With the new "Big Three" who will fill out the starting 5

[blink]

I have to think that Bass starts the season as the starting PF.  He had a good year last year, and was part of the chemistry of our strong second 1/2 of the season. 

Neither Wilcox or Sully will be instantly ready to be a reliable starter.  Now further into the year...things could change.

[mmmmm]

Folks - the OP clearly was talking about the end of the season.

I think we all can agree that Bass has earned the right to start at the beginning of the season.

I think the OP was basically wondering if that would hold form to the end of the season, or if either Wilcox or Sully might supplant him by then.

It is a fair question.  Bass played great and has some exceptional skills (that mid range jumper is killer!).  But he also has some serious shortcomings in his game.

Its not rocket science to figure out that KG and Bass have overlapping offensive skills as 'stretch bigs'.  And that it would probably be better to pair KG with a big man who can score more reliably down low in the post.   On our team, the two obvious candidates for that role are Wilcox and Sully.

The question then becomes whether we think either of them will be able to rise to the occasion and take the spot from Bass.

The poll format kinda hurts both of them, though by splitting each of their votes across two positions.   'Might have been better to just list all three names and not worried about position.

The 4 & 5 position are not clearly and distinctly defined, the way Doc runs this team anyway.   Even after 'officially' moving to center last season, KG slid back and forth between the two spots all spring, depending on matchups and who his frontcourt partner was.

[mgent]

Etched in stone as far as I am concerned. When Bradley started and everyone else was healthy, KG/Bass/Pierce/Bradley/Rondo was far and away the best starting lineup defensively in the league and as good defensively, even better in some metrics, as the 2008 squad.

Bradley at SG. Bass at PF. Given health for everyone on the squad.

Some metrics also say Rondo/Allen/Pierce/KG/JO was the better lineup last year.

I think you have to be underrating how good KG was in 08.  Pierce was also quicker defensively 5 years ago, and it could be argued Rondo gave more effort earlier in his career than he did last year.  Rondo/Tony/Pierce/KG/Perkins was our second most used unit and I'd put them up against that lineup any time.  Much more size, length, and youth.

[fitzhickey]

Rondo/Terry
Lee/Terry/Christmas
Pierce/Green
Bass/Sully/Green
KG/Wilcox/Collins/Melo

That's what I see before Bradley gets back.

Rondo/Terry
Bradley/Lee/Terry

Once Bradley gets back

Exactly same thing for me, Joseph will get d-league minutes

[Jon]

Rondo/Terry
Lee/Terry/Christmas
Pierce/Green
Bass/Sully/Green
KG/Wilcox/Collins/Melo

That's what I see before Bradley gets back.

Rondo/Terry
Bradley/Lee/Terry

Once Bradley gets back

Exactly same thing for me, Joseph will get d-league minutes

The only somewhat problematic thing is the third string 2-guard minutes. 

It's fine to say that Terry will get minutes at the 2 once Bradley gets back, but how?

48 minutes split between Lee and Bradley alone really isn't even enough for them.  Throw in 10 minutes for Terry (who should only get about 10 minutes behind Rondo) and you have Lee and Bradley below 20 mpg. 

I really think that we may see more small ball with Green getting the 20 mpg at the 4, allowing Lee to get 10 mpg or at the 3 spot, thus freeing up 2 minutes.

[gar]

See poll which was intended to be linked to this thread:

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=59962.0

(can someone merge these?)

[xmuscularghandix]

I'm guessing Lee and Bass to start the season, Green and Bradley later on in the season and the playoffs.

Strongly doubt this. Doc has said that he sees Jeff Green as a SF and that going forward he will be on the perimeter. Maybe he plays stretch 4 at the end of games for spacing but there's no way he becomes the starting PF at any point. It'd be a huge mistake.

[diconzo]

It would be really nice to have Sullinger start. Bass could go back to being a bench scorer which I thought he was very good at. Also he would be joining Terry, Lee, and Green, not a bad bench mob!

[billysan]

Bass will start at PF at the beginning of the year. The offense is comfortable with him and Doc will not want to start two new players if at all possible. Timing would suffer for a while. We know that Lee will likely start until Bradley is healthy and he may take a few games to get fully into the groove. Bass in the lineup will expedite the process.

Wilcox and Green will be the first two off the bench with Terry for a while. They know the system and Terry is a vet who should pick it up quickly. Next will be Collins who only has to worry about Defense and setting picks, also a veteran.

After the first of the year, it could be a different story. That is when rookies and bench players may see a spike in minutes. If only to get them time on the floor to rest the veterans. If Darko is still with us, he could start and move KG to the PF with Bass coming off the bench.

