I?m not going to freak out about the G-League guys, but before we traded out Springer for Craig, we only had 10 playable players. Brad has made some big trades, but I am not comfortable at all about our young/developmental players. For that reason, I hope that we continue to trade our immediate picks for more future seconds.

If we can stay healthy for the playoffs, then I think you can argue that our roster is constructed properly since deep bench players shouldn?t be getting time, but we absolutely should fill that 15th spot sooner rather than later. Drew Peterson is okay and all, but it?d be nice to get a veteran for that spot.

And in games like last night, if our finesse guys are going to suck, then I want to see guys like Craig and Queta who will at least add toughness.

I liked having Springer. I miss him. He would have been useful last night.

I don't have a problem with the roster. They used their 1st round draft pick on an older rookie who was expected to be more NBA ready. He wasn't. So that didn't work out but I am fine with the intention behind it.

Same with J Walsh. He was a promising 2nd rounder who can defend well but he hasn't been able to develop his offense well enough yet. I expected him to be ready for some minutes this season. That hasn't been the case. I was looking at Hauser struggling defensively last night and wanted to suggest playing J Walsh but his offense is so bad that we can't trust him against a top team like Cleveland (or in the playoffs). So that didn't work out either. But again, I liked the intention behind it.

I was fine with that as a plan (Walsh, Scheierman). With Hauser as the proven backup wing and two young 3rd stringer wings that we hoped could step up and give some low minutes this season. It just didn't work out. 

Tillman was a good move which hasn't worked out. He was a good player who should be a reliable backup big man but he hasn't been able to perform physically like he has in the past. It looks like his body is breaking down. It doesn't seem to just be a temporary injury. More of a lasting issue. So we lost our most reliable backup big man. That weakened the bench further. Again, the intention was good. It just didn't work. And now we need to move on from Tillman in the summer. He is too unreliable.

I don't think much of Kornet or Queta. They are okay fodder as 3rd string bigs. They have had to play more because of both (a) injuries especially to Porzingis (b) Tillman's body breaking down. Kornet has done very well for us given his limitations. Queta is alright.

I liked Springer. I thought he got too much criticism. He was a valuable 3rd string guard. A high level defensive combo guard. I would have liked to have kept him but finances got in the way. Losing him weakened the back end of our bench. We did not replace him in FA after the trade deadline either. Davidson shows some promise but doesn't look the right fit for our team. I don't think we can rely on him. So we have no backup 3rd string guard that we can trust with Springer now gone. That needs to be addressed in the summer. Davidson needs to leave. I would have loved to have had Springer last night to give some minutes on Garland and D Mitchell.

The other issue is the backup big forward or combo forward position. Brissett did okay for us last year. I like Drew Peterson and believe he could have given us more minutes this year but the coach hasn't played him. He hasn't given him enough time to get comfortable and for his teammates to get comfortable with him. Drew Peterson is now untrustworthy for the playoffs. I see this more as a coaching failure than a talent failure because I do believe Drew Peterson could have given us short minutes this year. I do believe he could have replaced Brissett adequately (if not fully).

Due to the coach not trusting Drew Peterson, I do think Brad Stevens should have made more of an effort to get a backup PF/SF for the bench. That was a bad non-action. As was not replacing Springer. So those are two holes that could have been addressed.

Torey Craig was a nice pickup because he gave us some insurance behind Hauser. That helped hide the lack of progress from J Walsh / Scheierman. I do not see T Craig as good enough to surpass Hauser but more as insurance for Hauser if Hauser is injured or not playing well. Not a rotation regular.

So by and large, I think Stevens did a solid job with the roster entering the season. He gave coach a team that should have been 9 deep (Pritchard, Hauser, Tillman, Kornet) with interesting young 3rd stringers. Some of those things didn't work out. I am not mad at that. I am a bit disappointed that Stevens did not replace Springer and that Stevens did not try to upgrade Drew Peterson after the trade deadline through FA. That is because coach does not like Drew Peterson and because Springer was actually a useful deep reserve that we now no longer have. That is my only major complaint about the roster.

My guess is having 11 playable guys is actually more than most teams have.

But also: This is what happens when a team gets expensive. The end of the roster gets squeezed.

Interestingly, we are paying more for Scheierman and Tillman than we would if we signed veteran minimum guys off the street.  Walsh is the only discount.

Seems silly to include 2-way players.  How many 2-way players actually contribute across the league?  They can't play in the playoffs unless they are converted to a full-time roster spot.  So you are complaining about the last 3 bench players and an open roster spot. 
Teams in the playoffs generally cut down to playing their top 7 or 8 players.  As for injuries in the playoffs, this team already won a championship last season with KP missing most of the playoffs.  Are there any teams better equipped to deal with an injury in the playoffs?

