Jared Sullinger to start over Brandon Bass??

[KJ33]

In regards to the "make you earn" your minutes that several of you have ascribed to Doc, is he really all that unique in this philosophy amongst basketball coaches?  I know many of you here have played ball at some level, didn't most, if not all, of your coaches make you earn your minutes?  

Some teams in the NBA, namely losing teams, give minutes to their lottery picks right away, but that is because they don't have anyone else, and they know they are not going to win, so they can afford to give their kids tons of playing time.  We as Celts fans are fortunate that the C's have been contenders the last 5 years, Doc doesn't make young guys earn minutes any more than veterans, he simply puts the players on the floor that give him the best chance to win.  He has 3 ECF Finals, 2 NBA Finals, and 1 Title to show for it, not a bad track record.

The irony is, before the Big 3, Doc was always criticized for not "setting a rotation" but he always argued that he didn't have enough guys better than anyone else to play a consistent 8 or 9.  Now that he finally does, and has shortened his rotation, people groan that he "won't play rookies" or "makes guys earn minutes".  

Winning teams play their 8-10 best players, period.  Doc has not broken the coaching mold with some radical new strategy.  

[action781]

Bass' game thrives off of being able to knock down that open jumper when surrounded with other offensive options that defenses have to react to.  Bass is a much more effective player as a starter, with players who can help create that shot for him, than with a 2nd line.

Sullinger is the type of player who can work 1 on 1 on offense and be productive.  I don't think it would be in our best interest to run these kinds of plays while Rondo, Pierce, and Garnett are on the floor.  I think it would be in our best interest to utilize this strength of Sullinger when our 2nd line is in the game.

Because of this I think that Bass should start and Sullinger come off the bench.

[rmitchell222003]

I dont see what the problem is... Sully is going to dominate Bass on the block in camp. I'm just curious how he does on Wilcox and Collins. He is very talented in the post. and KG is not going to go down there. i think its a great move!!! but lets see what happens!!!

[BudweiserCeltic]

Bass' game thrives off of being able to knock down that open jumper when surrounded with other offensive options that defenses have to react to.  Bass is a much more effective player as a starter, with players who can help create that shot for him, than with a 2nd line.

Sullinger is the type of player who can work 1 on 1 on offense and be productive.  I don't think it would be in our best interest to run these kinds of plays while Rondo, Pierce, and Garnett are on the floor.  I think it would be in our best interest to utilize this strength of Sullinger when our 2nd line is in the game.

Because of this I think that Bass should start and Sullinger come off the bench.

The problem with Bass as a starter is that he's a high utility guy, which in turn takes away opportunities from other and better players. Add to that the fact that he doesn't know how to move the ball, and you're often left with an ineffective offense because the ball is not finding the players we would like. Add to that when he rolls to the basket he's awful at catching passes from Rondo.

All is fine and dandy when he's hitting his open jumpers, but when he's missing, we keep going to him still because effectively, they keep leaving him open. So if he's off his game, it really hurts us, even if it's the correct play to make.

These factors combined with a few problems he has on defense (though nothing that significant), makes me a believer that he's better suited on the bench, where his high usage would be more welcomed, and a plus most days.

For a starter I'd rather have a low maintenance guy like Wilcox, who was showing plenty on the defensive side as the season went along, with good energy, and you don't have to run a play for him the whole game. He's shown to have great chemistry with Pierce, particularly when he rolls to the basket or makes himself available when his defender goes to help on penetration. And vastly better hands than Bass, so a good option for Rondo's fancy passing.

That said, 5 minutes in, Bass will be coming in anyways, and will spend a lot of time with most of our starting unit anyways, but without KG. Which effectively means, that without Bass, the chances of us using KG at the optimum are increased.

[Professor of Rondology]

All is fine and dandy when he's hitting his open jumpers, but when he's missing, we keep going to him still because effectively, they keep leaving him open. So if he's off his game, it really hurts us, even if it's the correct play to make.

For a starter I'd rather have a low maintenance guy like Wilcox, who was showing plenty on the defensive side as the season went along, with good energy, and you don't have to run a play for him the whole game.