[crimson_stallion]

The problem is, it's hard to consider KG and maybe even Pierce this year full-time members of a big 3 when KG is on the 5-5-5 plan and Pierce is no longer capable of sustaining two-way energy for more than 35 mpg. 

I think we need to transition to a pretty big 4 or a significantly above average 5 instead of a big 3 model.  Thus I'm hoping for a decent sized jump from Bradley and/or Green, or an awesome year from Sully to make our starting 5 a bit more than the Big 3 + role players squad it was last year.

I'm not so sure...people talk about it like the second a person gets 3 months older their physical abilities just get cut in half. 

Remember Pierce was injured last season and played through the much of the second half of the season with a strained MCL, and that's what limited his production.  Once healthy there's no reason to believe he won't continue to perform like he did before the all start break (when he was playing like a top  5 SF. 

Rondo, Pierce and KG are still elite players, despite their age.

[crimson_stallion]

Statistically the best clutch offensive players on this roster are:

Terry
Lee
Pierce
Bass
Garnett

I'd not be surprised if that is the lineup on the court at the end of games when we need offense.

If we need agile defense it will probably be:

Rondo
Bradley
Pierce
Bass
Garnett

If we need 'big' defense:

Rondo
Bradley
Pierce
Garnett
Collins

From a pure defensive standpoint against quicker wing players Green will probably defend better then Pierce, but I assure you Pierce will never leave the game in crunch time unless he is in foul trouble.

Offensively, Pierce and Terry both rank top 15 in the NBA in clutch scoring so they will spend a LOT of time on the court togegher at the end of games for sure.  They are probably two best pure scorers on this team as they can both score off the ball, create their own shot or create for a teammate.

KG will be in any offensive or defensive lineup Boston runs at the end of games too, so the Pierce / KG combo won't change.

Ther only question mark is at the PF spot - Bass vs Green. I dont think Wilcox will get many clutch minutes, but he';l get good 'early game' minutes I think.

[gar]

Everybody (65%) seems to think that Bass will start; but why would Danny go out and get Jason Collins and Darko if he was going to start KG at Center. Yes KG will play Center; but not on a regular basis during the 82 game season.

The nice thing about having Collins and Darko is that you can always have a 7 footer on the floor when Kevin sits and Kevin will sit on a regular basis. I think this is where Bass will get most of his minutes not as a starter. Wilcox and Sullinger can also play Center alongside KG.

[Celtics18]

Statistically the best clutch offensive players on this roster are:

Terry
Lee
Pierce
Bass
Garnett

I'd not be surprised if that is the lineup on the court at the end of games when we need offense.

I seriously doubt that there will be any instances where Rajon Rondo is not on the court down the stretch of close games.

[crimson_stallion]

Statistically the best clutch offensive players on this roster are:

Terry
Lee
Pierce
Bass
Garnett

I'd not be surprised if that is the lineup on the court at the end of games when we need offense.

I seriously doubt that there will be any instances where Rajon Rondo is not on the court down the stretch of close games.

That's probably true, but Jason Terry an Elite scorer in the clutch - he actually ranks above Paul Pierce, Lebron James and Dwyne Wade (among others) in clutch scoring Per 48 minutes.  In situation where Boston needs scoring in a hurry against a bigger backcourt (say NJ or Indiana) it wouldn't surprise me to see Terry and Lee out there.

I wouldn't wish to see Jason Terry trying to defend Joe Johnson, so this is where a Rondo/Terry back court could being an issue at the end of games!

[crimson_stallion]

Everybody (65%) seems to think that Bass will start; but why would Danny go out and get Jason Collins and Darko if he was going to start KG at Center. Yes KG will play Center; but not on a regular basis during the 82 game season.

The nice thing about having Collins and Darko is that you can always have a 7 footer on the floor when Kevin sits and Kevin will sit on a regular basis. I think this is where Bass will get most of his minutes not as a starter. Wilcox and Sullinger can also play Center alongside KG.

Because Jeff Green just got signed to a 9M/year contact, and Doc has specifically stated that his attraction in Green is the ability to go small and play him at the PF position.

If KG starts at PF and Bass comes off the bench, then the only leaves about 20 MPG for Jeff Green backing up Pierce at the SF spot, and somehow I think Doc and Danny have greater hopes for Green then to play him 20 minutes a night.

If Doc can get his head straight then on skills alone it wouldn't bother me so much to see Darko start at C with KG starting at PF - I honestly think Bass is better suited to a backup role anyway.  I just don't think Doc would do that if it means eating into Bass' and Green's minutes.