Baynes starting, Hayward off the bench

[smokeablount]

It was just the Hawks, but I really liked last night's starting unit.

Horford is our playoff guru, let's keep him rested and with healthy knees for the postseason with an occasional night off and an occasional light night minutes wise...by using last night's starting lineup now and then. 

-Keep Baynes in the starting lineup, whether or not he's going to play big minutes on a particular night. 
-Hayward playing well is an incredibly dangerous weapon off the bench. 
-Irving and Brown have good chemistry. 
-Tatum at SF is just right. 
-Smart has good chemistry with Theis and so did Hayward last night (small sample).

Starting Lineup:

Baynes
Horford
Tatum
Brown
Irving

Bench Mob: 

Theis
Morris
Hayward
Rozier
Smart

R. Williams, Semi O. as needed.


Horford next year or the one after could be the best bench big in the league.  Overall, I'm sure this year when healthy enough to play he'll want to start, but I'd watch his regular season minutes pretty carefully.  He's an MVP candidate of any given playoff series.

That bench should NEVER lose a lead. Amazing talent from 6 to 10 — could beat Atlanta on their own.   
Yes, GH, DT and MS may have something there

Agreed. Got a #6 pick, a #9, a #14 and a #16 and none of them are busts. In fact, other than Smart, I’d say all are pretty big hits. And then a 1st pick and 3 3rd Overalls as starters lol

[Ogaju]

finally a coach that thinks out of the box.....starting lineup means nothing..you have a squad play them according to need.

[ozgod]

finally a coach that thinks out of the box.....starting lineup means nothing..you have a squad play them according to need.

It's hard to overcome years of entrenched bias from coaches, players and fans. The best players are always associated with starting. Almost all All-Star and All-NBA selections are starters. The players want to start. The fans only consider starters to be among the best players if you surveyed them. It's harder for bench players to win max contracts.

If you think about it the real measure of the value a player brings to a team is not necessarily if they are on court for the tip-off, but how many minutes they actually play and whether they are there at the end. But we're going against years of tradition and history, not just in the NBA but through all levels of basketball in trying to overcome the starters > everyone else mentality. It's a team game but there's a pecking order and that's been the paradigm for decades.

I don't think anyone in their right mind would say that Baynes is better than Gordon, or that even Jaylen Brown is better than Gordon (at his best), but Gordon has the skillset to be able to mesh better with a second unit since he is a playmaker, he can handle the ball and he can also score. It's a challenge for him to get over it and understandably so. He's said all the right things so far and done his best in his new role but inside it must be a challenge to overcome.

[playdream]

Well after think about it our guys can still create open 3s with 4 out so the 5 out advantage is slim, plus apparently they can't make a living from consistent shooting so always put a rebounding big inside to rebound or tap it out may better suit them

Also Hayward and Smart is a strong combo on playmaking/defense and versatility off the bench

[IDreamCeltics]

It's a late reaction to an obvious problem, but better late than never.  Baynes is a better player right now hands down.

[Chris22]

Baynes should be starting every game, not Morris.

Baynes gives the starting unit what it needs, interior defense and rebounding, plus great picks.

Morris gives the second unit what it needs, scoring.

It worked last year, Brad, go back to it.

[GreenEnvy]

I just don’t see how Gordon stays on the bench once he returns to the player he was.

If Brad wants him to be more assertive and not a spot-up shooter until he gets his rhythm back, fine.

But once he gets going, Brad is going to have to figure out what to do with Brown/Tatum, as I do think Baynes fills a need with the starters (defense and rebounding, doesn’t need touches).

[Celtics4ever]

Folks can't blame Hayward for last night, he did not play, guess it is time to go back to the drawing board, eh?

[Who]

I hated seeing Morris get the start last night. Morris has been playing so well in that 6th man role that I am loathe to see anything disrupt that. I think Stevens should have kept Morris in that bench role and started one of the end of bench guys instead. Semi or Theis. Even Yabu. Just to ensure stability in Morris' role and understanding of what is needed from him.

Don't mess with a good thing.

[Chris22]

I hated seeing Morris get the start last night. Morris has been playing so well in that 6th man role that I am loathe to see anything disrupt that. I think Stevens should have kept Morris in that bench role and started one of the end of bench guys instead. Semi or Theis. Even Yabu. Just to ensure stability in Morris' role and understanding of what is needed from him.

Don't mess with a good thing.

Start Baynes, leave Morris on the second unit.

Just like Doc, Brad has this ridiculous obsession with "going small."

[IDreamCeltics]

I hated seeing Morris get the start last night. Morris has been playing so well in that 6th man role that I am loathe to see anything disrupt that. I think Stevens should have kept Morris in that bench role and started one of the end of bench guys instead. Semi or Theis. Even Yabu. Just to ensure stability in Morris' role and understanding of what is needed from him.

Don't mess with a good thing.

Start Baynes, leave Morris on the second unit.

Just like Doc, Brad has this ridiculous obsession with "going small."

Agreed.  Brad has an almost Freudian obsession with proving that size isn't everything.

[hwangjini_1]

CBS recently started morris who is 6'9" and baynes who is 6'10". how is this small? and who is bigger on the celtics?

[ozgod]

CBS recently started morris who is 6'9" and baynes who is 6'10". how is this small? and who is bigger on the celtics?

Baynes is probably a bit bigger horizontally 

[nickagneta]

So is it safe to say that getting Hayward out of a starting position and Baynes into the starting lineup has made absolutely no difference whatsoever, especially given Baynes is still playing limited minutes while Hayward is still around 30 MPG since his being moved to the bench?

[Chris22]

CBS recently started morris who is 6'9" and baynes who is 6'10". how is this small? and who is bigger on the celtics?

And when CBS did that, we scored 45 points in the first quarter.

Which proves my point, thank you!