Cassell already complaining about minutes

[CelticsWhat35]

I didn't hear the interview, so I can't really comment.  I will say, though, that at this point, I prefer Eddie House over Cassell.  I was a big proponent of getting Sam Cassell, but I didn't anticipate that that would mean Eddie House would lose all of his minutes.  House has simply outperformed Cassell this season, as demonstrated below:

Points per 100 possessions:

Cassell: 103.5
House: 109.3
Rondo: 114.0

Points allowed per 100 possessions:

Cassell: 101.8
House: 100.3
Rondo:  99.3

Net points per 100 possessions:

Cassell: +1.7
House: +9.1
Rondo:  +14.7

The Celts have statistically been a much better team with House in there over Cassell.

Btw, I can't say that Sam is "more disgruntled" than House, though.  House sounded pretty darn disgruntled in the papers last week.

House got a chance in game 4 and he blew it.  He looked timid and he couldn't run the offense.  Cassell looked bad on the road two, but he did exactly what he came to do last night.  He hit some big shots to sustain the lead and he was finding the open men.  There will be a spot for House at times during the playoffs, but it should never be at the point guard position.

[celts55]

I must say, even though i am a big fam of Cassell, I don't see anything that he said as being a problem. He's right, it hard to play well when you only get 5 minutes. Can't argue with that. He said he's not getting minutes because Rondo was playing so well. Don't have a problem with that.
Than he says he was dissapointed not to be used more, but that he needed to show Doc that he can be more aggressive. First, he should be disappointed at not playing more. So should House, Scal, Tony Allen, pretty much any professional should want to play more. If they didn't they would never have made it to the pros. Now you assume that by aggressive Sam ment shoot more. I think perhaps he was refering to playing harder in general. Both on the offensive and defensive end, which is what he did last night.
Show me a guy who doesn't want to play and I'll show you a guy whos not playing.

[vinnie]

if doc "increses sam's role" he'll be the starter, and that would be terrable. Right now he takes waayyyyy to many minutes away from rondo (does rondo have a  stamina problem?)

and, it lets this hawks team back into games because rondo destroyes thier offensive sets, meanwhile, when sam's in, he gives effort, but he's 38 with bad knees, bibby and johnson drive on him like he's not thier....and it leads to a breakdown in team defense.

Eddie might not be a superb defender, but he can keep guys in front of him.

In game 5, Sam was one of the key reasons the Celtics won.  He and Leon Powe single-handedly dominated the second period and Sam was also solid in the fourth. 

[nickagneta]

I must say, even though i am a big fam of Cassell, I don't see anything that he said as being a problem. He's right, it hard to play well when you only get 5 minutes. Can't argue with that. He said he's not getting minutes because Rondo was playing so well. Don't have a problem with that.
Than he says he was dissapointed not to be used more, but that he needed to show Doc that he can be more aggressive. First, he should be disappointed at not playing more. So should House, Scal, Tony Allen, pretty much any professional should want to play more. If they didn't they would never have made it to the pros. Now you assume that by aggressive Sam ment shoot more. I think perhaps he was refering to playing harder in general. Both on the offensive and defensive end, which is what he did last night.
Show me a guy who doesn't want to play and I'll show you a guy whos not playing.

TP4U.

I interpretted the press conference remarks the same way and couldn't say how I felt about those remarks any better than you did.

[crownsy]

if doc "increses sam's role" he'll be the starter, and that would be terrable. Right now he takes waayyyyy to many minutes away from rondo (does rondo have a  stamina problem?)

and, it lets this hawks team back into games because rondo destroyes thier offensive sets, meanwhile, when sam's in, he gives effort, but he's 38 with bad knees, bibby and johnson drive on him like he's not thier....and it leads to a breakdown in team defense.

Eddie might not be a superb defender, but he can keep guys in front of him.

In game 5, Sam was one of the key reasons the Celtics won.  He and Leon Powe single-handedly dominated the second period and Sam was also solid in the fourth. 

yes, and that was because doc used him in a short set and he was hot.

I am not a detractor of sam, i understand his role. what i am a detractor of is him playing more than 6-8 minutes a night, which outside of game 4, he is doing quite consitantly.

