I'll say it again, we need Pierce off the bench

[TitleMaster]

A long time ago, I was lambasted for even suggesting that Pierce come off the bench.

Well today, I'm firmly entrenched in the idea.

Here's why ... KG, Rondo, and others are not clutch. Let me repeat, these guys have difficulty in scoring during lock down mode in Q4. This is where KG "over passes" the ball and fails to draw help defenses, before spotting the open man on the field.

The other point is that Pierce can no longer sustain the Truth for a full four quarters. In order for the Truth to Pierce through, pun intended  , he needs to lower his minutes by another 10, making it a 24-28 min game max.

For this to happen, Doc needs to play Green for a full game and yes, take the heat for it if the new guy messes up a few times.

I think Pierce has 6th man of the year in him and can deliver in such a capacity. The rest of the team needs to play like a team and keep us in the running for much of the time.
 

[dark_lord]

dont like the idea. limit his minutes, but not his role.

[Chris]

No need to say it again, I think it has been covered pretty thoroughly on here.

But anyways, I think whether Pierce comes off the bench or not is irrevelant.  I think there are plenty of scenarios that could work, whether it involves one of the Big 3 coming off the bench or not. 

To me, all that matters is that some of the load is taken off the big 3, both in minutes, and in responsibility. 

With the way the roster is currently constructed, that means that Green will need to take up a bigger load.  However, whether it is starting or off the bench isn't a big deal.  There are a ton of combinations that can work for this team, and a lot of moving parts, but the key is that these guys do get rest, and that other guys step up to fill in with some production.

[Donoghus]

His game hasn't slipped enough yet to warrant coming off the bench (its not even close really).

What they need is a competent backup wing to ease back on his minutes.

[Marcus13]

There's already a thread on this topic.

Pierce can't come off the bench unless you a have a legit scorer taking his spot in the starting lineup.  We don't have one on our roster, currently

[Jon]

I don't understand this at all.  After the first quarter, who started and who came off the bench becomes quite inconsequential. 

Paul is the youngest of the Big Three.  There's no way he's only going to play 24-28 mpg.  Plenty of players much older than PP have played more than that. 

And even if you were right, there's plenty of ways to lower his minutes (like simply playing Jeff Green more) that don't involve putting him on the bench. 

[Bahku]

Knock-knock ...

Who's there?

Saint ...

Saint who?

'Sain't happenin'.

[OsirusCeltics]

TP...I totally agree!!
Its not necessarily that Pierce has dipped in on court production, but I like it as making this team that much better. With Pierce on the bench, it would definitely cure the bench scoring problems the Celtics have had since 2008. They would have the best bench in the league

I think of it as how the Spurs put Ginobli on the bench and gave them an extra firepower when he came in the game

[Jon]

TP...I totally agree!!
Its not necessarily that Pierce has dipped in on court production, but I like it as making this team that much better. With Pierce on the bench, it would definitely cure the bench scoring problems the Celtics have had since 2008. They would have the best bench in the league

I think of it as how the Spurs put Ginobli on the bench and gave them an extra firepower when he came in the game

All of this could simply be solved with better rotations.  For instance, taking Ray or Paul out at the 6 minute mark, and then bringing him back in the last 2 minutes of the 1st quarter, keeping starters on the floor with the bench the whole time. 

You don't need to put Pierce on the bench to do it. 

[Boris Badenov]

There is one clear benefit: Pierce would probably complain a lot less about the quality of our bench.

Other than that, I see no upside.

[LooseCannon]

All of this could simply be solved with better rotations.  For instance, taking Ray or Paul out at the 6 minute mark, and then bringing him back in the last 2 minutes of the 1st quarter, keeping starters on the floor with the bench the whole time. 

You don't need to put Pierce on the bench to do it. 

Doc's mind doesn't work that way.  Convincing him to bring Pierce off the bench as a super sixth man may be the most effective way of forcing the coach to manage PP's minutes more efficiently.

I do like the idea of using Pierce in such a way that he is always on the floor when Rondo sits.

[Chris]

All of this could simply be solved with better rotations.  For instance, taking Ray or Paul out at the 6 minute mark, and then bringing him back in the last 2 minutes of the 1st quarter, keeping starters on the floor with the bench the whole time. 

You don't need to put Pierce on the bench to do it. 

Doc's mind doesn't work that way.  Convincing him to bring Pierce off the bench as a super sixth man may be the most effective way of forcing the coach to manage PP's minutes more efficiently.

I do like the idea of using Pierce in such a way that he is always on the floor when Rondo sits.

No, having an effective replacement is the best way to manage his minutes.  Whether Pierce comes off the bench or starts, if his replacement is not producing at an acceptable and consistent level, that is when Doc will be forced to play him more minutes than he would like. 

[ScoobyDoo]

Well, while I agree that ultimately it doesn't matter if Pierce comes off the bench or starts - and I agree with most on here who said Pierce isn't old enough nor has his game declined enough for him to go to the bench yet - I give kudos and one TP to the OP.

We need to drastically reduce the minutes of KG, Ray and Pierce and get some younger, talented guys with athleticism at the 2 & 4 spots. Landry and Fernandez wouldn't hurt us.

But even more so if Jeff Green is going to be a long term piece for us, I think we need to start playing him heavy minutes - we need to get on with this transition from the big Three to the next team. It doesn't mean we're tossing aside the big three - they will still be the driving force behind another potential ring - but we need to let these young guys start carrying "a lot" more of the load starting next season.

I've love to see either Pierce off the bench next season, or have him drop some weight and move to the off guard position, with Ray coming off the bench.

Either would work but I would 100% do one of the two.

Green with Pierce would give us a lot more length on the glass.

Green with Ray? I think Green would help spread the floor for Ray on the break particularly because he gets up the floor so quickly - much more so than Pierce.  

[Change]

 

[TitleMaster]

I'm standing put on this one.

Every time I hear of splitting PP's 1st two quarters, 6 mins here and there, the game then de-evolves into him playing 38 mins. It never works out because in the end, Rivers doesn't treat a regular olde guy as a starter. This is a type of KC Jones mentality which then never goes away.

IMO, Ginobilli's a great example of this utilization by Popovich. I was really annoyed with the newcasters painting Tony Parker as the Spur's faltering *go-to* man when that was seldom the case during various playoff runs. In most situations, where the Spurs came up short, Ginobilli was nursing an ankle problem. When he's healthy, they're always a playoff threat. Manu delivers the goods during crunch time.

And likewise, for the Celts, the one man, who's never failed (with contained minutes), was Pierce. Thus, you want your X-factor in, during the final quarters when he's 100% rested and charged for the game. Realize, Ray Ray can't take it to the hoop, and get to the line regularly. PP has an instinct for this. If Ray comes off the bench, it's much like having a souped up Eddie House.