The End of Gino Time in the Ime Era

[Roy H.]

Simple question:  does Ime leave the starters in too long in blowouts?

I understand why, even with 25 point leads at the beginning of the fourth, Ime leaves our starters in.  Our bench — particularly the deep bench — absolutely sucks, and they can’t hold leads.

But, does that philosophy go too far?  Last night, for instance, we’re up 27 points with six minutes left, and Tatum is still in there.  What is Ime’s thinking in terms of risk versus reward?

[Celtics2021]

Tatum ultimately only played 34 minutes, and the last time he’d been out the Kings went on a huge run, so my guess is he hadn’t played too many minutes last night and Ime wanted to make sure that when Tatum next came out, he was done for the night.

We’ve seen multiple games this year where the starters got to rest the entire 4th, so I don’t think there’s a specific strategy, and is probably decided from game-to-game depending on the particulars of the situation.

[Kuberski33]

I think he does. Though he could be trying to instill a mindset in his rotation to not take their foot off the gas. One thing that has really impressed me about this run since January is that they don't let up too often.  I mean doing it sometimes is inevitable (the Detroit loss comes to mind) but they're also not machines.

And last night he did rest up Horford and Rob, and had Theis playing over 20 minutes.  Also the defense did not let up all the way to the end.

But at some point he needs to start easing up on the Jay's minutes ahead of the playoffs.

[footey]

I wish Ime would give Stauskas or Hauser some minutes to see if he can handle defensive rotations with the starters. We know they can shoot.

[liam]

I wish Ime would give Stauskas or Hauser some minutes to see if he can handle defensive rotations with the starters. We know they can shoot.

Maybe next year he'll expand the rotation. This year was a trial year with a lot of early issues. If we are locked to a playoff spot at any point ( doubtful...) we might see some of the deep bench get some run.

[Neurotic Guy]

Only 11 games left. Jayson seems stronger now than earlier in the year.  The #1 person to get rest is Al. Then Rob for rest and injury avoidance.  I’m pretty sure Al will play only 1 of the 2 btb games they have upcoming so it’s only 9 games left for Al.  I think as playoff picture gets clearer Ime will provide rest accordingly if he can. I also think there’s a few days respite while the play-ins happen.   Definitely want Theis, PP and AN if he recovers to get some extra court time.

I love the time the rotation is getting to come together - build chemistry in the units.   Also hoping for a Nesmith miracle - comes back and finds that 3.  DW could find his shot too - that would be good.

[Big333223]

On the other hand, Tatum is 5th in the league in mpg (36.3 mpg). Isn't that exactly what you want your all star 24 year old to play, 36 mpg?

The next Celtic on the list is Jaylen at 36th (33.7 mpg) and then Marcus is 50th (32.7) so it's not like he's running his guys into the ground.

[ETNCeltics]

In the 3rd quarter, Tatum went out with 5:49 left, and a 22 point lead. Less than 3 min later, Ime had to take a timeout and put Tatum back in because the lead was down to 12.

It's highly likely Ime didn't trust his team to hold the lead without Tatum on the floor, so he left him in longer than he would have preferred. When it got inside of 6 minutes with a 20+ point lead, he finally felt comfortable.

Some fans want to dismiss +/-, but Tatum's +40 last night wasn't an accident. The contrast with and without him last night was stark.

[gouki88]

I actually think Ime’s rotations have been better, with Grant, PP & Theis getting closer to the right amount of run time

[RockinRyA]

From what I read from other fans' forums, it seems the unwritten rule is the leading team wont pull the starters out until the losing team pull theirs.

[Kiorrik]

Average minutes per game are the same as last season. Down to the second.

They're young guys.

They needed to learn to finish games (see earlier this season).

I don't see any big issues.

[Csfan1984]

Got to make sure these guys have stamina to last at least 38 mins come playoffs. Under 25 years old even full games should be a cake walk.

[celts55]

I’m torn. I’ve seen this team blow a bunch of huge leads, so I understand his hesitation, but I was shocked when he put Brown back in while up 25 and like 4 minutes to go.

[Surferdad]

I wish Ime would give Stauskas or Hauser some minutes to see if he can handle defensive rotations with the starters. We know they can shoot.

Maybe next year he'll expand the rotation. This year was a trial year with a lot of early issues. If we are locked to a playoff spot at any point ( doubtful...) we might see some of the deep bench get some run.

Not likely to happen but if shots aren't falling, I'd like to see Ime try Stauskas as 1st guard off the bench in the 1st quarter.  PP still gets his minutes in the beginning of the 2nd and 4th quarters. He has said that this is his role on the team since the trade deadline, so no need to change that.

[RJD1974]

I’m torn. I’ve seen this team blow a bunch of huge leads, so I understand his hesitation, but I was shocked when he put Brown back in while up 25 and like 4 minutes to go.

He was put back in with almost six minutes left, and was taken out of the game less than two minutes later, after he hit a couple free throws. I assume Ime let him go back in to hit 30.