Call me crazy, but i think a 21 year old who is also one of our best defenders can extend himself alittle beyond 30 minutes in the playoffs.

[hpantazo]

if doc "increses sam's role" he'll be the starter, and that would be terrable. Right now he takes waayyyyy to many minutes away from rondo (does rondo have a  stamina problem?)

and, it lets this hawks team back into games because rondo destroyes thier offensive sets, meanwhile, when sam's in, he gives effort, but he's 38 with bad knees, bibby and johnson drive on him like he's not thier....and it leads to a breakdown in team defense.

Eddie might not be a superb defender, but he can keep guys in front of him.

In game 5, Sam was one of the key reasons the Celtics won.  He and Leon Powe single-handedly dominated the second period and Sam was also solid in the fourth. 

yes, and that was because doc used him in a short set and he was hot.

I am not a detractor of sam, i understand his role. what i am a detractor of is him playing more than 6-8 minutes a night, which outside of game 4, he is doing quite consitantly.

Call me crazy, but i think a 21 year old who is also one of our best defenders can extend himself alittle beyond 30 minutes in the playoffs.

[/b]

Well, this is only the first round. If Rondo extends himself too much now, considering the intensity of playoff games, he will be pretty fatigued, beaten up, and possibly injured if/when the team makes it to the latter rounds of the playoffs. I am happy with Doc using same to give Rondo as much rest as he can get away with. That is why sam is here.

[Redz]

I must say, even though i am a big fam of Cassell, I don't see anything that he said as being a problem. He's right, it hard to play well when you only get 5 minutes. Can't argue with that. He said he's not getting minutes because Rondo was playing so well. Don't have a problem with that.
Than he says he was dissapointed not to be used more, but that he needed to show Doc that he can be more aggressive. First, he should be disappointed at not playing more. So should House, Scal, Tony Allen, pretty much any professional should want to play more. If they didn't they would never have made it to the pros. Now you assume that by aggressive Sam ment shoot more. I think perhaps he was refering to playing harder in general. Both on the offensive and defensive end, which is what he did last night.
Show me a guy who doesn't want to play and I'll show you a guy whos not playing.

Yup.  TP from me too. 

Sam may have played near his best game as a Celtic last night.  Very much under control.  His shots were all appropriate (and no, I'm not saying that just because he may a bunch of them).  He moved the ball nicely last night and even chipped in on D a bit. 

It's funny, you can pretty much tell when Sam's shots are going to go in before they even leave his hand.  Last night he had a smooth release on his shots and he wasn't rushing them.  When Sam is shooting well the ball seems to sit on the back of his hand for a fraction longer.

Anyhow...Sam's been a bit frustrating to watch at times, but he came up with a big time effort last night. 

It's not always easy but I've said before and I'll say it again:

I LOVE SAM

[wiley]

As Who mentioned a while back (a month ago?), the job of which bench players get minutes is not so easy with this team since the addition of P.J. and Sam.....What I hope is that Doc approaches this complexity with fearlessness, that is, with zero regard for what any player says about minutes, trying to please the stronger personalities, etc....

I think Sam's style of play is not a perfect fit for these Celtics.....which means that he has to be HITTING his jumpers like he did in game 5.  Otherwise, I think he hurts us (mainly due to his age, defense, etc...).  Cousy was right when he said that Sam takes the Celts out of what they do best, what they've succeeded with all year long, which is ball movement....I think Couz said something to the effect of....well, he better his those jumpers... otherwise he's going to hurt us.....

I'm not saying he's worse than House, but House has had one whole year to know exactly what the Celtics expect of him.  He knows through experience that if his defense lags he'll be on the bench in a flash, so he busts his butt when he's on the floor, and he's younger than Cassell.  Sam is clearly a truer and more seasoned PG than House, and I'm very happy to have him, but he's going to need to play with all the urgency and headiness he can muster, and hit his shots.  

Sam is a cool player, while both House and Tony Allen are hot, which means they boost the energy of the team when they're on the floor.   I would say Pierce and Ray Allen are both cool players while Garnett is hot.  Balancing the effortlessness of the cool players and the urgency of the hot players is part of a coaches job.  So Doc, next time you feel a chill, stick House and/or Allen in the game and play attack defense and offense....

