dont forget about avery bradley!

[ballerbt]

where is avery bradley gonna fit in this big rotation?

[wdleehi]

Most likely starting SG when he is healthy.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I have a tough time believing Doc will give him the starting nod over Lee.

[wdleehi]

I have a tough time believing Doc will give him the starting nod over Lee.

With the way he played during the season last year, I don't see why he doesn't give Bradley the chance to build on it. 

[arambone]

Rondo and Bradley are going to be legendary when Bradley gets healthy.

That pressure is going to pump the whole team up, and it's going to be as unstoppable a starting 5 as any in the league, whether Bass or Sully starts.

Only problem is the high number of back-to-back games Stern gifted us.

Bradley is a young legend, especially once he starts getting rings.

[CelticG1]

Bradley didn't earn a starting spot last year. He played well for 2 months once our starting SG got injured.

Especially with AB possibly taking a while to recover theres no reason to just give him his spot. He still needs to earn it.

[CelticG1]

And btw I loved Bradley and hoping he will have continued success I'm just saying people penciling him in as a bonafide starter and acting like he is going to be a top 10 shooting guard are getting a little ahead of themselves. Especially when we happened to pick up a pretty legit SG during the offseason

[SHAQATTACK]

I'm hoping AB is driven to get back as hard as I think he is.   

He made something out of hisself,  I bet he is axnious to get his game out on the court asap.

Hopefully AB and Lee can put a clamp on the thug Wade this year , who 'll be a year older as well.   I'm hoping we are seeing Wade slow down some. 

[LooseCannon]

I have a tough time believing Doc will give him the starting nod over Lee.

I have a tough time believing Doc will keep starting Lee when Bradley is completely healthy unless Lee is playing better than Bradley did as a starter last season.  Maybe if the Celtics are off to a ridiculously hot start and he doesn't want to mess with what is working.

I think Doc is the sort of man who may feel that he needs to make it up to Bradley somehow for misusing him as a point guard when he was a rookie and for not trying to push Ray Allen to a bench role earlier.  Bradley's focus on defense is the sort of thing that will earn a commitment from Doc.

Lee is an adequate SG best suited to the bench who I suspect might be overpaid.  He's not as good of a SG as Brandon Bass is as a PF.

[Change]

Bradley didn't earn a starting spot last year. He played well for 2 months once our starting SG got injured.

Especially with AB possibly taking a while to recover theres no reason to just give him his spot. He still needs to earn it.

He did well enough to unseat future HOF starting job. Impressive feat in my eyes. Avery is all but guaranteed his spot whenever he returns.

[pearljammer10]

Avery who?

[Jon]

Well, this guard rotation could be tricky.  Last year our four guards averaged these minutes:

Rondo 37 mpg
Terry 32 mpg
Lee 30 mpg
Bradley 21 mpg for the season; however, 33 mpg in March when he fully claimed the starting role. 

Even in a 3 man rotation, there wouldn't be enough minutes for everyone to stay at their minutes from last season.  Throw in the fourth player, and everything gets thrown out of whack.  Given those minutes, there's 96 minutes at those two positions to attempt to fit in 132 minutes.  That's an extra 36 mpg. 

So, what to do?

Shave 3 mpg off Rondo, and bring him down to 34 mpg.  Down to 33. 

Shave 7 mpg off Terry.  He's 35, 25 mpg should suit him fine.  Down to 26. 

Bring Lee and Bradley down to 25 mpg.  That shaves off another 13 minutes.  Down to 13. 

Now at this point, it becomes quite tough.  The only way not to avoid cutting Bradley, Terry, and Lee down to 20 mpg (or someone essentially out) is to play Lee some time at the 3 spot.  The problem there is that means that Green has to play even more at the 4 spot.  However, if Sullinger doesn't prove he belongs right away, there's minutes to be had there.  So we could do something like this at the 3. 

Pierce 28 mpg, Lee 10 mpg, Green 10 mpg. 

Then give Green another 15-20 mpg at the 4 spot. 

Does it leave us a bit undersized?  Yes.  But it gives all four of our guards rotation quality minutes.  And unless Sullinger steps in and is absolutely stunning, commanding 25+ mpg, we're probably better off going with some talented small ball lineups, than playing larger, but less talented lineups. 

[Chris]

Most likely starting SG when he is healthy.

I think this could be one of the more interesting subplots this season.  because I think a strong case can be made for him coming off the bench, if Lee does a good job as a starter.

Either way, I expect him to play a major role on this team, but Doc will have some real versatility with the options he has in the backcourt.

[BballTim]

Bradley didn't earn a starting spot last year. He played well for 2 months once our starting SG got injured.

Especially with AB possibly taking a while to recover theres no reason to just give him his spot. He still needs to earn it.

  Bradley clearly won the starting sg spot last year. What would he have had to do to "earn" it?

  And are you also saying that Bass didn't earn a starting spot because he started when JO was injured?

[Chris]

Bradley didn't earn a starting spot last year. He played well for 2 months once our starting SG got injured.

Especially with AB possibly taking a while to recover theres no reason to just give him his spot. He still needs to earn it.

  Bradley clearly won the starting sg spot last year. What would he have had to do to "earn" it?

  And are you also saying that Bass didn't earn a starting spot because he started when JO was injured?

I agree that he earned it last year.  But that is more reason for him to still have to earn it this year.  If Ray Allen can lose his starting spot while being injured after spending his entire career as a starter, Avery Bradley can lose it, after a couple months as a starter.

It will be an open competition IMO, and Doc will start whoever makes the most sense.

And personally, I think Lee's shooting ability and length defensively makes more sense as the starter than Bradley, providing he plays up to his potential.  That way Bradley can cause havoc off the bench.