Wait...what happened tonight!? 22 minutes for Jajuan?

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

I hope he gets to keep playing. I really like that Doc is running a lot of lineups that mix vets and youngsters, even if it is due to injuries -- but it's showing that the young guys bring some things to the table. JaJuan can play.

[StartOrien]

I thought in one of his pre-game interviews with Gorman Doc kinda hinted that he thought Triple J would be a regular member of the rotation by the end of the year. It could be that Doc's just slowly bringing him along and is afraid of giving him too man minutes too early.

Say what you will about Doc's stubbornness, but the decisions he makes seems to result in success when it comes to player progression. Whether that's just good drafting or his gameplanning is up for debate.

[StartOrien]

BTW - we all agree his nickname is Triple J, right?

[Chris]

I really can't see how anyone could think Johnson was anywhere near ready to play NBA minutes a few weeks ago.  Even if garbage time he looked completely lost and overwhelmed.

The first time he looked at all confident on the floor was last week (I forget the game), where he looked like he belonged in garbage time.  He was a completely different player than he was earlier in the season.  

Shortly after that, he is playing rotation minutes because of an injury.  I don't think there is any coincidence there.  I feel 100% confident had Bass gone down, and Johnson was playing like he was 2 weeks ago, Stiemsma would have gotten the minutes last night.  But, Johnson was ready, and he got the call, just as he should.

[MBunge]

Its not up to Doc to constantly get his #14 or #15 man minutes simply because when he is called upon to do his job he does it.

If JJJ is as good as Doc says he is, not what I say but what Doc says, there are many other coaches who would find ways to get him minutes. For example, when Boston suffered 3 double digit loses to Indy, Chicago and Indy, JJJ played a total of 5 minutes in those games.  Other coaches would find a way to get a 1st round draft pick in his rookie season more than 5 combined minutes in 3 blowout losses.

And while it's a players job to always be ready, to suggest that it's a good idea for a coach to let a player rot away on the bench until needed in an emergency (especially if it's a young player who the coach praises for his potential) is just silly.

Mike

No its not silly. Its the reality of the NBA. You can't have 15 player rotations.

I know this is futile, because certain people seem to think Doc Rivers is the only coach in the history of sports who's never made a decision or exercised any judgment.  That's because making a choice means there has to be more than one option and apparently there's never any possible alternative to anything Doc ever does.

However, we're not talking about 15 player rotations.  We're talking about 3 blowout losses where a team's first round draft pick played a total of 5 minutes.  Heck, let's throw in the 19, 23 and 29 point blowout wins over the Nets, Toronto and Orlando.  Put all 6 blowout games together and JJJ played a total of 20 minutes, or just barely more than 3 minutes a game in blowouts.

And KG's minutes in those same games?  Well, he played 34, 34 and 29 minutes in the blowout losses.  He played 25, 26 and 29 minutes in the blowout wins.  Arguing that KG wouldn't have gotten in shape if he'd played 2 or 3 minutes less in each game, with those minutes going to JJJ, doesn't pass the laugh test.

Again, if JJJ is as good as Doc says, many other coaches would find ways to get him on the court.

Mike

[Chris]

Its not up to Doc to constantly get his #14 or #15 man minutes simply because when he is called upon to do his job he does it.

If JJJ is as good as Doc says he is, not what I say but what Doc says, there are many other coaches who would find ways to get him minutes. For example, when Boston suffered 3 double digit loses to Indy, Chicago and Indy, JJJ played a total of 5 minutes in those games.  Other coaches would find a way to get a 1st round draft pick in his rookie season more than 5 combined minutes in 3 blowout losses.

And while it's a players job to always be ready, to suggest that it's a good idea for a coach to let a player rot away on the bench until needed in an emergency (especially if it's a young player who the coach praises for his potential) is just silly.

Mike

No its not silly. Its the reality of the NBA. You can't have 15 player rotations.

I know this is futile, because certain people seem to think Doc Rivers is the only coach in the history of sports who's never made a decision or exercised any judgment.  That's because making a choice means there has to be more than one option and apparently there's never any possible alternative to anything Doc ever does.

However, we're not talking about 15 player rotations.  We're talking about 3 blowout losses where a team's first round draft pick played a total of 5 minutes.  Heck, let's throw in the 19, 23 and 29 point blowout wins over the Nets, Toronto and Orlando.  Put all 6 blowout games together and JJJ played a total of 20 minutes, or just barely more than 3 minutes a game in blowouts.

And KG's minutes in those same games?  Well, he played 34, 34 and 29 minutes in the blowout losses.  He played 25, 26 and 29 minutes in the blowout wins.  Arguing that KG wouldn't have gotten in shape if he'd played 2 or 3 minutes less in each game, with those minutes going to JJJ, doesn't pass the laugh test.

Again, if JJJ is as good as Doc says, many other coaches would find ways to get him on the court.

Mike

And now that he is ready, he will find ways to get him on the court.  But at the time of those games, he looked completely lost out there, and throwing him out there for too long had the chance to do more damage than good, by killing any confidence he had been building in practice.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I really can't see how anyone could think Johnson was anywhere near ready to play NBA minutes a few weeks ago.  Even if garbage time he looked completely lost and overwhelmed.