One combo I wouldn't play around with is Big Baby and Powe.  It's too late to tinker with that duo.  Give Powe minutes and let Baby help out when Perk or Leon is in foul trouble.  Also, I think Doc can tinker with Big baby over Perkins if he wants/needs to, but keep Leon on the floor.....

[guava_wrench]

48 minutes in game

If rondo gets 36-38 minutes, Cassell is left with 5 to 6 minutes a half. He would like more time, but Rondo should be on the court a lot.

The idea of saving Rondo from wear and tear seems misguided, since avoiding an extra game is more important than less minutes in a single game.

[SShoreFan]

I must say, even though i am a big fam of Cassell, I don't see anything that he said as being a problem. He's right, it hard to play well when you only get 5 minutes. Can't argue with that. He said he's not getting minutes because Rondo was playing so well. Don't have a problem with that.
Than he says he was dissapointed not to be used more, but that he needed to show Doc that he can be more aggressive. First, he should be disappointed at not playing more. So should House, Scal, Tony Allen, pretty much any professional should want to play more. If they didn't they would never have made it to the pros. Now you assume that by aggressive Sam ment shoot more. I think perhaps he was refering to playing harder in general. Both on the offensive and defensive end, which is what he did last night.
Show me a guy who doesn't want to play and I'll show you a guy whos not playing.

Yup.  TP from me too. 


Sam may have played near his best game as a Celtic last night.  Very much under control.  His shots were all appropriate (and no, I'm not saying that just because he may a bunch of them).  He moved the ball nicely last night and even chipped in on D a bit. 

It's funny, you can pretty much tell when Sam's shots are going to go in before they even leave his hand.  Last night he had a smooth release on his shots and he wasn't rushing them.  When Sam is shooting well the ball seems to sit on the back of his hand for a fraction longer.

Anyhow...Sam's been a bit frustrating to watch at times, but he came up with a big time effort last night. 

It's not always easy but I've said before and I'll say it again:

I LOVE SAM

Sam's fine.  He knew coming in his role and he's fine. 

House is without a doubt the odd man out - he and Tony Allen.

Just hoping Gabe Pruitt doesn't start complaining about minutes too.

[EJPLAYA]

As Who mentioned a while back (a month ago?), the job of which bench players get minutes is not so easy with this team since the addition of P.J. and Sam.....What I hope is that Doc approaches this complexity with fearlessness, that is, with zero regard for what any player says about minutes, trying to please the stronger personalities, etc....

I think Sam's style of play is not a perfect fit for these Celtics.....which means that he has to be HITTING his jumpers like he did in game 5.  Otherwise, I think he hurts us (mainly due to his age, defense, etc...).  Cousy was right when he said that Sam takes the Celts out of what they do best, what they've succeeded with all year long, which is ball movement....I think Couz said something to the effect of....well, he better his those jumpers... otherwise he's going to hurt us.....

I'm not saying he's worse than House, but House has had one whole year to know exactly what the Celtics expect of him.  He knows through experience that if his defense lags he'll be on the bench in a flash, so he busts his butt when he's on the floor, and he's younger than Cassell.  Sam is clearly a truer and more seasoned PG than House, and I'm very happy to have him, but he's going to need to play with all the urgency and headiness he can muster, and hit his shots.  

Sam is a cool player, while both House and Tony Allen are hot, which means they boost the energy of the team when they're on the floor.   I would say Pierce and Ray Allen are both cool players while Garnett is hot.  Balancing the effortlessness of the cool players and the urgency of the hot players is part of a coaches job.  So Doc, next time you feel a chill, stick House and/or Allen in the game and play attack defense and offense....

One combo I wouldn't play around with is Big Baby and Powe.  It's too late to tinker with that duo.  Give Powe minutes and let Baby help out when Perk or Leon is in foul trouble.  Also, I think Doc can tinker with Big baby over Perkins if he wants/needs to, but keep Leon on the floor.....

Very well said Wiley! I agree 100% with everything except the TA part. Every minute that TA gets should be Posey's. TA showed you last night what you get out of him once again. Dumb player making stupid mistakes and turnovers.

