Cassell already complaining about minutes

[tanner]

Don't really mind Sam and his shoot-first mentality and ball-pounding tendencies (as much as some do) but not when he starts pulling this crap about his minutes.  For all his talk about fitting in with the team and supporting Rondo, Sam apparently is still all about Sam.

Anybody catch Sam and KG's post-game press conference last night?  Asked to comment on his performance in game 5, Cassell did not sound like someone who just had a good game and helped his team to a win. Instead he said he was just trying to get minutes out there and that it's hard to do things when you get only 4-5 minutes (like he did in the previous game) since Rondo's playing so well. 

At TNT's halftime show, Kenny Smith revealed a recent conversation he had with Cassell. Kenny said Sam's disappointed he wasn't used down the stretch in game 4 and said he was going to show Doc what he's got and come out more aggressive next game (which means shoot more in Sam's world in case there's still who don't know--this is exactly what got him on the bench in game 4. lucky for him, his shots were falling in by game 5.).

I understand players want to play but it leaves such a bad taste in the mouth when a player who just got on board midway through the season and hasn't even learned over half of the plays sounds more disgruntled than a player (ie, Eddie House) who's been with the team from the start and whose minutes he's taken entirely.

I don't know how Doc deals with Sam's lobbying for more minutes.  I suspect it's worked to an extent since Rondo's still averaging only 30 or so minutes in the playoffs when it's clear he should be playing more.  I still like Sam as backup PG over Eddie so hope KG can straighten Cassell out before he causes unnecessary negativity in the locker room.

[Roy Hobbs]

I didn't hear the interview, so I can't really comment.  I will say, though, that at this point, I prefer Eddie House over Cassell.  I was a big proponent of getting Sam Cassell, but I didn't anticipate that that would mean Eddie House would lose all of his minutes.  House has simply outperformed Cassell this season, as demonstrated below:

Points per 100 possessions:

Cassell: 103.5
House: 109.3
Rondo: 114.0

Points allowed per 100 possessions:

Cassell: 101.8
House: 100.3
Rondo:  99.3

Net points per 100 possessions:

Cassell: +1.7
House: +9.1
Rondo:  +14.7

The Celts have statistically been a much better team with House in there over Cassell.

Btw, I can't say that Sam is "more disgruntled" than House, though.  House sounded pretty darn disgruntled in the papers last week.

[crownsy]

agreed, hopefully it doesn't lead to anything.

to be fair though, Sam has been nothing but rondo's biggest supporter when asked any question about his play, and is often the first one to greet rondo after an impressive series with that trademark sam smile and a high five.

So, at least on a "for TV level" sam seems to be seperating his desire for minutes from his support of his teamate.

as to eddie, thats actually the only rotation move doc has made that i hate. I understand if you want to split time, but at certain points, why is eddie not out there? fustrating...

Like you roy, i assumed sam would get 4-6 minutes of run a night with eddie getting 4 or so to make up the ten i expected rondo to sit. instead, rondo sits 12 minutes a night and they all go to sam.

[Petro]

I saw the same stuff TV and yes I agree I think Sam when brought on board said all the right things thinking he would beat out Rondo eventually in his mind and heart that's what he believed.But that's how it goes im sure Eddie House is p---ed off aswell.I also believe Sam will have has role increased as this thing goes along the fact that he can make shots is huge now Rondo gives you a different set of skills so depends on what we need but a guy like Sam has a huge EGO that was obvious last night.

[crownsy]

if doc "increses sam's role" he'll be the starter, and that would be terrable. Right now he takes waayyyyy to many minutes away from rondo (does rondo have a  stamina problem?)

and, it lets this hawks team back into games because rondo destroyes thier offensive sets, meanwhile, when sam's in, he gives effort, but he's 38 with bad knees, bibby and johnson drive on him like he's not thier....and it leads to a breakdown in team defense.

Eddie might not be a superb defender, but he can keep guys in front of him.

[nickagneta]

I watched the press conference last night and it just did not come off to me like Sam Cassell was complaining about minutes during the interview. He mentionedwanting to play more to help the team and mentioned how tough that was because Rondo is playing so well and its tough to take him off the court, but I didn't get the sense that he was complaining or being selfish.

Sam's game over the years has been a game where looking for his own shot because he could hit that shot was a large part of his game. But he was still a pretty darn good point guard. Some would call his game selfish. But I don't think that the Sam I have seen in interviews is a selfish man.

