Should C's take it easy during the season, and bring it in the playoffs?

[Sketch5]

I was wondering. With the short season. No preseason. No practice time. Should the C's use the first couple months just to tweek get in shape, and get the new people up to speed, even if it costs them games??

The biggest thing about this team isn't are they good enough to beat, Miami, Chicago. NY. Its are they going to stay healthy enough, gel together, and will they be burnt out at the end of the season. Because I think with the team that they have now, healthy, and every one up to speed, they can take any team in the East in a seven game series.

Now as long as this team makes the play offs they have a shot, so why not play for it all, not for just the 3rd or 4th seed. They get the 7th or 8th seed but are healthy and playing really good ball at the end of the season, they could be dangerous.

Cons? Yeah, no home court, but what would win games? Home court, or Healthy, rested players. Miami and Chicago will be fighting over the 1 spot, and might have to play harder than every one else to get it. Take advantage!

Don't want Miami or Chicago in the first round.
  Why? you might have to play one of them in the second or third. Why not get them when you are the most rested and healthy? and again they might have had to play some tough games to get their seed.

So their might me an advantage to being a low seed this time around it they can get the health they need.

So the plan would be. Use the first month as preseason. Play the youngs and news, get them up to speed. Second part figure the rotations. Third get in shape. 4th, get the team gelling and rolling for the play offs.

Then its Duck boat time!

Not sure how likely this will work, but I don have a feeling Doc will do some thing like this with all the back to backs, play the other guys a little more to rest the 3. So it might work out that they will be an 8th seed, but what a good 8th seed they would be!

[greenpride32]

This team isn't going to beat all the top teams on the road without HCA.  Last year the road to the finals would have been beating MIA, CHI and the WC champion all on the road.  Look no further back to 2010 when we had to beat CLE ORL on the road only to fall to LAL on the road.  Don't tell me HCA didn't have a big impact on that series.  I wouldn't say it determined the outcome but it certainly was a big advantage.

[Celtics4ever]

  Don't tell me HCA didn't have a big impact on that series.

Refs won the Lakers  that series, the fourth quarter was horrible and one sided.  We should have never let it get that close but we had real issues scoring.

[PosImpos]

HCA is very important, even if teams have succeeded despite not having it.  It's possible to win without HCA, but it's easier to win with it.  That's big for a team relying on old guys.

I don't think the C's should intentionally take it easy in the regular season and then bring it in the playoffs, but I don't think they'll have a choice. 

[Lord of Mikawa]

  Don't tell me HCA didn't have a big impact on that series.

Refs won the Lakers  that series, the fourth quarter was horrible and one sided.  We should have never let it get that close but we had real issues scoring.

Absolutely. Glad I wasn't the only person that noticed.

[Q_FBE]

  Don't tell me HCA didn't have a big impact on that series.

Refs won the Lakers  that series, the fourth quarter was horrible and one sided.  We should have never let it get that close but we had real issues scoring.

Our problem with the Lakers was lack of rebounding, pure and simple. We lost Kendrick Perkins to the knee injury and that killed our chances that year. This time Danny Boy traded him to OKC for a future Russian Basketball league star and a medical patient.

We cannot afford to take it easy during the season because there are only 66 games and enough decent teams in the East that we could get behind the 8 ball and never catch up. We will need to win at least 45 of 66 to win the division and grab a top three seed but I honestly don't see us getting past the 2nd round unless Jeff Green can make it back healthy and confident.

After this year, it is probably over for the Celtics. Knowing Danny he will be exploring trade options in February and the Trade Ideas and Rumors Forum get lots of posting.

[action781]

Interesting idea of attempting to knock off Miami or Chicago while we're fresh in the first round.  Way to think out of the box.  Not a terrible idea.  But I'd say we were pretty fresh going into that Miami series after a 4-0 sweep of NYK.

[dtrader]

Interesting idea of attempting to knock off Miami or Chicago while we're fresh in the first round.  Way to think out of the box.  Not a terrible idea.  But I'd say we were pretty fresh going into that Miami series after a 4-0 sweep of NYK.

We were definitely fresh after that sweep, but I think the scheduling is going to be way tighter this year.  If we have a tough 1st round, I could see it carrying over into the second.

[Fafnir]

In a compressed and shortened season the Celtics should focus more on health, cohesive play, and chemistry more than racking up wins for seeding purposes.

Resting the Big 3 when they're dinged up or when its 3 in 4, 3 in 5, and 4 in 5 situations is something I'd expect Doc to consider and perhaps do during the season.

[pearljammer10]

I've always hated this notion.... Play hard 100% of the time, thats what they get paid and are expected to do.

[Fafnir]

I've always hated this notion.... Play hard 100% of the time, thats what they get paid and are expected to do.

When they're on the court, absolutely.

The key wille be how many minutes and in what sequences Doc plays our oldest and most crucial players. He leaned hard on BBD last year and his play fell off in part due to this, he needs to look at Ray/KG/PP and figure out how to manage this unusual schedule.

[Cman]

... then in the playoffs, they'll just "turn it on"

anyone else having that deja vu feeling?

[PosImpos]

I'd say none of the big 3 or JO should average over 30 minutes per game, and they should get a night off when we have 4 games in 5 days.

Otherwise, play hard and let's see what that gets us.

[erisred]

I'd say none of the big 3 or JO should average over 30 minutes per game, and they should get a night off when we have 4 games in 5 days.

Otherwise, play hard and let's see what that gets us.

Oh, I think the old guys are going to get quite a few nights off this season. It might cost the C's a few games, but I think Doc is going to sit some combination of JO, KG, Allen and Pierce on many of the front ends or back ends of "back to backs." I think they'll play, pretty much, their normal minutes when they play, but have many more "nights off" this year. Just a feeling I've got.

[Ersatz]

Don't tell me HCA didn't have a big impact on that series. 

HCA didn't have a big impact on that series. The inability to score and rebound at key times did though.