How is Doc going to handle minutes/rotation this year?

[cman88]

I think ainge is doing a good job this off-season to build a deep team with a bench that can put points on the board and make it able so that ageing Pierce/KG dont have to handle the majority of the scoring load...

and with a full 82game season coming up, its important that those guys get rest and can go into the post-season healthy.

my only gripe with doc at times is he has sometimes relied on playing our vets too much...now one argument you can use to counter that is that due to injuries etc. he hasnt had much to work with..afterall, our bench scored an amazing 2points in game 7 of the ECF

right now as it stands our rotation is looking like

Rondo/Terry
Bradley/Terry
Pierce/Green
Bass/Sullinger/Green
KG/Wilcox/sullinger(I dont think melo is ready yet)

I think the Celtics are going to have to go spurs style next year and use a full 10man rotation

[KGs Knee]

I think ainge is doing a good job this off-season to build a deep team with a bench that can put points on the board and make it able so that ageing Pierce/KG dont have to handle the majority of the scoring load...

and with a full 82game season coming up, its important that those guys get rest and can go into the post-season healthy.

my only gripe with doc at times is he has sometimes relied on playing our vets too much...now one argument you can use to counter that is that due to injuries etc. he hasnt had much to work with..afterall, our bench scored an amazing 2points in game 7 of the ECF

right now as it stands our rotation is looking like

Rondo/Terry
Bradley/Terry
Pierce/Green
Bass/Sullinger/Green
KG/Wilcox/sullinger(I dont think melo is ready yet)

I think the Celtics are going to have to go spurs style next year and use a full 10man rotation

Just curious, but who do you see being the 10th man?  You've only put 9 in the rotation you posted. 

[mctyson]

I wrote a long post on this a while back and didn't get much feedback.  I guess that was because the team hadn't been filled out yet.

I think there are 2, possibly 3 positions on our roster where we know who will play and how much they will play:

PG: Rondo (35 min per game), Terry (5-10 min per game)

SF: Pierce (28-30 min per game), Jeff Green (20-22 min per game)

And KG's minutes at the 4/5:  25-28 min per game

I won't speculate on the minutes and rotation without Avery Bradley, so this is what I see when he is back and playing healthy:

SG: Bradley (30 min per game), Terry (10-15 min per game)

So, as I see it right now, the minutes at PG are essentially locked up between Rondo and Terry, with probably 5+ minutes that could go to E'twuan Moore.

The minutes at SF are locked up between Pierce and Green, no exceptions.

The minutes at SG are locked up between Bradley and Terry, with maybe 5 or less minutes that go to a second backup (Pietrus, Moore)

Thus, the open competition on this team for minutes is at the PF and C position.  I think we have to look at those with KG in mind first.  Let's give him most of his minutes at the PF for now, thought I think he will be playing mostly the 5 for us:

KG:  15 minutes at PF, 10 minutes at C

We are left with 33 minutes at PF and 38 minutes at C for our bigs.  I expect something like the following from Doc as the season rounds out:

Bass: 25 minutes at PF
Sullinger: 5-8 minutes at PF, 10 minutes at C
Wilcox: 15 minutes at C


By my math we are still left with anywhere from 10-13 minutes for a Center.  As I said before, I think KG will play more 5 than 4, so he will eat up some of this extra and give time for another PF (either Sullinger or JJJ).  I think by the end of the season Sullinger will wind up absorbing all of the extra minutes at either the PF and C.  So our final playoff rotation (with the roster we have now) will be something like this:

PG - Rondo/Terry
SG - Bradley/Terry
SF - Pierce/Green
PF - Bass/Sullinger/KG
C - KG/Wilcox/Sullinger

That is a 9 man rotation.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

In response to the thread title's question:

Do you mean before or after we suffer a rash of injuries?

[Celtic#9]

Rondo/Terry/Moore
Bradley/Terry/FA(Pietrus?)
Pierce/Green/FA(Pietrus?)
Bass/Sullinger/KG
KG/Wilcox/Hollins or Williams/Sullinger/Melo

PG: Rondo - 35 per game, Terry - 13 per game

SG: Bradley - 26 per game, Terry - 12 per game, FA - 10 mins

SF: Pierce 28 per game (hopfully), Green - 20 mins per game

PF: Bass - 26 per game, Green - 6 per game, KG - 6 per game, Sullinger - 10 per game

C: KG - 20 per game, Wilcox - 18 per game, Sullinger - 10 per game, Melo, Williams, Hollins- Short stints of energy

Which gives the totals of...
Rondo - 35
Terry - 25
Bradley - 26
Pietrus - 9
Pierce - 28
Green - 26
KG - 26
Bass - 26
Wilcox - 18
Sullinger - 20

Obviously it depends on who the FA SG we get and how well they do at the start of the year. I just assumed Pietrus but Lee or Mayo will want more minutes. With how deep we are this year, Rondo should be the only one who should average over 30 mins on a nightly basis.

