Celtics: Most dangerous bench in the EAST?

[Lightskinsmurf]

I think so and also I've been doing alot of thinking. Our starting lineup has showed time and time again that we can hang with miami. Its the bench that has let us down and its the bench that constantly gave up leads. So we had to rely on our older guys to play huge mins which is why we could never keep the leads that we built. At the very least we seemed to always be right there with miami before we simply ran out of gas. With our bench this year the whole running out of gas thing, its over. If that isn't a reason to be scared of this team, idk what is.

[bfrombleacher]

The Knicks might rival us. But they might take the curse of injury from us (cross your fingers) with their signing of multiple old players.

[Gronktastic]

Looking at the current roster, I honestly think we have 7/8 starters, which puts at least 2 starters in our bench unit.

Rondo
Bradley
Pierce
KG
Bass
Terry (even though sixth man, he could be a starter, just like Harden)
Lee (has been starting on other teams)
Green (borderline sixth man/starter)

With the depth of Terry + Bradley/Lee in the backcourt, Green and (Sullinger/Wilcox) playing the forwards, with Collins playing C? I can see our bench both playing defense this year WHILE still being able to score through our backcourt and Green.

Seems like this year's bench might be able to give the starters longer breaks and less wear and tear during the regular season. This bench is definitely deep and worthy of being one of the best benches in the whole league.

[Chris]

If everyone is healthy, I think its the most dangerous bench in the league.  Harden makes a strong case for OKC, but I think the C's bench is deeper.

[Fafnir]

The Knicks might rival us. But they might take the curse of injury from us (cross your fingers) with their signing of multiple old players.

I don't view the Knicks bench as very impressive. Their best bench guy is Camby?

[More Banners]

Terry
Lee
Green
Wilcox
Collins

Wouldn't be too bad of a starting lineup, actually.

[Fafnir]

If everyone is healthy, I think its the most dangerous bench in the league.  Harden makes a strong case for OKC, but I think the C's bench is deeper.

It depends on what you mean by dangerous. If you're talking about impact on the game Ginobili/Harden are going to have a much bigger one than our bench.

But the overall collection of talent for the C's is impressive if everyone maintains their past levels of play in substitute roles. (Green/Terry/Lee is a nice trio)

[Chris]

If everyone is healthy, I think its the most dangerous bench in the league.  Harden makes a strong case for OKC, but I think the C's bench is deeper.

It depends on what you mean by dangerous. If you're talking about impact on the game Ginobili/Harden are going to have a much bigger one than our bench.

But the overall collection of talent for the C's is impressive if everyone maintains their past levels of play in substitute roles. (Green/Terry/Lee is a nice trio)

Yeah, it is a very different makeup for the team.  There are teams with 1 better bench player.  Guys like Harden and Ginobili are basically starters that come off the bench.  So, yes, they are very dangerous.

What is so dangerous about the C's (potentially) though, is that they have as many as 3 guys (and Sully perhaps has potential to be a 4th) who could be starters on a lot of teams.  And almost everyone they have coming off the bench has some positional versatility.  So, the C's might not have one guy that teams look at and are afraid of off the bench (although Terry or Green could each be that guy, potentially), but they have the potential to just overwhelm teams with waves of talent, as well as the potential to matchup with nearly anything the other team can throw at them.

[bfrombleacher]

The Knicks might rival us. But they might take the curse of injury from us (cross your fingers) with their signing of multiple old players.

I don't view the Knicks bench as very impressive. Their best bench guy is Camby?

Kidd, Camby, J.R. Smith, Kurt Thomas

Maybe Novak (who might have benefited from Jeremy Lin though)?

[Who]

I thought Chicago had the best bench in the league last year but it looks like they have parted ways with 3/5ths to 4/5ths of that backup unit. The next two best benches for me were Denver and Philadelphia. Philly lost Lou Williams and moved Evan Turner into the starting lineup late last year so they've lost a lot of their fire-power off the bench too.

I think Boston have a strong case as one of the top five benches in the league and the best in the East. Have to wait a little longer into this FA period to get a more complete picture of things ... but their bench is looking very strong.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I thought Chicago had the best bench in the league last year but it looks like they have parted with 3/5ths to 4/5ths of that backup unit. The next two best benches for me were Denver and Philadelphia. Philly lost Lou Williams and moved Evan Turner into the starting lineup late last year so they've lost a lot of their fire-power off the bench too.

I think Boston have a strong case as one of the top five benches in the league and the best in the East. Have to wait a little longer into this FA period to get a more complete picture of things ... but their bench is looking very strong.

"On paper" we should have the best bench. I think the only thing left to see is how we play together, and how Doc manages the rotations and match-ups. But from a speculating perspective, I consider our current incarnation the strongest in the league.

I wouldn't sleep on the Spurs from last year though. They had a great bench.

I think the Bulls with or without Rose are not going to be as good as previously. They've taken a step back so far.

[Fafnir]

The Knicks might rival us. But they might take the curse of injury from us (cross your fingers) with their signing of multiple old players.

I don't view the Knicks bench as very impressive. Their best bench guy is Camby?

Kidd, Camby, J.R. Smith, Kurt Thomas

Maybe Novak (who might have benefited from Jeremy Lin though)?

I don't think Smith/Camby are good enough to have them in the conversation. Those are the only two impact guys.

Novak is a shooter who got hot with Lin, widely overrated and overapid now. Kidd/Felton aren't going to manufacture the same sort of looks for him, nor is he going to shoot that hot again. Meanwhile he's a negative everywhere else on the court.

[bfrombleacher]

Another thing to keep in mind is that this depth is for three years.

The Grizzlies and the Thunder also both have insane benches...but they will not be able to afford it because the rookie contracts will be up soon.

The rooks will mature in three years and their resigning will come just as the vets come off the books (hopefully they stay with the C's as coaching staff or as analysts on TV or something).

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Dat bench.

That lineup can probably beat SacTown by themselves.

I love the depth.

[the_Bird]

We had a good bench last year until players started getting hurt.  If everyone can stay healthy, our bench should be outstanding.  We should be able to give Pierce and KG some nights off on back-to-backs (maybe Terry as well), and still be competitive.  But, it's dependent on Green and Wilcox not having any further heart issues, it's dependent on Pierce and KG remaining healthy and in the starting lineup, and on Bradley coming back fairly soon.  

But if everyone's healthy, we're looking at

Rondo/Terry
AB/Lee
Pierce/Green
Bass/Sully
KG/Wilcox/Collins

Fabe Melo will be developing on the bench, and maybe contributing a little bit by year-end.  Kris Joseph and/or Dionte Christmas will be quasi development projects/practice bodies.  

And, I think there's a good chance that Dooling returns, and someone like Pietrus for additional depth at the SF spot (which would mean it would be Christmas OR Joseph, not both).

We're 10- or 11-deep with rotation caliber players now (depending on how you feel about Collins), and could be 12- or 13-deep by the time camp opens.

My only concern is that I wish we had one more guy that could really play small forward, someone who could back up Jeff Green if Paul went down for any period of time (or even for games when Paul gets the night off).  That's why I wouldn't be surprised to see someone like Pietrus make a return appearance.