As fas as House vs. Cassell. Cassell did not play good D last night. He was playing "matador" defense. He could get beat off the dribble by Perk. That reach in foul may not have been a foul, but it was a lazy play out of position. That to go along with the other times he got blown past.

As far as people saying he "found the open man"?! He had one assist in 15 minutes. Come on! All Sam did last night was hit a couple shots more than he has been most games. He launched 8 shots in 15 minutes. If he had missed 3 more of them like usual the discussion is once again that he is a ball hog not trying to stay within the offense. I would much rather have Sam hitting his shots. Don't get me wrong. If you give House those same shots and PT, he will hit more of them, and he will also play better defense and get guys involved more. How can people not see that?!

[winsomme]

As Who mentioned a while back (a month ago?), the job of which bench players get minutes is not so easy with this team since the addition of P.J. and Sam.....What I hope is that Doc approaches this complexity with fearlessness, that is, with zero regard for what any player says about minutes, trying to please the stronger personalities, etc....

I think Sam's style of play is not a perfect fit for these Celtics.....which means that he has to be HITTING his jumpers like he did in game 5.  Otherwise, I think he hurts us (mainly due to his age, defense, etc...).  Cousy was right when he said that Sam takes the Celts out of what they do best, what they've succeeded with all year long, which is ball movement....I think Couz said something to the effect of....well, he better his those jumpers... otherwise he's going to hurt us.....

I'm not saying he's worse than House, but House has had one whole year to know exactly what the Celtics expect of him.  He knows through experience that if his defense lags he'll be on the bench in a flash, so he busts his butt when he's on the floor, and he's younger than Cassell.  Sam is clearly a truer and more seasoned PG than House, and I'm very happy to have him, but he's going to need to play with all the urgency and headiness he can muster, and hit his shots.  

Sam is a cool player, while both House and Tony Allen are hot, which means they boost the energy of the team when they're on the floor.   I would say Pierce and Ray Allen are both cool players while Garnett is hot.  Balancing the effortlessness of the cool players and the urgency of the hot players is part of a coaches job.  So Doc, next time you feel a chill, stick House and/or Allen in the game and play attack defense and offense....

One combo I wouldn't play around with is Big Baby and Powe.  It's too late to tinker with that duo.  Give Powe minutes and let Baby help out when Perk or Leon is in foul trouble.  Also, I think Doc can tinker with Big baby over Perkins if he wants/needs to, but keep Leon on the floor.....

Very well said Wiley! I agree 100% with everything except the TA part. Every minute that TA gets should be Posey's. TA showed you last night what you get out of him once again. Dumb player making stupid mistakes and turnovers.

As fas as House vs. Cassell. Cassell did not play good D last night. He was playing "matador" defense. He could get beat off the dribble by Perk. That reach in foul may not have been a foul, but it was a lazy play out of position. That to go along with the other times he got blown past.

As far as people saying he "found the open man"?! He had one assist in 15 minutes. Come on! All Sam did last night was hit a couple shots more than he has been most games. He launched 8 shots in 15 minutes. If he had missed 3 more of them like usual the discussion is once again that he is a ball hog not trying to stay within the offense. I would much rather have Sam hitting his shots. Don't get me wrong. If you give House those same shots and PT, he will hit more of them, and he will also play better defense and get guys involved more. How can people not see that?!

but with House, you don't have a PG on the floor that can truely handle the ball under pressure.

there are trade off's.

House plays with more energy and plays better D, but Cassell is a PG that has a long track record of not getting rattled.

and both guys are shot-makers.

[RAcker]

Listen, folks, last night was a perfect example of what Sam's role IS and SHOULD BE.  He gave a nice spark off the bench in the 2nd and 4th, helped us maintain and even expand on our lead and really did a decent job on defense as well.

He wants to be on the court.  All competitors do.  He was brought here to spot Rondo, however.  What he did last night and the way Doc used him with the Three Party was perfect.  If we do this again in game 6, we should have a great chance to close this thing out without a game 7.

[Kuberski33]

Sam's fine.  He knew coming in his role and he's fine. 

