What is your starting lineup for next year?

[mctyson]

This is assuming that JO does not retire...

5: JO    Backups: Kristic, Defensive Rebounder to be Named Later
4: KG    Backups: Green, Post Scorer to by Named Later (Murphy?)
3: PP    Backups: Green, ?
2: RA    Backups: Pierce, West
1: RR    Backups: West, Bradley

Shaq is done.  I have no clue if Murphy simply is done as a player, or needed a lot more time to get back in shape and back to form.  I am more than fine with Kristic as a backup center, but if JO retires I am not fine with as the starter even though offensively he is starter quality.

BBD is probably gone. If JO stays and stays healthy (big if) we will have the same starting 5.  The question is who is the backup 4/5 that spells JO mostly and KG sometimes, since you can play Green at 3/4.  If they can find that 4/5 - and he can rebound - they will have a pretty decent bench.

Delonte's play in the Heat series proved to me he's a top-5 backup guard.  He is a must resign. I wouldn't mind another sharp shooter off the bench to give Allen/Pierce a few minutes.

Believe it or not it really all depends on what JO does.

[ScoobyDoo]

True 17wasEZ. I'll leave it that I'd like a longer presence than Big baby behind KG - I'm kind of done with the Big baby experiment at that position - though I'm not sure who it might be.

If I could manufacture a trade for Jason Thompson or someone similar I'd be interested.

I'm tired of watching us get pounded on the glass - and this was happening even with Perkins here.

I want to do the pounding. A bigger, longer back up than Big Baby behind KG would be a good start.

[Yogi]

   Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O'Neal.  Jermaine needs time to develop his chemistry with the starters.  Once Rondo figures out where JO is good offensively, this is an unbelievable unit to have on the floor.  The Big 3 should average 32 min in the regular season.  Delonte West and Avery Bradley will cover the guards.  Jeff Green will back up Paul Pierce.  Glen Davis and Kristic will fill in for KG and JO.  I don't mind Arroyo, Wafer, Pavlovic, Murphy and Shaq filling out the bench.  Doc Rivers and Lawrence Frank on the coaching staff.  If healthy and gellin' this team is WILL a championship

[theswitch]

Assuming everybody comes back, our starting five is pretty set. It's pretty simple: the big 4 and JO were supposed to be the starting lineup this year, and they'll be the starters next year as well. That much has more or less already been taken care of - there are no contracts to sign, players to woo, we just need JO and KG to come back, which shouldn't be too difficult.

So, it's all about the bench in Boston. I don't think anyone really expects Baby to come back to the Celtics, so I'll leave him out of it. The priorities should be West, Green and Krstic. That's your 8-man playoff rotation for next year, ladies and gents.

The bench play has been blamed for a lot this year, and I'm not sure I agree with the judgments. Delonte has been phenomenal, it's all about being healthy with him and he will back up the 1 and 2 very well. Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic have also quietly been pretty effective. Green played fairly good defense on Lebron and has obvious natural offensive ability, he just never got in sync. Krstic also did play well when he was put in during the playoffs, and is a pretty good option at that #2 slot. Last night, he blocked a couple shots and played solid interior defense.

The most important point when discussing the bench is chemistry. All of them are talented players who can play on a championship team, they just never got in rhythm. With a training camp and full season approaching, I expect a huge lift from the bench. I'm even going to advocate for keeping Troy Murphy. I don't buy that you can suddenly go from being a double-double three-point shooting machine to being bad at basketball. Clearly, he was out of shape and didn't have any developed chemistry. Get Murphy in camp, comfortable and he's a [dang] good backup 4/5. Lastly, there's Avery Bradley. I still really like this kid, he's versatile like Delonte and has shown flashes of offensive and defensive brilliance. With a year under his belt, I expect him to see more playing time next year. Finally (actually finally) there's Von Wafer, who improved tremendously this year. He's an athletic scoring wing who got so much better at defense and should stay on the team. That leaves getting a young athletic defensive center in the draft, or even Chris Johnson.

