Our bench is AWFUL

[esel1000]

The achilles heal of this team... I feel like it always has been...

Our bench is trash... Outscored 55-2 tonight. Stiemsma is usually consistent so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt this game and call it an off night. But with no Ray or Pietrus, everyone else plays like crap. No better way to put it...

2 points? 2 measly points is all the bench could provide? I actually looked at the players we had out on the court to start the 2nd when the knicks went on their rampage... sasha, marquis daniels, and dooling... thats like a d-league team right there. They were completely outmatched. No offensive flow, terrible defense. Melo and the 3 point shooters got whatever they wanted while none of these guys could capitalize or contribute enough to get kg or anyone else involved...

The bench needs to step up... no better way to put it. Now the starters will be gassed for tomorrow night's game against the Magic. If you're wondering whats making me skeptical about a win, well its this simple... if ray and pietrus are still injured and we need to rest the starters, our crap bench will throw the game away...

In the off season, do us all a favor DA and get us some bench players that can create their own shots and actually run an offense/defense correctly...

On a side note, chance the knicks give us Novak? haha...

[thestackshow]

Dude, what you saw tonight were 3rd stringers, of course thier awful.

Our main bench players didnt even play tonight, and Steamer was rendered useless because they just jacked up 3 point shots all night.

[ACF]

Novak and Smith went 15-of-20 from three. That never happens. It's one game, dude. Chill it.

[TheReaLPuba]

You mean our bench minus Ray Allen and Pietrus and the others injured on our roster?

The Knicks shot really well you just have to give them credit. Some of their shots were 3 feet outside the 3 point line and some were just lightning quick catch and shoots...they made them.

And they're not a good 3 point shooting team so it was just one of those nights.

[guava_wrench]

Our bench was missing Ray and Pietrus, our 2 best offensive options off of the bench.

Considering we have a pretty short rotation of contributors when they are healthy, we are scraping the bottom of the barrel when they are out hurt. Why get bothered by it? It is what it is. The other guys after Ray and Pietrus are only supposed to be limited contributors, not serious offensive options.

With Wilcox out, the first guy off the bench for us was actually out 9th man. If we were healthy, it is likely that Stiemsma is the only one who sniffs the floor and perhaps Dooling gets a few minutes but with less expectation.

I am not bothered by this loss. I am never afraid of a team that wins a game through ridiculous 3pt shooting and continuous uncontested baskets. I don't believe our defense will break down like that again against them.

[guava_wrench]

You mean our bench minus Ray Allen and Pietrus and the others injured on our roster?

The Knicks shot really well you just have to give them credit. Some of their shots were 3 feet outside the 3 point line and some were just lightning quick catch and shoots...they made them.

And they're not a good 3 point shooting team so it was just one of those nights.

Agreed, though Novak is an efficient 3 point shooter. There is nothing surprising about him hitting every open 3. I can't say the same for anyone else on that team.

[bfrombleacher]

Dude, what you saw tonight were 3rd stringers, of course thier awful.

Pavs might be upgraded to 2nd and a half string from the looks of it.

Sure, Pavs and Stiems did not score much at all but they played D and did very well for bench players in other aspects. Stiems was starting to remind me of Perk with those nasty fouls.

[TheReaLPuba]

JR Smith is pretty streaky but he can make DEEP threes. He really killed it and Novak...man that guy can really shoot.

[lightspeed5]

the fact that our bench was outscored 55-2 and it was still an 8 pt game is a better perspective

[Celtics18]

I love our bench. 

[jbaerg]

I like our bench. Just not when its reduced to Keyon Dooling. I don't consider Steamer a bench player.

[Trifecta]

Yeah we were missing our two best bench players who are in fact starters on a lot of teams. Not really concerned.

Sucks that it happened on national tv against a team like the Knicks, who absolutely exploded. Hats off to them, but that will never happen again. C's ran into the perfect storm tonight.

[relja]

Sasha played some excellent D on Melo.. I mean, come one guys, it's Melo. There aren't any guys who can completely shut him down, but Sasha's D is as good as you get on guarding Melo.

[goCeltics]

next year we should be able to add 2 1st rounders, green and nenad to the bench, as well as allen and pietrus who were injured, and also moore and jjj should be much improved with an entire offseason.

but with how the knicks were draining 3's most team would have lost.

[relja]

next year we should be able to add 2 1st rounders, green and nenad to the bench, as well as allen and pietrus who were injured, and also moore and jjj should be much improved with an entire offseason.

but with how the knicks were draining 3's most team would have lost.

Nenad isn't coming back, he likes it in CSKA and has excellent teammates in Teodosic and Kirilenko. They made it to the final 4 in the Euroleague, so I'm guessing he'll stay there.

But there's a glimmer of hope because he's really mad because the doctors over there failed to discover that he broke his foot, so basically he played 3 weeks with the fracture and he got real mad at them.