I got that he knew his role and was happy to be a part of the team and wanted to contribute more if he could. Not that he was complaining that he needed more minutes. I just didn't interpret it that way.

[KJ33]

I didn't hear the interview, so I can't really comment.  I will say, though, that at this point, I prefer Eddie House over Cassell.  I was a big proponent of getting Sam Cassell, but I didn't anticipate that that would mean Eddie House would lose all of his minutes.  House has simply outperformed Cassell this season, as demonstrated below:

Points per 100 possessions:

Cassell: 103.5
House: 109.3
Rondo: 114.0

Points allowed per 100 possessions:

Cassell: 101.8
House: 100.3
Rondo:  99.3

Net points per 100 possessions:

Cassell: +1.7
House: +9.1
Rondo:  +14.7

The Celts have statistically been a much better team with House in there over Cassell.

Btw, I can't say that Sam is "more disgruntled" than House, though.  House sounded pretty darn disgruntled in the papers last week.

That's a pretty simplistic argument to use to suggest the Celts are better with House on the floor than Cassell. Perhaps you should share these #s with Doc and he would be enlightened about how obvious it is that House should be out there.  This isn't fantasy baseball, you can't make determinations about who should play and how much based on mere statistics.  Cassell, whatever parts of his game you may not like, is a more natural point guard than House, so fits the role of backing up Rondo better.  At least that is the way Doc sees it, and it is not because he hasn't seen the stats that show how wrong he is.  Basketball is about fit and style, these aren't batters that come up and face pitchers mano-a-mano, statistics will never be the thing that basketball coaches use to determine who plays or who doesn't. 

Hopefully, the playoffs will be a long run, there will come a time when House comes in and hits some big shots in some crucial games, I guess Celts fans have a hard time seeing more than one game at a time evidenced by the thread that says "the series was lost in Game 3."

[crownsy]

all well and good, but the question here is really A) why is sam talking about his minutes when he's playing FAR MORE than a backup PG should to a starting PG?

Espcially a starting PG with a 10-1 TO ratio?

I don't mind sam, he is what he is. but why is he playing extended minutes when rondo is destroying the hawks? im willing to give you last night was a blow out, but he played extended minutes in games 3 and 4 to. In game 4 he persoanlly put the hawks +6 with 3 quick shots with over 16 left in the shot clock, 2 without passing once.

Thats not a "true PG" to me.

[nickagneta]

all well and good, but the question here is really A) why is sam talking about his minutes when he's playing FAR MORE than a backup PG should to a starting PG?

Espcially a starting PG with a 10-1 TO ratio?

I don't mind sam, he is what he is. but why is he playing extended minutes when rondo is destroying the hawks? im willing to give you last night was a blow out, but he played extended minutes in games 3 and 4 to. In game 4 he persoanlly put the hawks +6 with 3 quick shots with over 16 left in the shot clock, 2 without passing once.

Thats not a "true PG" to me.

Since when is playing 7 minutes in game 4 extended minutes. He played the same minutes as Eddie House and had the same production, exactly none.

As well as Rondo is playing he is going to need to sit in every game we play, he can't go 48 minutes per game. Sam is averaging 13 MPG, 7 PPG, 1.4 APG with a 3.5/1 assists to turnover ratio. It's not Rondo's otherworldly number, but it is still an excellent number.

And he is shooting out of his mind, which seemed to be the number one argument against him before the playoffs started. People didn't want someone looking for their own shot that was shooting 40% FG% and 30% 3PTFG%. But he is shooting 48% FG% and 50% 3PTFG%. If Sam can keep that up, I have no problem with him shooting.

And...when he is in there with a couple of starters he doesn't have the bounce the ball forever and then shoot tendency that he does when surrounded by subs. His interior passing to a rolling Powe and to KG were excellent last night. He still brings a ton to the table and I can't see how anyone can complain with the production we have gotten out of him so far this offseason.

He is just a much more complete player than House and as long as he can continue to drink from a fountain of youth and play like he did last night, which, by the way, included some very good defensive moves, he has to play 10-14 minutes a game.

[EJPLAYA]

I think Sam got a few more minutes last night because back to back games now Rondo has shot terribly. If Sam had missed a couple of those first shots we would have likely seen House for the next stint. There were a lot of guys in our long Sam thread saying to not worry because Sam was the third option and that he would only get a couple minutes. I disagreed big time and it looks like unfortunately I was right.