Bass needs to take the open elbow jumper every time- he makes them at a high  enough rate for it to be worth it.  Everyone has off games- if BB's not making jumpers then yank him for Sully/Wilcox, that's fine.  But you don't bench him because he might have a bad game and that might hurt the team.    

Also, do we ever run plays specifically for Bass? Quite rarely, I think.  He gets his open jumpers because his defender has to sag to stop Rondo/KG/Pierce from getting an easy bucket.

[Finkelskyhook]

Not even a remote chance of that happening.

Sullinger will have more DNPs than he'll ever have starts this coming season.

[tonyto3690]

Been saying for a while that Bass is best as a big off the bench.

That being said, really do not like the idea of Sullinger starting at the 5.  Teams will be attacking him non stop.

[celtic -_- pride]

Not even a remote chance of that happening.

Sullinger will have more DNPs than he'll ever have starts this coming season.

i agree he wont start a lot but i think he will play a lot. definitely makes the big man rotation. as of right now hes our third best big. kg/bass/sully/wilcox ( i dont count jeff green ) and i dont know much about collins' game

[arambone]

neener neener.

Lets start bass and complain that danny didnt address rebounding, size, or low post scoring.

Lets write off sullinger because even though he was the 6th ranked prospect in a stacked draft, the c's stole him at 21.

Lets pretend that making highlight blocks is all that matters to playing the center position.

Sullinger will get tons of 1 on 1 opportunities down in the post, where he might get blocked sometimes but SO WHAT? He'll score lots of points, draw lots of fouls, and opposing centers willl find themselves on the bench with 2 fouls in the 1st quarter.

As a good passer, sullinger will be able to hit the open man when the double team comes.

Celtics starting 5 with sullinger is as good as it gets in the nba.

[BudweiserCeltic]

All is fine and dandy when he's hitting his open jumpers, but when he's missing, we keep going to him still because effectively, they keep leaving him open. So if he's off his game, it really hurts us, even if it's the correct play to make.

For a starter I'd rather have a low maintenance guy like Wilcox, who was showing plenty on the defensive side as the season went along, with good energy, and you don't have to run a play for him the whole game.

Bass needs to take the open elbow jumper every time- he makes them at a high  enough rate for it to be worth it.  Everyone has off games- if BB's not making jumpers then yank him for Sully/Wilcox, that's fine.  But you don't bench him because he might have a bad game and that might hurt the team.   

Also, do we ever run plays specifically for Bass? Quite rarely, I think.  He gets his open jumpers because his defender has to sag to stop Rondo/KG/Pierce from getting an easy bucket.

Am I complaining about Bass taking the open jumper? No. I'm complaining about how Bass becomes an essential blackhole (even with our starters) and in those cases when he's missing his open jumpers, it can continue for quite a stretch because the defense effectively keeps giving it to him. Which occurred quite frequently this past playoffs for example.

We may not "run" plays for him, but we essentially run a lot of pick and pops with him, which adds pretty much to the same as far as I'm concerned. In all, when he's taking the bulk of his shots, I rather he'd not be with our starters.

He's good with his mid-range jumper, but so is KG.

[arambone]

So if Sully did start with Garnett, who would come out of the game first?

Maybe keep whichever has the hot start in the game?

Maybe Wilcox and Bass check in together?

[slamtheking]

Doc Rivers starting a rookie over a vet? that'll be the day.

Sullinger first has to prove he can stay on the floor.

Maybe in a couple of years, but definitely no in year one.

Allen, West, Gomes, and a few others all started a bunch of games as rookies, though not to start the year.

only because Doc had no healthy vets to play instead of them. 

[arambone]

Sullinger is a vet, basically.

He's been groomed by a top high school coach and two older brothers since he was 3 or 4.

He obviously plays with as much poise, patience, vision, and judgment as an above average 5 year vet. Not bad for 20 y.o.

Doc has known this kid and his game for years. That probably counts for something too, trust-wise.

[arambone]

Green at the 3 and Bass at the 4 should be a pretty good combo. Green has good size for the 3 and a post game, so he can play more inside while Bass plays from mid-range.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Green at the 3 and Bass at the 4 should be a pretty good combo. Green has good size for the 3 and a post game, so he can play more inside while Bass plays from mid-range.

This.

Also I'love the energy that they will bring along with Jet off the bench. I'm okay with Bass coming off the bench.