The refusal to address replacing Wong with a true lead guard has led to a lot of this. Poplar thrived playing off ball last year, whether that was being a catch and shoot threat or allowing the gravity of playing with a guy like Wong to open up opportunities in the midrange, where he was almost automatic by season's end. His usage is up considerably year over year and that's made him less effective on the defensive end as given how much he has to expend on the offensive end.
Bensley's best moments were last year when he could fill the role of a sparkplug/bulldog off the bench. With all due respect, he's too small and not skilled enough offensively to go from 20 to 30 minutes per game. His lack of size also makes him redundant paired next to Pack in what was already a small starting lineup. I never understood it and still think it was an awful, shortsighted decision to go all-in on Bensley as the starting 2.
Finally, swapping Miller for Cleveland seemed like a wash on paper, and I'll admit that I was off on this. Cleveland is more versatile and skilled offensively and is statistically having a better year than Jordan did last year, but he gives up a lot more defensively as well as fit next to Omier. Miller could guard up more effectively than Cleveland can and his post-up game/ability to work along the baseline avoided us having to go 4 out/1 in like we've had to do this season. We're putting a ton of pressure on Norchad on both ends, with little depth behind him.
I'm interested to see how they approach roster construction next year. Bethea's length and ability to score will allow Wooga to pick his spots and will also take pressure off of Pack having to create as much as he's being asked to (assuming both come back). My big question is how do they address the Cleveland/Omier fit?