Two straight posessions down the floor when Sam hit a couple jumpers he proceeded to let Acie Law blow past him for a score and then a forced foul on one of our bigs having to rotate over. He didn't even slow him down enough to let the rotator get into position. That basically meant that his defense took away his offense. That has been my point on him all along. Sam supporters will say "look at his instant offense". I say look at his horrendous defense. House got 2 minutes last night. What a shame.

I must admit though that I was a lot more concerned about the win than whether or not Sam was jacking them up as usual. I don't have a problem with him telling a friend he wants more PT, but I do have a problem with who it was knowing it would get out and then making comments like that insinuating he needs more minutes.

I am willing to bet you that Sam is sitting there today thinking he was a huge reason that they won last night. Silly Sam...

[winsomme]

I think Sam got a few more minutes last night because back to back games now Rondo has shot terribly. If Sam had missed a couple of those first shots we would have likely seen House for the next stint. There were a lot of guys in our long Sam thread saying to not worry because Sam was the third option and that he would only get a couple minutes. I disagreed big time and it looks like unfortunately I was right.

Two straight posessions down the floor when Sam hit a couple jumpers he proceeded to let Acie Law blow past him for a score and then a forced foul on one of our bigs having to rotate over. He didn't even slow him down enough to let the rotator get into position. That basically meant that his defense took away his offense. That has been my point on him all along. Sam supporters will say "look at his instant offense". I say look at his horrendous defense. House got 2 minutes last night. What a shame.

I must admit though that I was a lot more concerned about the win than whether or not Sam was jacking them up as usual. I don't have a problem with him telling a friend he wants more PT, but I do have a problem with who it was knowing it would get out and then making comments like that insinuating he needs more minutes.

I am willing to bet you that Sam is sitting there today thinking he was a huge reason that they won last night. Silly Sam...

Sam played well last night, and i think he is working hard on the defensive end too.  remember that big box out on Childress who has about 7 inches on him (not to mention his reach advantage). i also remember that clean strip that was called a foul...

still very happy to have Sam on this team and i wouldn't be surprised to see Eddie House have a key role at some point too.

anticipating the twists and turns of the playoffs is impossible to do and everybody needs to be ready to contribute at a moments notice.

[indeedproceed]

I didn't hear the interview, so I can't really comment.  I will say, though, that at this point, I prefer Eddie House over Cassell.  I was a big proponent of getting Sam Cassell, but I didn't anticipate that that would mean Eddie House would lose all of his minutes.  House has simply outperformed Cassell this season, as demonstrated below:

Points per 100 possessions:

Cassell: 103.5
House: 109.3
Rondo: 114.0

Points allowed per 100 possessions:

Cassell: 101.8
House: 100.3
Rondo:  99.3

Net points per 100 possessions:

Cassell: +1.7
House: +9.1
Rondo:  +14.7

The Celts have statistically been a much better team with House in there over Cassell.

Btw, I can't say that Sam is "more disgruntled" than House, though.  House sounded pretty darn disgruntled in the papers last week.

I think it would be fair to say that houses numbers are a little skewed because A) we were demolishing teams in the first 2 months of the season, nobody knew how to stop us
B) House had all summer to learn the defense

I think in the playoffs Cassell's leadership and energy help more than they hurt.

[soap07]

I am willing to bet you that Sam is sitting there today thinking he was a huge reason that they won last night. Silly Sam...


Fascinating. You say his terrible defense outweigh his positive offensive contributions and yet he was at +11 for the game. You cherry-pick two defensive possessions (one being a foul which was not completely his fault) and fail to mention a huge strip he had of (Childress? Smith? My mind is blanking>). This is irresponsible and indicative of an agenda. If you are not convinced by his efficient shooting last night that he was part of the win, how can you not be by his +11 +/-?

[soap07]

The Celts have statistically been a much better team with House in there over Cassell.


Couple things:

Those numbers have to be skewed by the initial games that Cassell played with the C's where he was learning the system on both sides of the floor. Also, he was playing injured for a couple games with the Clippers correct? The more minutes Cassell gets with the team, the better he'll be. Of the 8 shots he took yesterday, almost all of them were in rhythm and shots he normally makes. Is that something to complain abot?

[wdleehi]

My biggest issue right now is when they bring in Cassell (and house as well) in the playoffs, many times, there are only two defenders out there. 

Neither of them are good defender.  You would think they would want to adjust for that.  I think the easiest way is to switch the rotation that Allen and Pierce are a part of.  Pierce on the floor gives them a third defender. 


As for the minutes thing, Rondo has been playing to well to lose them right now.   But I imagine he was a little upset and confused that Doc went with House to begin the 4th in game 4.