him and everybody else just stand there while the ballhandler tries to make something outta nothing while the shotclock runs down.

I don’t have much to say about the young’uns, other than Boston is ready to contribute as a scorer, KJ looked good defensively, Hartenstein has clearly outplayed Serge, and Scrubb is better than I thought defensively but worse than I thought offensively. On nights when our vets are tired (which is gonna happen a lot, given our shitty schedule this season), Ty should just go full canoe – at least they’d bring the energy right from the get-go.