House is without a doubt the odd man out - he and Tony Allen.

Just hoping Gabe Pruitt doesn't start complaining about minutes too.

Poe apparently made a reference to lack of minutes when he talked to Dickerson.  As Dickerson reported last night during the game, Poe told him he came to the realization that he had to make the most of whatever minutes he was given -- translation in jock speak -- he felt he deserved more PT.

Wanting more minutes is a natural reaction from a bench player on any level from CYO or Travel Teams to NBA.  It's when the players start sulking and publicly complaining about it that you have a problem.

Long term, Danny needs to adjust the roster and Doc needs firmly established roles - otherwise he's going to be juggling egos for the foreseeable future and the first time something doesn't go right -- as we saw in Atlanta -- this stuff starts to come out.  Winning keeps all of this in check -- and losing makes it unravel.

[EJPLAYA]

As Who mentioned a while back (a month ago?), the job of which bench players get minutes is not so easy with this team since the addition of P.J. and Sam.....What I hope is that Doc approaches this complexity with fearlessness, that is, with zero regard for what any player says about minutes, trying to please the stronger personalities, etc....

I think Sam's style of play is not a perfect fit for these Celtics.....which means that he has to be HITTING his jumpers like he did in game 5.  Otherwise, I think he hurts us (mainly due to his age, defense, etc...).  Cousy was right when he said that Sam takes the Celts out of what they do best, what they've succeeded with all year long, which is ball movement....I think Couz said something to the effect of....well, he better his those jumpers... otherwise he's going to hurt us.....

I'm not saying he's worse than House, but House has had one whole year to know exactly what the Celtics expect of him.  He knows through experience that if his defense lags he'll be on the bench in a flash, so he busts his butt when he's on the floor, and he's younger than Cassell.  Sam is clearly a truer and more seasoned PG than House, and I'm very happy to have him, but he's going to need to play with all the urgency and headiness he can muster, and hit his shots.  

Sam is a cool player, while both House and Tony Allen are hot, which means they boost the energy of the team when they're on the floor.   I would say Pierce and Ray Allen are both cool players while Garnett is hot.  Balancing the effortlessness of the cool players and the urgency of the hot players is part of a coaches job.  So Doc, next time you feel a chill, stick House and/or Allen in the game and play attack defense and offense....

One combo I wouldn't play around with is Big Baby and Powe.  It's too late to tinker with that duo.  Give Powe minutes and let Baby help out when Perk or Leon is in foul trouble.  Also, I think Doc can tinker with Big baby over Perkins if he wants/needs to, but keep Leon on the floor.....

Very well said Wiley! I agree 100% with everything except the TA part. Every minute that TA gets should be Posey's. TA showed you last night what you get out of him once again. Dumb player making stupid mistakes and turnovers.

As fas as House vs. Cassell. Cassell did not play good D last night. He was playing "matador" defense. He could get beat off the dribble by Perk. That reach in foul may not have been a foul, but it was a lazy play out of position. That to go along with the other times he got blown past.

As far as people saying he "found the open man"?! He had one assist in 15 minutes. Come on! All Sam did last night was hit a couple shots more than he has been most games. He launched 8 shots in 15 minutes. If he had missed 3 more of them like usual the discussion is once again that he is a ball hog not trying to stay within the offense. I would much rather have Sam hitting his shots. Don't get me wrong. If you give House those same shots and PT, he will hit more of them, and he will also play better defense and get guys involved more. How can people not see that?!

but with House, you don't have a PG on the floor that can truely handle the ball under pressure.

there are trade off's.

House plays with more energy and plays better D, but Cassell is a PG that has a long track record of not getting rattled.

and both guys are shot-makers.

Yeah. Just like last night when he dribbled it up the sideline into a trap and had to use a time out. Great PG skills there Sam! He was getting pressured when he was in there and his answer was to pass the ball 3-4 times immediately to Ray. Kind of sounds like what House does out there! Every single skill set other than possibly ball handling he is better at than Sam. If Sam has the ball over half court he doesn't pass it, so why not let the better shooter shoot the ball?!

I'm tired of hearing of what Sam USED to do. He takes us out of what we do well as a team. That's enough for me.