MKG needs more minutes !

[SJackson1]

I'm realy dissaponted with the amount of minutes our younger players are getting this season. MKG was the 2nd pick in the Draft and he's only averaging 25 minutes a game !!!!!!, his numbers on the season so far:

PPG - 9.1
RPG - 5.7
APG - 1.5
BPG - 1.0
SPG - 0.8

These numbers tell me he should be playing at least another 7/8 minutes a game, anyone else agree ?

[westbrook08]

His minutes are ok usually. Most nights he plays between 25 and 27 minutes. The problem is that he's only been getting between 4 and 6 shots. He needs more touches! I don't know if he needs to move better without the ball or if he's not being incorporated in the offense enough. Either way, the 2nd pick in the draft needs to get at least 10 shots a game just for development in my opinion.

[SJackson1]

fully agree with you westbrook !

[CatNation]

He needs to play better first

[westbrook08]

He really hasn't played bad. When he gotten a lot of shots he's actually done pretty good. I just think it's a combination of him not looking for his own shot and deferring to other players, while the rest of the team isn't really looking his way either. I think a large amount of that can be attributed to the fact that he's 19 and he'll learn to be more aggressive and vocal on offense as he matures.

I also noticed that with the trade deadline passing that Dunlap promptly sat Gordon's ass on the bench and gave him a DNP last night. I would imagine with Gordon being out of favor and Warrick not taking up minutes at the 3(even though he was primarily a 4) that you'll see MKG get some more touches down the stretch.

I wouldn't blow it out of proportion. We've obviously been trying to showcase some guys to return assets this year. I wouldn't even be surprised if Hendo gets less minutes over the last 30 games to try and drive his market value down. Everyone knew MKG was raw on offense and was going to need a season or 2 to develop in that regard. I don't think anyone expected him to jump out of the gate shooting like Dale Ellis in his prime. Just give him and the organization time. He'll be fine.

[SJackson1]

12 Pts, 4 Rebs, 3 Asts, 1 Blk in 20 mins ! tonight vs the nuggets

[Potato]

12 Pts, 4 Rebs, 3 Asts, 1 Blk in 20 mins ! tonight vs the nuggets

20 minutes and he didn't even have foul trouble, i don't get it. three straight double digit outings in a row though, he's playing better

[GoBobs]

Totally agree he needs more minutes. Dunlap pulls MKG to quickly and leaves Byron Mullens out there two long. Let the guy get some rhythm.

[dnbman]

Totally agree he needs more minutes. Dunlap pulls MKG to quickly and leaves Byron Mullens out there two long. Let the guy get some rhythm.

Yeah, I think Dunlap is trying to protect MKG a bit, perhaps too much. Of course, I'd love to see the guy be productive at 35+ mpg, but I'm happy enough if we bring him along slowly, so long as he's clearly developing.

One thing I'm wondering about is if Dunlap sees him playing too tentatively on the offensive end. He looks like he wants to pass more than he wants to take it to the rack. I'm wondering if part of the problem is building more confidence in the NBA. Dunlap could be building him that way, letting him be successful for stents and then letting him rest rather watch the guy try to go crazy in a game we won't likely win. Not sure if that makes sense, but in my head it does.

[DashGlobal]

Ive never heard of guys ranked that highly all their life and competitive be tentative. If they are tentative than it prob has something to do with the coach not giving them a green light.

Im sure MKG would love to iso his man every play down court.