Why are his minutes steadily decreasing?

Posted by Bonn1997:

Why are his minutes steadily decreasing?

Very upsetting with what is going on with the way Sweets is being played. I think KT playing well is going to the Lenny's head and thinks KT is all he needs now. Dumb old fool he has gold in Sweetney and doesn't see it. The more he plays the better he will get. But six fricken minutes is poor usage by Lenny. Sweetney needs to be in the 20 or more range for the Knicks to be successful.

i dont think it's Lenny fault. I just think Sweetney is not ready. i can't think of a player as out of shape as him who became a bonfide starter in the league Elton was big at the start but not that big and he was also very strong. He's almost as big as Robert Traylor! players like that are bench players that you use when the match up right. Sweetney really should work on getting in shape. He has all the tools to to be a beast in the post but he keeps getting beat down the court and he's too stagnant on offense

Sweets is a PF. Who on the Knicks do you sit?

Kurt? JYD? Nazr?

Sweetney just is not playing great ball and other guys are. Nothing more.

Bench players will get minutes based on how they produce. Sweets has not. He will probably continue to get spot minutes, and then more when he is on a roll.

Posted by Bonn1997:

Posted by martin:

Sweets is a PF. Who on the Knicks do you sit?

Kurt? JYD? Nazr?

Sweetney just is not playing great ball and other guys are. Nothing more.

Bench players will get minutes based on how they produce. Sweets has not. He will probably continue to get spot minutes, and then more when he is on a roll.

Heck, even Baker got more minutes than Sweetney yesterday

That's because it was a BLOW OUT. Minutes played are skewed in blow outs.

From what I saw out of Sweets in the limited time he played - I was less than impressed.

for all of those that say Sweetney needs more minutes, I need you to explain to me how he is going to get those minutes, what lineup he works best in, etc.

Here is the deal. Sweets is a POST-UP PF, not an off-the-ball, spot up shooter like Kurt is. With Kurt running the pick-and-roll with Marbury, you start it at the top of the key. All of the other guys spread the floor and this opens up lanes to the basket as an option for the Marbury. Marbury can break his man down, or beat Kurt's defender going to the basket, AND he has Kurt as an option for the 15-18 footer. Sweets cannot run this play. Incidentally, when Kurt rolls (depending on how his defender reacts) you can also cause the defense to rotate, leaving guys wide open for perimeter shots. Nazr has been getting so many 5-foot hoops because his guy may be helping out to defend Kurt in the roll portion of the pick-and-roll.

OK then, with Sweets in the game, his only offense if back-to-the-basket. Now, who is guarding Sweets? The opposing PF or the opposing C? Sweets is always in the game with either Kurt or Nazr, both of whom you can guard with a PF. If Kurt is in the game, more than likely you are running pick-and-rolls with Marbury as your first or second option. If Nazr is in the game, since he does not have a consistent 10-15 foot jump shot, when Sweets gets the ball in the post, you can easily double off of Nazr. And you need not double by fully going at him: you get just clog the opposite side of the lane by leaving Nazr on the perimeter, cause he is not a threat.

Also, I have seen the opposing team guard Sweets with their center instead of their PF. This gives Sweets lots of trouble cause, although he is long, he is not tall, and that kind of height bothers him.

For the most part, Sweets is still a young player, and with young players you need them to earn minutes. How many times have you seen Sweets foul out on the perimeter whilst setting a pick? How about the reach-ins? He still does not know how to space the floor well, and his one-on-one defense is average at best. How many times has he shuffled his feet just after getting the ball?

I’ve said it before… if Sweets is getting minutes at PF, do you cut Kurt’s minutes or JYD’s minutes? Hell no, those guys are earning and deserving of the time they are on the cuourt.

His time will come, but he has to EARN it. Same with Ariza.

i think sweets minutes are down because Lenny has judged a need for JYD in the game for his defense

its also early and I believe they are still trying to get some combo's of players down...

Since TT isn't worth putting on the court right now, I want to see if JYD can play the SF. That opens up minutes for Sweetney at PF.

If JYD can't play SF, I would rather develop Sweetney than play JYD at PF.

Posted by TMS:

Nazr's improved play in the post along w/KT's midrange shotmaking & JYD's hustle & defense = less minutes for Sweets

For teams that are in Isiah's own words "rebuilding," that is a short-sighted and ill-conceived strategy.