Kevin McHale says C's are coasting, and he agrees with their strategy

[Drucci]

Interesting analysis from McHale (excerpt from an nba.com article) :

The Celtics breathed a sign of relief this week with the news of Paul Pierce's foot, which is sprained after fears it might be broken. Losing their All-Star small forward for an extended period would have been a huge blow to the Eastern Conference contenders.

As it is, Boston is limping into the All-Star break thanks to injuries and inconsistency. The Celtics (30-16) continue to lead the downtrodden Atlantic Division despite going just 7-11 since Dec. 27. Longtime Celtics great and current NBA TV analyst Kevin McHale, though, said it's no time to panic.

"They are getting where they want to be," McHale said. "When you get to the age where Kevin Garnett is, and Paul Pierce and Ray Allen is, it's always going to be after the All-Star break. You do pace yourself. When you're 22 or 23 you're out there going gung ho, you have no idea what you're doing anyway. You're playing on energy and running around.

"As you get older you start conserving your energy and you start to realize you can be 40-10 at the All-Star break. If you play poorly down the stretch and don't get in the playoffs on a roll, healthy and playing well, it doesn't make any difference."

What do you think? Is the team really not playing to its true potential?

Aside from injuries and the lack of chemistry/continuity they bring, and well-known struggles (turnovers, poor 4th quarter offense), do you think the "cruising mentality" explains a lot of the C's results this season? Do you agree with this mentality?

I think it makes a lot of sense, and it would explain our struggles in the rebounding area. And I really think our vets are saving themselves as good as they can, although sometimes it's really hard because Doc overplays them (talking about Ray, of course).

[Donoghus]

Well yeah, the team is definitely not playing to its full potential.

I tend to side with McHale's comments to a degree.  In my eyes, its been apparent, on occasion, that they seem to be coasting a bit and maybe taking the regular season less seriously than what many fans would want them to.

I definitely think there is a "cruising mentality" going on with this team.  However, I also think that they've appeared to regressed a bit in respect to last season and you could argue that its age.  Injuries have played a major role in our struggles this season, also.

"Turning it on" at playoff time can be a dangerous mentality to have because there is no assurance that you'll be "firing on all cylinders" all of a sudden.  However with this team, the mentality might be the correct one.  They're old and they just can't bring the energy night in and night out right now.  Conservation could be very important.  Rest up and be healthy for May and June.

[Lucky17]

Well, it's one way to rationalize what's happening: we're better than our recent play, we're saving it up for when the games really count.

But I do agree that I'd rather finish the regular season strong than kill ourselves for HCA. Playing in the weakest division in the East is a blessing for us, in that we are assured no worse than a 3rd seed. This team can definitely win a playoff game or two on the road.

[GreenFaith1819]

Good Post, Drucci. Kevin Mchale makes some sense of what many of us have mentioned here over the last several weeks.

I think the hardest thing for me (and many of us) is that Boston crushed many opponents over the last 2 years, going 66-16 and 62 and 20 last year. Anything less than this is hard to accept.

But I can definitely see the age thing as affecting this season..as much as I sometimes wear the Green Tinted glasses I can definitely agree with him there.

[Moranis]

There is a big difference between coastin and injured.  The Celtics are injured and there is no guarantee they will ever be healthy

[LooseCannon]

Perhaps the Celtics are injured and refusing to over-compensate for being injured?  And if some players are being overplayed, perhaps pacing oneself is a solid strategy to avoid burning out.

[Jon]

I'm glad this is coming out, because I've felt this way for a long time.  And who exactly can blame them?  Not only are they getting older, Ainge's policy to sit anyone with so much as a paper cut (I realizing I'm exaggerating), has clearly sent the message to the players that winning is not the #1 priority in the regular season. 

And you know what, while it could backfire, I don't think there's an incontrovertible evidence that it will.  Think about two years ago, the Celtics went nuts every regular season game and then nearly got knocked out of the playoffs in the first (and second) round by clearly inferior teams. 

While it kinda sucks as a fan, as long as this team is ready to rumble by April, it's all good. 

[billysan]

No argument that McHale is likely right...problem is, this is a poor strategy if it goes beyond the two week healing up period around the break. As earlier stated, injuries heal but sometimes not fully and never back to 100% in many cases.

Take note of the Heat a couple of years back, Shaq would sit down and rest on the injured list for one of a variety of reasons while DWade kept the team somewhat afloat until the playoffs were in sight. This didnt workout so well when rest no longer helped Shaq's lack of athleticism and worn out legs.

The guys we have that are hurt are not young enough to recover quickly anymore. They are great for a short burst still, but not as reliable for the long haul. They need reduced minutes and lower workloads. It's really just that simple.

[dark_lord]

this team could easily fill the role of the 2k6 spurs.....veteran team, battled injuries, below expectations regular season......then win the title come postseason.