Utah Jazz rotation proposal: Just give all Miye Oni minutes to someone else
Throughout his 40 minutes on the court thus far in the 2021 NBA Playoffs, Miye Oni has poured in a combined zero points, zero assists, and all of three rebounds for the Utah Jazz.
Now, let’s address the argument from those who claim that Oni’s defense alone makes him deserving of some playing time. OK, while that might be sweet and pleasant to say, the 6-foot-5 wing’s basic postseason defensive stats undoubtedly say otherwise: one steal, zero blocks, and eight fouls.
Who should replace Oni as a backup? Well, there are perhaps a few options, even when taking into account the rust factor that is a result of these guys’ permanent stay at the end of the bench across the first two rounds.
Whatever happened to the 23-year-old Trent Forrest, a 6-foot-4 rookie guard who had some admirable moments filling in for Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley during their extended absences at the tail end of the Jazz’s regular season?
Heck, even Matt Thomas might be able to give Utah more of a boost than Oni. So isn’t it at least worth a shot to find out if the 26-year-old shooting guard can find the rhythm to his outside shot during a few minutes of action in Game 6? After all, he has knocked down 41.3 percent of his 3-point attempts spanning his four-year NBA career.