Obviously, big minutes doesn't necessarily lead to fatigue... but it's a component of it. Completely dismissing it is foolish.
In a team like the Celtics, for example, were everyone is expected to play hard every single possession... a team that plays hard in both sides of the court, it can really take it's toll.
It's like me saying that Burger King's sandwiches don't cause people to get fat because I can eat there every day and I'm still lean.
The other side that might be missing in the assessment above are the teams that got tired and didn't accomplish their goals. Where those teams that won the championship while still playing big minutes, was the team overall fresher than the opponent? Those components are missing.
I don't think it's foolish at all. These are professional athletes and I don't see that they would tell you that over the course of a season if they averaged 33-34 minutes per game or 36-38 minutes per game that at the end of the year they would be any more or less fatigued or unable to perform.
Throughout sports it is the superior athlete and talent that wins championships and does so by riding the coat tails of heavy play from their stars. Every single sport ever is that way. We are talking supremely fit beyond anything most of us can imagine. Just because we think we're in shape and get tired after a five mile run doesn't mean that an athlete the caliber of Ray Allen would. He might not have even broken a major sweat or be seriously winded after a five mile run.
I think much too many of us try to instill what we are aware of in athletics into the thinking of what it is like for professional athletes and honestly, I think most of us are clueless in that regard as to what really tires these guys out and what they can and can't do over the course of a year.
3-4 extra MPG for Ray Allen during a stretch in time over the course of the season is eventually going to mean very little come playoff time where the true champions are playing with there minds and less so with there bodies anyways.
And yet they did tire out last year... so much for superior athletes being above it.
Anyways, just so we're clear I really don't care Ray playing big minutes at the moment. It's the premise of your argument that minutes are not important in the overall picture that I have a huge problem with.
They also had an unreasonable burden placed on them by carrying the team for the last 2 months and into the playoffs with KG down.
If we get a serious injury again this year, minutes leading to fatigue won't be the issue.
As I said, minutes it's not the sole reason for fatigue, it's merely a component that shouldn't be dismissed. And considering how the Celtics play the game, quite hard in just about every possession I would argue that minutes are more important for us than many other teams, particularly ones that don't play both sides of the court.
And yet for every tough 38 minutes they play they also get a game like last night where they will go through the motions for periods of time and not play 110% hardnosed because they don't have to. It all evens out.
True, but you can't be counting on it. Last season should be a lesson. If you remember two years ago, I was one of the few (along with you) that kept saying that the minutes will take care of themselves as the season progresses... and Doc delivered, reducing the amount the played as the season went on.
Last year he was in the same path but injuries kinda forced him to overplay his players, so he couldn't count on those easy games to balance it out. I thought Doc could've managed those minutes better to find better ways to rest them would not risking much as far as losing games go... but that's besides the point here.
It's a risk, and again it shouldn't be dismissed off hand.
As I said, minutes it's not the sole reason for fatigue, it's merely a component that shouldn't be dismissed. And considering how the Celtics play the game, quite hard in just about every possession I would argue that minutes are more important for us than many other teams, particularly ones that don't play both sides of the court.
I agree that minutes can't be dismissed. But I also do not believe they are a reason for concern at this point in the season.
I also believe that they are very different for different players.
For example, against most teams, KG playing 32 minutes causes about the same fatigue as Ray Allen playing 42 minutes. Because of the way they play, and the energy level exerted, there needs to be a sliding scale.
Certainly, I don't care for the amount of minutes they're playing at the moment, and I disagree with many of the Doc critics in here for the amount of harshness employed over this one game. But it also doesn't mean that their concern is not valid because it is.
Topic: If doc is a good coach why does he do this? (Read 28216 times)