Doc needs to play his bench more

[jimmywolfrey]

The bench is awful....but Ray Allen certainly can't be logging 40 mpg

The bench has been awful West looks useless out there. We're missing a shotmaker off the bench now that Nate is gone(though Nate wasn't making his on the way out). I'd actually like to see a bit more Wafer and less Baby. Von is capable of getting off a good shot given space and you can still use him the way we use Ray. The other guys save Baby are just being too passive out there. West was useless last game. And I don't want Baby jacking up every shot with 5 seconds to go on the clock.

How has Delonte looked "useless" out there?  Do you mean in Game 1 when he played 7 useless 2nd half minutes helping lead a 2nd half come back? I'm not sure of your post.  It seems to smell of Von Wafer love. Delonte can create his own shot but if he is in their as the point guard, he definitely tries to run plays and be a distributor.  If he is the 2guard he tends to be more aggressive scoring.  Thats also why he is in there instead of Wafer, because he can do both.

[Rtpas11]

If theres 1 thing about Doc I don't like; its his trust issues. That man is too paranoid when it comes to letting young bench players develop. Not trying to discredit Doc, but C'mon now even Kurt Rambis could coach this team to wins as long as he lets his star players logg 40+ minutes (no one on the knicks played 40+ minutes). Doc needs to use, mix and trust his bench early on in the 1st qtr and so forth.

I don't know if any of you actually play basketball like i do, but its not an easy task to warm-up @ the beginning of the game, then sit for 12 minutes and stiffen up, then finally enter the game and expect to play short minutes and be flawless or get pulled

Bench:
Delonte
Von
Jeff
Glen
Shaq

[Yogi]

We started out nervy and Doc needed to play the starters to pull out the win.  We can't lose the first game of the playoffs can we?  We'll see the bench more as time goes on.  Delonte was great but he's playing injured.  You can see it on how slow he moves on the defensive end.  Hopefully he'll recover with more rest and be back at full strength. 

[bucknersrevenge]

The bench is awful....but Ray Allen certainly can't be logging 40 mpg

The bench has been awful West looks useless out there. We're missing a shotmaker off the bench now that Nate is gone(though Nate wasn't making his on the way out). I'd actually like to see a bit more Wafer and less Baby. Von is capable of getting off a good shot given space and you can still use him the way we use Ray. The other guys save Baby are just being too passive out there. West was useless last game. And I don't want Baby jacking up every shot with 5 seconds to go on the clock.

How has Delonte looked "useless" out there?  Do you mean in Game 1 when he played 7 useless 2nd half minutes helping lead a 2nd half come back? I'm not sure of your post.  It seems to smell of Von Wafer love. Delonte can create his own shot but if he is in their as the point guard, he definitely tries to run plays and be a distributor.  If he is the 2guard he tends to be more aggressive scoring.  Thats also why he is in there instead of Wafer, because he can do both.

No, I'm not some big Von Wafer fan. I just acknowledge that before the kid got hurt he was beginning to buy in at the defensive end. He is an athletic finisher with range on his shot who is not afraid to put one up. West and Green(I AM a Green fan) lately are walking around with their thumbs up their rears when they get the ball. I'd like to see a little conviction from Delonte. Lately I just haven't seen it. He seems reluctant to pull the trigger. And I don't by the "he's trying to facilitate the offense bit. Lately our offense from the bench has consisted of stand around for 17 seconds and then get the ball to Big Baby. That group should run and they don't. I think they need to play with more energy and they don't. Problem is West really isn't a PG. I'd rather him pulling on 2 of every 4 catches but he won't do that and that's even when he's playing next to Rondo.

[snively]

Yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing some Von Wafer.  Ray Allen has not been tremendously effective with the 2nd unit. 

[Bahku]

I'd rather see Bradley than Wafer, but I agree about using the bench more. Very few coaches use more than an eight-man rotation to start the playoffs, however, and I'd be surprised if Doc changes it now.

[zerophase]

I don't know why he should play the bench more. This is the playoffs... what are you saving your guys for?

[greenhead85]

I agree with the OP. Doc's job is to find ways - as neatly or seamlessly as he could - to insert the bench guys in this series and in every series thereafter. Even KC Jones utilized bench guys productively in the 80s. Green, BB and DWest getting time is ok but once in awhile one or 2 should see the floor to contribute in other ways.

The game 1 we had against NY is just the beginning of the team's aging stars getting exposed. Melo taking jump shots anywhere on the court over practically on anyone and Amare slamming and challenging our bigs every time he could are really dangerous and could turn the tide in their favor. The bockers are just starting to tire our veteran guys and will raise the level of play further up to a point our vets lose gas and still they would have enough talent and energy to finish us off. Game 2 is coming up and I'm a bit worried due in part to the youth, talent and athleticism by the bockers displayed  all throughout the game plus extra punches and clutches they have ie Toney, Walker, Shawne and even Landry (who is looking to show up this time after an unproductive game 1).

[manbehindtheman]

Doc is obviously a great coach, but he really needs to trust his bench more. A team's bench is the most underrated in terms of winning a title. I feel he over-trusts the Big 4, to a fault

What I think he should do is just play 5 guys off the bench in the first 8 minutes of the second quarter. Let Green, West, Murphy, Wafer, and Kristic feel like they are apart of the team. They'll gain confidence, and eventually win playoff games for them. It'll also save the Big 4 from tiring out from too many minutes

And I think Big Baby robbing Jeff Green of valuable minutes
Green would thrive in a series like this
Let him be the focal point on offense for some stretches
Why would you trade for a guy, and never give him enough minutes to show his stuff?

i say ride the big 4, the bench isn't what is going to win the title...if the big 4 have energy then leave them in the game...
btw...i'd rather have bbd out there than Green.

[OsirusCeltics]

Why? So we can lose?

LOL Haha that was funny
No, I just mean to play them like the first 6 minutes of the 2nd quarter, for them to gain confidence

[Senninsage]

I agree completely on the point that Jeff Green needs to be played more, and allowed to be a bigger part of our offense. He's insanely talented.

Still, he came up huge for us when we needed him last night. It ain't an easy thing to take a big shot that will give your team their first lead since the early first quarter in a playoff game with the kind of atmosphere that this Celtics, Knicks series does, and Green knocked the shot down with confidence.

[raynman]

Bottom line is, nobody should play more than 40 minutes!
Right, Doc?

[BudweiserCeltic]

Doc not only needs to play his bench more, he needs to use them more effectively/intelligently.

[ram]

Doc would agree that he has to play his bench more.

However, he can only do that if they produce. This is evidenced in last year's playoffs when he let Baby and Nate in for most of the 4th quarter in that 1 game in the finals.

Play well and you will stay on the court. It's that simple.

[Chris]

Completely disagree.  This is the playoffs.  They have plenty of rest in between games, and they need to be getting the best players on the floor for the most minutes as possible. 

I think the minutes were just about right in game 1.  Perhaps a couple minutes could swing here and there, but overall, I want the starters on the floor the majority of the minutes, and they should never have more than a couple bench guys on the floor at once.