What contenders are getting less out of roster spots 12 through 17? And that assumes that Craig is a net positive.

Even confining it to the top 15, 30% of our roster is deadweight.  That doesn't seem like an efficient use of resources.

Obviously, that's a very open-ended question. 

To me, the top eleven players belong on the roster, without any real question.

Porzingis, Tatum, Brown, White, Jrue, Pritchard, Horford, Hauser, Kornet, Queta, Craig

But, that leaves three roster spots, and empty spot, and three two-way spots that could be providing depth.  We are basically getting nothing from:

12.  Walsh
13.  Scheierman
14.  Tillman
15. Empty
16.  Peterson
17.  Davidson
18.  Watson

Is 7 out of 18 spots being filled with non-contributors too many?

In my mind, ideally we'd have another defensive/rebounding big (what Tillman was supposed to be), a defensive specialist (what Springer was supposed to be), and another player that could create their own shot (what Walker IV was supposed to be).

Did Brad give Joe the proper "groceries"?  Is Joe developing guys properly to at least use as minutes fodder in the regular season?  Are we screwed if somebody in the top-8 goes down for even a few games in the playoffs?

Most certainly is. Glad they added Craig, but these guys you listed are G-league caliber players. This is why I wanted to keep Walker and cut bait with Springer during the preseason. Really not happy that Brad has allowed this to go on. It was an issue from the very start of the season and I think this is the first time I?ve felt disappointed with the Celtics GM. Could really cost the C?s come playoff time if rotation players are out with injury/illness.

What contenders are getting less out of roster spots 12 through 17? And that assumes that Craig is a net positive.

Even confining it to the top 15, 30% of our roster is deadweight.  That doesn't seem like an efficient use of resources.

3rd stringers only. The players 11th-15th.

Eastern Conference

I will use my top 4 teams

BOS = Davidson, J Walsh, Scheierman, D Peterson, Queta
CLE = Javonte Green, J Tylon, Marcus Morris, T Thompson
MIL = Kevin Porter Jr, Tyler Smith, Jericho Sims
NYK = T Kolek, Cam Payne, L Shamet, P Dadiet

Do any of the other Eastern Contenders have any better depth in their 3rd stringers? Not much difference. MIL maybe. CLE slight edge due to Javonte Green? Yeah, okay. Then BOS and NY equal.

Western Conference

OKC = Dillon Jones, O Dieng, Kenrich Williams, A Mitchell
LAL = Bronny, S Milton, Goodwin, Reddish, Koloko
DEN = D Jordan, Z Nnaji, D Holmes III
GSW = K Knox, Gui Santos, T Jackson-Davis

Those top teams have little quality in their deep bench with the exception of GSW who have at least one good deep bench player in TJD. I am not familiar enough with Gui Santos.

LAC = P Mills, Cam Christie, M Beauchamp, Kobe Brown, Eubanks
MIN = B Hyland, Jaylen Clark, T Shannon, Luka Garza

DAL = Exum, J Hardy, K Edwards, OM Prosper, D Powell
HOU = Springer, Jeff Green, C Whitmore, J Tate, Londale
MEM = Konchar, Johnny Davis, GG Jackson, Jay Huff, Mo Bagley

Dallas, Houston and Memphis stand out as having good players in their 3rd stringers. Minny have interesting youth on their deep bench.  Not impressed by LAC except for maybe Eubanks.

Quote from: Roy H. on March 01, 2025, 02:41:45 PM

Quote from: keevsnick on March 01, 2025, 02:35:12 PM

My guess is having 11 playable guys is actually more than most teams have.

But also: This is what happens when a team gets expensive. The end of the roster gets squeezed.

Interestingly, we are paying more for Scheierman and Tillman than we would if we signed veteran minimum guys off the street.  Walsh is the only discount.

I doubt we'd be getting more from a random guy signed off the street. In fact i know we wouldn't becasue Craig is a random guy signed off the street and he's given you 2.5/1.3/.5 in 9 minutes a game since being signed.

The 11th-18th players on an NBA team generally just aren't very good, becasue if they were they'd be in the rotation somewhere else.

Craig has been with Boston for what, 3 games? It does take time for players to learn the offense/defense and build chemistry with teammates. I?d imagine if players like Craig or Walker were with the team from the start of the season, they?d contribute a whole lot more than a Walsh, Scheierman, Tillman, Peterson, Davidson, Watson.