I'm really hoping to see Joe play more guys this year than last year. Especially in the early rounds. Our bench offers a lot of energy in games. When the Celtics get up by plus 20 or more points Joe has a habit of sticking with the starters who tend to lose energy because they've been playing and they are up by a lot. The starters start to coast and I think inserting a couple of hungry bench guys could give us a boost. The worst that could happen is that the other team cuts into our lead and that usually happens anyway but at least then you can bring back in the starters who have rested and drive the score up again.
I hope Pritchard plays a big role off the bench. He is all energy all the time and this team needs that spark.
Hope Sam has a big game early in the playoffs. He had a rough end to the year and hopefully that didn’t impact his confidence.
I know DW will get starter minutes, but I’d like to see him have a lead role in the offense more often. When he is aggressive and leading the attack and teams realize they need to pay attention to him, space opens for one or more of the 3 Js and KP. Translates to less JT or JB ISO and fewer lower % three attempts.
Want to see that automatic corner three from Jrue.
Maybe most importantly I hope they are aggressive defensively. They’ve shown that they can shut teams down when they’re locked in - that’s demoralizing to opponents and game-changing.
Joe should trust Oshae, Luke, and X with spot minutes for breathers. And not overwork Al in the early rounds if that can be avoided.