Rotation: Why Not Go 10 Deep?

[kg is king]

Simple question to the blog: Wouldn't it make a lot of sense to extend our rotation and go 10 deep every game? San Antonio seems to be doing this and it seems to be helping them mix in fresh legs with their older set.

I can't see how playing PP and Ray for 38+ minutes each against an athletic team does anything but hurt us. Pietrus, Sasha and Marquis have the ability to play well and bring in some fresh intensity and live legs for about 10+ minutes each. Shortening the minutes up for PP and Ray in a tough series like this should help them both be more effective on both ends.

Bass also seems to be more effective playing say 25 minutes versus 35 minutes. It seems like his flaws get exposed the longer he's in. Getting Hollins and Steamer in there 10 minutes each to exploit the height advantage seems like a must to me.

Giving the Heat different looks should help our cause, and frankly, what have we got to lose? Spreading the workload deeper into the bench could provide a spark for the older vets. 

Thoughts?

San Antonio is able to do that because their bench consists of starting caliber players (Captain Jack, Splitter, Ginobli, etc.). Our guys are simply not good enough to be played an extended amount of time without getting toasted.

[Lechoke Lames]

I'd tell them I'd like to see 2-3 good hard fouls from both of them on Wade and LeBron when they come into to the lane.

Do this right before they shoot and you got a great penalty-free system to start each quarter

[pp34isthe1]

Im all for more minutes to Pavs, Steamer, Pietrus and less for Hollins, Bass, Ray.

But seriously if we have to bank on Pavs/steamer/pietrus to be the savior of the series, the Celtics are going to lose in 5.

The starting unit HAS to step up:
Rondo and Pierce can not dissapear again. Need 20 pts from both.
KG has to stay consistent.
Ray just has to play solid, knock down open shots and FT's. Nothing special, just better than hes been.
Bass, besides that 3rd quater against Philly has dissapointed me. I have no idea what he can do to help this team other than not play more than 25 min.

[looseball]

The only reason San Antonio is doing this is because they have the depth to make it work. We dont.

They have the trust to make it work.  We don't.

[looseball]

SA can do it because they're bench is composed of really good players. However, our bench is composed almost entirely of hot garbage. There's a big difference, maybe next year.

The grass is always greener...

[mctyson]

"Pietrus, Sasha and Marquis have the ability to play well"

Sasha and Marquis also have the ability to play horribly, which they do more often.

[OmarSekou]

I agree in theory but I'm not sure how Doc would manage it. Our team has a lot more egos than the Spurs and a lot of guys haven't gotten consistent reps throughout the season.

[Celtics18]

It's Sasha time!!

[jambr380]

Simple question to the blog: Wouldn't it make a lot of sense to extend our rotation and go 10 deep every game? San Antonio seems to be doing this and it seems to be helping them mix in fresh legs with their older set.

I can't see how playing PP and Ray for 38+ minutes each against an athletic team does anything but hurt us. Pietrus, Sasha and Marquis have the ability to play well and bring in some fresh intensity and live legs for about 10+ minutes each. Shortening the minutes up for PP and Ray in a tough series like this should help them both be more effective on both ends.

Bass also seems to be more effective playing say 25 minutes versus 35 minutes. It seems like his flaws get exposed the longer he's in. Getting Hollins and Steamer in there 10 minutes each to exploit the height advantage seems like a must to me.

Giving the Heat different looks should help our cause, and frankly, what have we got to lose? Spreading the workload deeper into the bench could provide a spark for the older vets. 

Thoughts?

San Antonio is able to do that because their bench consists of starting caliber players (Captain Jack, Splitter, Ginobli, etc.). Our guys are simply not good enough to be played an extended amount of time without getting toasted.

I tend to agree somewhat with the OP. I would like to see KG and Rondo play as much as possible - with Rondo playing 48 minutes. Pierce, Ray, and Bass all need ample rest, however. Sasha, Marquis, and Pietrus have all been starters in this league at some point in the last couple of years for some pretty decent teams. I get that they aren't at the pinnacle of their respective careers, but they should be able to play at least 10 minutes each [with Pietrus pretty much splitting time with Ray in my opinion].

We can't go with the same old, dusty lineup that we always have. Bradley was a reason we were successful against them in the regular season. We need as much energy as we can muster, especially on defense to stop those easy hoops.

[cltc5]

becasue doc is stubborn

[Fred Roberts]

Doc really is too stubborn. Steamer, Hollins, Sasha and Quis hardly got a chance to let the big 4 rest. Ugh.