There is serious competition at the 1 and 2 for minutes. Make your predictions on how you think this will shake out. Here’s my take.
Play Time Ranking:
- Cole Anthony - An efficient scorer, and plays with great energy. He’s not the most talented overall guard, but he’s the best scorer on the list, and I rank him here because of his impact on the team by always encouraging everyone. He’s a safe bet to get reliable minutes.
- Jalen Suggs - I think he’s the best defender at the guard rotation right now, and that will always get you minutes while not having many weaknesses. He’s not an efficient scorer though, and while he’s a solid playmaker - he’s a streaky and inefficient scorer.
- Markelle Fultz - He’s the biggest wild card of boom or bust. If his shot is there and he’s driving in the paint - he’s at his best. When it’s clicking and he’s playing hard, he can easily get starter minutes and should. He might be the most skilled overall when he’s on, but we need to see more consistent production that he’s capable of.
- Garry Harris - He’s a good overall player. A reliable shooter, plays decent man D, and he’s a good teammate who doesn’t make many mistakes. He should get reliable minutes at the 2.
- Anthony Black - He’s going to start slow and earn minutes from filling the stat sheet without points. His offense is shaky, but he’s a worker and does so many things well while having size to get boards and blocks. I think Black has the potential to slowly move up and eventually get real minutes.
- Caleb Houstan - His streaky shooting will get him minutes when the offense is struggling. If he keeps improving his defense, he could move into being in the rotation.
- Garbage Time: Kevon Harris, Trevelon Queen. It’d be awesome if either proves this wrong, but it’s looking like they are here for insurance and development.
My prediction is the rotation will be what we saw in game 1 for the foreseeable future.