Joe needs to do something different in the 3rds.

[liam]

Joe needs to try something different in these 3rd quarters. He can't keep trotting out the same lineup in the 3rd.  It's not working.

[BitterJim]

And if Joe plays a different lineup, then everyone can complain that he didn't play our best guys instead!

This problem existed before Joe. It's not because he isn't playing the wrong lineups.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

The best record in the NBA would indicate otherwise.

[keevsnick]

To be honest, I think they are just fine. They are 15-5 with the best net rating in the league, best 5 man lineup starting lineup and having played one of the more difficult schedules so far.

You try "fixing" the third and maybe you just hurt yourself somewhere else. Ultimately I think if you change nothing the third quarter should sort itself out to some extent, I don't see any real reason it should keep being so bad.

[liam]

Joe needs to play the bench more:

"The Celtics bench has performed quite admirably in the first two months of the season given their personnel. Collectively, the group is knocking down 39.3 percent of their 3s which ranks third among benches in the NBA. The reserves are also collectively playing less than every team in the NBA so far, which is no surprise given the firepower in the starting five following the additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday."

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/12/celtics-trade-rumors-brad-stevens-expected-to-seek-bench-help-report.html

[ozgod]

Joe needs to try something different in these 3rd quarters. He can't keep trotting out the same lineup in the 3rd.  It's not working.

Shouldn't the players be making the effort to play better in the 3rd? This is 100% an effort thing.

[liam]

Joe needs to try something different in these 3rd quarters. He can't keep trotting out the same lineup in the 3rd.  It's not working.

Shouldn't the players be making the effort to play better in the 3rd? This is 100% an effort thing.

They should, no doubt. But if Joe benched them to start 3rd quarters for a couple of games would that get their attention?

[droopdog7]

Joe needs to try something different in these 3rd quarters. He can't keep trotting out the same lineup in the 3rd.  It's not working.

We're like first in the first quarter.  Maybe we need to start slower?

I kid, I kid, sort of.  But maybe we get ahead so the more desperate team comes out and wins the third quarter?

[angryguy77]

I agree. My advice is he stay in the locker room and allow the assistants to finish the game.

[angryguy77]

To be honest, I think they are just fine. They are 15-5 with the best net rating in the league, best 5 man lineup starting lineup and having played one of the more difficult schedules so far.

You try "fixing" the third and maybe you just hurt yourself somewhere else. Ultimately I think if you change nothing the third quarter should sort itself out to some extent, I don't see any real reason it should keep being so bad.

The record is misleading as of late. They haven't looked good except for a few quarters the last couple weeks.
I remember people were pointing to their record last year when things started to go sideways.

Does this team look like a team that could win it all with they way they've been playing?

I know good teams can win ugly, but the majority of their games shouldn't be as ugly as they have been recently.

[Kernewek]

Any chance you could highlight which quarters those were?

[ozgod]

Joe needs to play the bench more:

"The Celtics bench has performed quite admirably in the first two months of the season given their personnel. Collectively, the group is knocking down 39.3 percent of their 3s which ranks third among benches in the NBA. The reserves are also collectively playing less than every team in the NBA so far, which is no surprise given the firepower in the starting five following the additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday."

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2023/12/celtics-trade-rumors-brad-stevens-expected-to-seek-bench-help-report.html

Mazz said after the game he is done tinkering with rotations and is set with his 9 man rotation of Tatum, Brown, KP, Jrue, White, Al, Sam, PP and (the hated hated hated) Luke, but there will be spot minutes for others based on injuries, SEGABABAs and when he is trying to look for a spark.

Mazzulla said afterward he is mostly done tinkering with rotations, at least for now, and intends to stick with Horford, Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, and Luke Kornet moving forward. But there will be injuries and absences, and when Kornet was a late scratch due to an adductor strain, Lamar Stevens took advantage of a rare chance against his former team. Even though he had just 4 points and a rebound, his energy was noticeable.

“You just always want to be ready,” Stevens said, “always want to be prepared.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/12/14/sports/celtics-lose-slow-start-win-their-second-straight-against-cavaliers-td-garden/

So the end of bench guys need to stay ready, being in the toughest role in the NBA - that of an end of bench guy who doesn't know when or if he will play, but has to be ready when he's called, and if he messes up it could be weeks before he gets to make amends again.

Mazzulla has established his rotation with Al Horford, Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet as his primary reserves. Horford has sparkled at times, even at age 37. Hauser has turned into a reliable knockdown shooter. Pritchard and Kornet have been inconsistent but had their moments. And while there be room for more experimentation, Mazzulla appears set.

“They’ve developed a tremendous identity from the first week of the season where everybody thought they weren’t good,” Mazzulla said. “They’ve turned into (maintstays). They’ve done a great job. And unit behind that, you like to have a lot of conversations with them because I do think there are games, and I learned this last year, whether it’s back-to-backs, whether there’s injuries, they have to play. We need (them) to keep the train moving and do what they’re supposed to do.”

As of now, the rest of the roster is going to get spot minutes. They have to expect not to play, but then also be ready when they do. This isn’t a rec league game they’re checking into. Stevens was thrown into a highly competitive game with some of the best athletes in the world.

“Those (end of the bench) guys probably have the toughest job in the league,’' Mazzulla said. “They don’t know when they’re going in and the four or five that we have do a tremendous job of coming in and working every single day and when it’s their time, I trust them.”

It’s a difficult responsibility being a bench player. You’re asked to stay ready for an opportunity that may never come, and then you wait for that January date to learn if you’re sticking around. It’s difficult to prove worthy of playing time strictly in practice. Players such as Stevens have to capitalize on their sliver of minutes, even last-minute opportunities like Thursday. The Celtics hope those players are as prepared as possible for their call.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/12/15/sports/little-used-reserve-lamar-stevens-gives-coach-joe-mazzulla-just-what-he-needs-his-bench/

[Kernewek]

Any chance you want to explain SEGABABAS - all I can see is Sonic-obsessed figures from Slavic folklore.

[Roy H.]

Any chance you want to explain SEGABABAS - all I can see is Sonic-obsessed figures from Slavic folklore.

SEcond GAme BAck to BAck

[Kernewek]

Any chance you want to explain SEGABABAS - all I can see is Sonic-obsessed figures from Slavic folklore.

SEcond GAme BAck to BAck

Aha. Thank you.

I'd prefer more talented players 7-9, of course, but like people have said in other threads it doesn't seem immediately obvious where those guys would come from.