The first time he looked at all confident on the floor was last week (I forget the game), where he looked like he belonged in garbage time.  He was a completely different player than he was earlier in the season. 

Shortly after that, he is playing rotation minutes because of an injury.  I don't think there is any coincidence there.  I feel 100% confident had Bass gone down, and Johnson was playing like he was 2 weeks ago, Stiemsma would have gotten the minutes last night.  But, Johnson was ready, and he got the call, just as he should.

I'm always one that says roll the dice more often on the youngsters, but I agree JJJ wasn't ready for the NBA. I thought Moore should have gotten some looks from the get go of the season, particularly considering Bradley getting looks and how NBA "ready" he was playing. But JJJ not so much.

[erisred]

Doc has said many times in the past that he doesn't give players court time, they have to earn it. Even in the earlier blowouts, Doc didn't just toss JaJuan into the game...he didn't *give* him minutes, he made him *earn* them.

How do you earn minutes from Doc?  You do it by convincing him that if you are playing that he will know what he's going to get from you. For example, Scal wasn't a great player, but Doc knew what he would get when he put him into the game. That was something he could plan for and count on. Rookies, even second year players, don't have a track record. Doc hasn't seen with his own eyes what they can and can not do on a consistent basis...veterans (even mediocre vets) have. For better or worse, Doc *is* going to favor what he knows over what he thinks might be.

For young players to get minutes they need to show Doc, first in practice and then in games, that they are going to perform (at least) one skill at a consistently high level. Powe, rebounded consistently, he played early. Delonte and Tony defended consistently, they played early. Bradley, eventually, defended consistently at a high level, so he gets to play. We also hear that Bradley keeps hitting "that shot" in practice, but not in the game...but consistent effort (and skill) on defense keeps him in the rotation even it the shot isn't falling, yet.  Moore's skill is more his shot than his defense and we hear that he is hitting that shot in practice, so he gets a chance and is great but his shot is streaky from game to game...so he doesn't get *consistent* time on the court, yet. We hear that Johnson has consistently been showing energy and a good shot in practice, so when there is an opening he gets floor time, and he produces. He will get more floor time now, and if he consistently produces he will continue to get floor time, but if he doesn't he'll be back on the bench.

I guess other people don't see, but how Doc operates seems pretty clear to me: a) you have to show him that you possess a skill set that will help the team win games, either in practice or from past experience (veterans), b) you have to show him that skill set, on a consistent basis, in practice, c) then you will get a chance to show off that skill set, consistently, during games, and d) do all the above and you are in the rotation. Fail (a) and you're gone. Fail (b) you sit on the bench and don't play until Danny an get rid of you. Fail (c) you go back to the bench and rarely play.


Added...

Oh, and if you can't master the rotations on defense you aren't going to play for Doc either. That's pretty clear.

[LooseCannon]

If JJJ is as good as Doc says he is, not what I say but what Doc says, there are many other coaches who would find ways to get him minutes. For example, when Boston suffered 3 double digit loses to Indy, Chicago and Indy, JJJ played a total of 5 minutes in those games.  Other coaches would find a way to get a 1st round draft pick in his rookie season more than 5 combined minutes in 3 blowout losses.

This team is good enough that even being down by 15 points at the end of three quarters against a good team isn't a large enough margin that Doc should just give up and throw in his garbage-time line-up for the last quarter.  Even down by ten with two minutes left isn't justification for quitting on the game.

If the first game vs the Pacers, the Celtics were down 8 after three quarters.  In the second game, they were down 13.  They were down by 8 points after three quarters against the Bulls (and 88-79 isn't a double-digit loss).  Those are close enough games that you are not going to shave minutes off of KG's playing time.

In terms of playing time, here's the prioritization.  First, Doc needed to get Brandon Bass integrated into the team since he was intended to be the top reserve.  So, any minutes KG didn't play early on should have gone to Bass.  And I think they did.  I'd say Doc has figured out Bass and how he fits into the team.  So, the next priority is establishing your contingencies for a Jermaine O'Neal injury.  In the playoffs, that is probably KG playing more center, but you don't want to wreck him in the regular season.  That means taking the minutes you would play KG as a center in the playoffs and giving them to Stiemsma and Wilcox.  I think Doc has figured out what he has with Stiemsma and he's working on how much he wants to play Wilcox as the primary backup for JO.  Once he figures out how much he trusts Wilcox, then he can work on finding time to develop JaJuan Johnson.

[TripleOT]

Why would Doc play a guy who looked lost on the court when he had a passel of bigs too play? JJJ must have clearly been at the bottom of Doc's list of bigs, or he would have seen real minutes before 1/3 of this compacted season was over.

However, JJJ showed some real good NBA instincts.  He certainly ins't hesitant to shoot, and has a great touch for a big.  He also showed defensive instincts last game, which shouldn't be surprising for a big conference DPOY last year, although sometimes college defense doesn't translate into pro defense.

With old timers like KG and JO calcifying before our very eyes, this team needs energy from our bis off the pine.  Bass gives them that, but is limited by his lack of true size. Steamer has the size, and will challenge every  shot, but has no offensive game. Wilcox is fragile and inconsistent.   JJJ stepping up into this rotation would be a blessing, although I don't see it happening unless he can hit the defensive boards real hard.