Here's my rotation, in summary:

C: Jermaine O'Neal/Nenad Krstic/Draft Pick/Troy Murphy
PF: Kevin Garnett/Troy Murphy/Jeff Green
SF: Paul Pierce/Jeff Green/Von Wafer
SG: Ray Allen/Delonte West/Von Wafer/Avery Bradley
PG: Rajon Rondo/Delonte West/Avery Bradley

Minutes:
Rajon Rondo - 35
Ray Allen - 33
Paul Pierce - 32
Kevin Garnett - 29
Jeff Green - 25
Jermaine O'Neal - 20
Delonte West - 20
Nenad Krstic - 20
Troy Murphy - 12
Avery Bradley - 8
Draft Pick/Von Wafer - 6

Yes, that's an 11-man rotation, but the minutes need to come down and we could have the bench to do it. I know it's not going to be popular to bank on everything coming together in training camp but I do believe chemistry, not talent, has been the issue the last part of the year.

[vinnie]

I sure hope Avery Bradley is not the backup point guard next year. The idea of Pierce starting at shooting guard is interesting, but does he have the ability to keep up and play defense against the quicker 2's in the league.

i als would be surprised if Jermaine O'Neal is the starting center. The guy's Knees are shot and at least one of them is bone-on-bone. Not a good situation for a big man.

I think it will be Pierce and KG at the forwards, X at center and Ray and Rondo at the guards. Green will likely be here and backup PP and KG, while West will backup Rondo and Ray. The rest is a crap shoot. Unless there is a pretty good infusion of talent, this will be a 4th or 5th seed team next year.

[theswitch]

Unless there is a pretty good infusion of talent, this will be a 4th or 5th seed team next year.

I don't know if I agree with that - I don't see the Magic (who aren't very good), Hawks (who have peaked, more or less) or Knicks (don't have money to get better) passing us. Even if they do, being a rested and healthy 4th or 5th seed can get us to the Finals. Our seed really does not matter at all, it's about developing chemistry and limiting starter's minutes.

[kozlodoev]

I sure hope Avery Bradley is not the backup point guard next year. The idea of Pierce starting at shooting guard is interesting, but does he have the ability to keep up and play defense against the quicker 2's in the league.

i als would be surprised if Jermaine O'Neal is the starting center. The guy's Knees are shot and at least one of them is bone-on-bone. Not a good situation for a big man.

I think it will be Pierce and KG at the forwards, X at center and Ray and Rondo at the guards. Green will likely be here and backup PP and KG, while West will backup Rondo and Ray. The rest is a crap shoot. Unless there is a pretty good infusion of talent, this will be a 4th or 5th seed team next year.

I think having Krstic as a backup center will work out.

Finding a starting C will be difficult, given that Ainge doesn't want to sign role players past the length of Garnett's contract, and that's the only type of talent that will be available for the MLE.

[Lucky17]

I sure hope Avery Bradley is not the backup point guard next year. The idea of Pierce starting at shooting guard is interesting, but does he have the ability to keep up and play defense against the quicker 2's in the league.

i als would be surprised if Jermaine O'Neal is the starting center. The guy's Knees are shot and at least one of them is bone-on-bone. Not a good situation for a big man.

I think it will be Pierce and KG at the forwards, X at center and Ray and Rondo at the guards. Green will likely be here and backup PP and KG, while West will backup Rondo and Ray. The rest is a crap shoot. Unless there is a pretty good infusion of talent, this will be a 4th or 5th seed team next year.

I think having Krstic as a backup center will work out.

Finding a starting C will be difficult, given that Ainge doesn't want to sign role players past the length of Garnett's contract, and that's the only type of talent that will be available for the MLE.

I wonder if Jordan would be a candidate for the MLE. A young C prospect to pair with Rondo for the future.

He becomes the starter, allowing JO's contract to be used via trade to address another roster need.

If a one-year deal is a firm limitation to the use of the MLE, then that seriously limits the talent acquired.

[snively]

A feasible starting line-up I'd like to see is Rondo/Ray/Pierce/Kenyon Martin/KG (with West, Green and JO as the main bench guys and Bradley, Wafer, Shaq, our rookie and a couple free agent bigs as the situational bench).   

I think Kenyon Martin quickness (still impressive despite his age), defensive ability and physicality make an excellent fit for the Big 4.

It's a disciplined, physical, quick-footed defensive line-up that can unleash Rondo in transition.

Problem is Kenyon's probably too fragile and expensive for it to materialize.

[Celticsfan336]

2 important moves?

An offseason with green together.

getting green 30 minutes a game.