The Bench Needs to be Running

[Marcus13]

I believe that one of the issues with the bench is we aren't playing to their strengths.  Guys like Dooling, Daniels, and Bradley aren't going to play their best in the same slow-ball format that the starters play with.  We needs to let those guys make the best of their athleticism.

I feel like Rondo-Dooling-Daniels-Bass-Stiemsma should have a completely different mindset than the starters do, especially with their being a shortened training camp.

[Lord of Mikawa]

It would be a nice change. With their current offense they just end up burning the clock down and taking bad shots.

[guava_wrench]

Are Dooling and Daniels athletic? I don't think so. They seem to me to be half court guys, and Daniels is particularly methodical and slow in his offense. Daniels seems to like to work the post, which means half court offense.

I too would like to see them run more since there is no reason for the bench to conserve strength. On the other hand, playing slower means less possessions for the bench, which can mean less impact on the game. There is something to be said for the bench just eating up time.

[cman88]

Bradley especially should run more...he has the speed to get by his man almost at will...yet he usually settles for standing around and taking the set jumper which is not his shot...

[33_Larry Legend_33]

We have no "true" backup PG on this team... Dooling is a "combo" guard and Avery has no clue how to run an offense.

The bench, which was a hopeful spark plug for this team, is becoming a disappointment.  they have no continuity to them, look like they don't understand their roles, and playing very tentative - like they are trying to "run plays" instead of playing basketball.  (they're running to spots on the floor instead of playing together).

something is going to have to change with this group... or, it could become a long season as there is no one on this team capable of running a 2nd team offense.

[jMo721]

i agree our bench needs to push the ball more. dooling can't create his own shot so it would allow for more open 3s, same goes for pietrus when he returns. daniels may be more of a halfcourt player but running could get him to the line more in a effort to build confidence.

to expand on the idea of pushing the pace, i think whenever kg and jo are out of the game we should be running. rondo is great at finding pierce and ray for open shots on the break as well as getting to the hole himself.

it may sound silly, but part of the problem is the celtics are too much of a TEAM. what i mean is that they constantly pass on open shots to find the next guy instead of being aggressive. we need a little more selfishness out of our starters, especially kg.

[GranTur]

I was afraid of Dooling when we signed him. He hasn't been thinking quick enough on his feet to run an entire team.

Every time he has the ball he's 1 second behind on acting. Here's to hoping he has some basketball instinct...

[ianboyextreme]

really dont understand how theres all this backlash against keyon, who has played quite well, when quis looks like hes never played an nba game right now.

[Marcus13]

Yea Im not as concerned with Dooling as I am Daniels and Bradley.  Hell, even Wilcox for that matter.

[ianboyextreme]

Honestly, Steimsma should be getting at least 20 minutes a game. Steimsma, Bass, Bradley, and Rajon can all get up and down and jump. This team needs to score more fast break points. That running squad would look a lot better with Jeff Green, but this season I think Pietrus can get up and down pretty well in his stead.

[Celtics18]

I'm sure they'd love to, but the way to get running opportunities is to create them with defense.