How and when are the big four supposed to 'rest' before the playoffs?

[chambers]

I'm trying to work out if

* they will just sit them for a few games towards the end of the season once 1st seed is determined.

* Doc will just reduce their minutes to around 25 a game + rotate them with the bench core

* Let them play normally, bringing in bench mob earlier, whilst making them sit out all practices.

How did they do it last year? I can't remember anything specific getting PP and KG their legs back before the big playoff dance.

Any other suggestions? help a brother out.

extras: I would like Shaq to get a good 5 games back in with them before the playoffs to get things flowing. Getting JO in there with Baby, Green and delonte would be nice too (we can all dare to dream).

[Marcus13]

Idk that the #1 seed is going to be "determined" until the closing games of the season, Chicago isn't going to just fall off now.

Of the three, Pierce should be able to sit the most.  Green is perfectly capable to come in and play 30-35 mpg in his place.

We simply do not have the bench to get Ray or KG off the floor though.

Ray has been going too hard this year...Im really kinda nervous that he's going to hit a giant wall come playoff time

[chambers]

Idk that the #1 seed is going to be "determined" until the closing games of the season, Chicago isn't going to just fall off now.

Of the three, Pierce should be able to sit the most.  Green is perfectly capable to come in and play 30-35 mpg in his place.

We simply do not have the bench to get Ray or KG off the floor though.

Ray has been going too hard this year...Im really kinda nervous that he's going to hit a giant wall come playoff time

well obviously if it's still close they'll play it out, but if it's looking good (or bad) with 4-5 games left they may be able to completely sit out for 2-3 games and get an extra week or eight days off. combine that with the 3 days before the playoffs start and they could get a solid 10 day window to just shoot and get on the bike and run through plays etc..

[Chris]

Doc has been rolling back their minutes over the last few weeks.  He shortened the rotation the last couple of games, because he wanted to get them back on track after a rough stretch, but I think he will continue rolling those minutes back.  I also expect (especially if one or both Oneals return before the end of the season), that he will give some of the starters a game or two off down the stretch.  

It is hard to predict right now which games they will do this in, but there are a handful of games against very weak opponents (Minnesota, Washington, Detroit) where Doc will likely take advantage of giving someone some rest.  

[Who]

I like their minutes in the 30-33 minutes range.

I don't want to see them limited further than that. Takes them out of game shape. Best to keep them sharp and game ready.

[wdleehi]

When the team depth is back and healthier.





Of all the stars, I only want to see Rondo with more of a break to help him heel up a bit.  When KG says something is wrong with you, he is not making it up. 

[greenpride32]

We're in a battle for 1st seed so there will be no pre-determined rest until that gets settled.  We really had a comfortable lead against the Bulls but we blew it with a 2-4 stretch against non-playoff and fringe-playoff teams. 

Last year the starters sat out the entire last game; remember they played Oliver Lafayette?  The 2 games before that they played limited minutes.  But last year our seeding was locked at that point. 

This year we'll have to play hard to the end unless CHI all of a sudden falters hard.  Now if we slip to the point where CHI locks up number 1, we still have to compete with MIA for number 2.

Anyways general rest is overrated unless the player has an injury.  These guys are professional athletes afterall.  During the playoffs there will no back to back games which is where we falter the most. 

BTW - I have noticed a lot of other teams seem to lose frequently on back to backs; MIA got waxed by SA on the end of a back to back, and the Bulls also lost one recently; I think to IND.  Perhaps it has nothing to do with age, and being an older team for B2B's; just any person, young or old, experiences some form of disorientation from the travel and time zone differences, and altered sleep schedule.

[TheTruthFot18]

Who is right.

While the Big 4 need to cut minutes, cutting too much could be more damaging. I always try to figure out minutes/player during games and it never works but some nights one or two get more minutes and vice versa.

Some other points:

1. Rondo looked AWESOME (The Rondo we know and love) last night in NYC. However, since DWest is our only backup 2 for now, getting Arroyo in for some minutes will help both of them.

2. For this last stretch of games, getting Green, BBD, and DWest (Kristic, Rondo, anotehr STarter) as solid bench lineup will be key for holding leads and scoring. They've been fairly solid recently with that.

3. Like someone else said, having Shaq back for a few games before playoffs will help regardless of our first seed match up. Definitely need JO back around the same time too. Against ORL, throwing Kristic Shaq and JO at Howard will help. 

[droopdog7]

The way I look at it, Doc can cut the starter's minutes and shorten his rotation (i.e., go for wins) at the same time. He can accomplish this by playing BBD, West, and Green near starter minutes (i.e., 20-25 a game).  The reason most bench guys play shorter minutes is because they tend to get exposed during a game if they play longer.  That shouldn't be the case for either of those three guys I mentioned.  They can play longer minutes and still flourish.

Doc can sprinkle in time for Arroyo, Murphy and probably get the starters minutes down to the low 30's.

[Jim on MV]

I say play the hell out of Baby, Delonte, Jeff Green, and Arroyo.  And for the love of God, stop putting Troy Murphy on the floor.  If you need a body, just take a random Murphy out of the stands and run him out there: at least as effective.

[angryguy77]

We just need to have a better record than LA, then rest the guys as soon as that is determined.

[mgent]

I think our guys will be fine as long as Doc doesn't play them too much more than their average so we can try and get the first seed.  He'll at least sit them the last game if we can.

[Prof. Clutch]

I'm torn about this issue since I would really like to keep contending for the first seed (although I see the obvious use of rest right before the playoffs.)

[GreenEnvy]

They will get their rest Thursday 4/14 and Friday 4/15 (and maybe Saturday 4/16 depending on the playoff schedule).

They want HCA, and it's gonna go down to the wire, possibly the last game of the regular season against the Knicks. With elite backups in West, Green, and BBD, the Big Three should see limited minutes whenever possible (sub-25). The only game they will log serious minutes is against Chicago because of the magnitude of the game.

[droopdog7]

We just need to have a better record than LA, then rest the guys as soon as that is determined.

I agree. though we are one game ahead in the loss column.  So more than likely, this will come down to the wire.