Also note that injuries(Bradley) will throw a wrench but when it comes playoff time I think we could see a 10 man lineup. Unless we aren't healthy, Sullinger isn't as NBA-ready as everyone says he is, or Pietrus is off the immediate rotation.

[Who]

A three guard rotation of Rondo, Terry and Bradley.

A two man wing rotation of Pierce and J.Green.

The starting bigs are KG and Bass. The backup minutes are up for grabs. I expect Doc to use two big men to create a 9 man rotation.

[hpantazo]

In response to the thread title's question:

Do you mean before or after we suffer a rash of injuries?

The real question to the thread should be:

"How much time will each player miss due to injury this year?"

Bradley already has a head start on everyone in this category, and imo with the way he plays, he's likely to suffer another serious injury sooner rather than later.

Pierce and KG will hold up well imo, as will Bass, Terry, and Jeff Green.

I think Rondo and Wilcox will have their fair share of injuries. Rondo because of his build, his aggressiveness, and the attention teams will pay to him. Wilcox because of his conditioning and his overall injury history unrelated to his heart surgery.

It's a good bet one of Melo/Sullinger will get hurt as well.

[greenpride32]

Green played the 4 for OKC though his natural position is the 3.  I expect him to be on the floor with Pierce a lot in a small ball type lineup.  The game finishing lineup will most likely be Rondo/Terry/Pierce/Green/KG.  Depending on whether Bradley keeps up his level of play and if we are protecting the lead he might be in there for Terry instead.

[Lioney]

Rondo(32)/(22)Terry
Bradley(30)/(20)Lee
Pierce(28)/(22)Green
Sullinger(20)/(22)Bass
Garnett(28)/(16)Wilcox

or

Rondo(32)/(22)Mayo
Bradley(28)/(22)Terry
Pierce(28)/(22)Green
Sullinger(20)/(22)Bass
Garnett(28)/(16)Wilcox

[coco]

Interesting question.

Doc is one of the worst coaches when it comes to rotations and minutes, so there is no telling.

Perhaps a good barometer on how good or bad he is doing would be the minutes JGreen is getting as a SF.  If JGreen is getting over 20 mins at the 3, then Doc is doing well..... In my book.   But if Doc insist on playing JG at the 4 for too long, then don't know what to tell you.

We've got to find a way to get JG ready at the 3.  We want the Greeen/LeBron matchup especially when we are running our offense.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Hopefully we have a lot of blowouts and this won't matter b/c he will just put the deep bench in and we go from there!

[celticsleyte]

In general Doc will play our established stars and then give the veterans minutes until they prove they can not get it done and then the younger guys will get a chance when neccesary.  He also will be reluctant to send guys to the d-league because you never know when he might need another body.

[More Banners]

I can see a 3-player guard rotation of Rondo, Terry, and Bradley each getting over 30 minutes.  Perhaps Moore gets in for under 10 somewhere, but our main rotation is 3 guards.

3 forwards as well: Pierce, Bass, and Green, also 30 each.  Perhaps Sully or JJJ sneaks in for under 10 as well.

KG and Wilcox split time at C.

There's basically an 8-player rotation that looks pretty potent and can surely run, but is perhaps just a tad small.

Knowing Doc, he'll pick no more than one young player to give some run at a time to prove himself.  Sullinger and Moore are top candidates unless another journeyman vet is signed to fill out Doc's preferred 9-player rotation. 

[ianboyextreme]

In response to the thread title's question:

Do you mean before or after we suffer a rash of injuries?

The real question to the thread should be:

"How much time will each player miss due to injury this year?"

Bradley already has a head start on everyone in this category, and imo with the way he plays, he's likely to suffer another serious injury sooner rather than later.

Pierce and KG will hold up well imo, as will Bass, Terry, and Jeff Green.

I think Rondo and Wilcox will have their fair share of injuries. Rondo because of his build, his aggressiveness, and the attention teams will pay to him. Wilcox because of his conditioning and his overall injury history unrelated to his heart surgery.

It's a good bet one of Melo/Sullinger will get hurt as well.

The most speculative post I have ever seen on Celticsblog.

[Fleischmann7]

hello and welcome