The Courtney Lee mystery

[Boris Badenov]

Anyone have any ideas about what is going on there?

As far as I can tell here are the facts:

1. He struggled at times this year, but actually performed better after the All-Star break, esp. in terms of shooting 3s (44%). This is not a case of steady decline over the year.

2. He seemed to be squeezed a bit by Crawford, but not much - Lee still averaged 21mpg in August.

3. He now appears to have been passed in the rotation by Williams and Crawford. (At least until Crawford embarrassed himself the other night - we will see.) He's logged two consecutive DNP-CDs, his first all year.

What gives? With our lack of depth I can't understand why Doc has benched him completely. And, it seems to me that he'd be a decent matchup against Felton, being a little bigger than Bradley and offering some outside shooting.

I'm curious to hear what others think.

[CelticConcourse]

Lee still averaged 21mpg in August.

Impressive, eh.


But I think Doc must've got into an argument with Lee or something. It's especially puzzling when you realize it was Doc who recruited Lee to Boston, and Lee came to Boston because of Doc. I think it may be a rotations problem, now. Just doesn't fit anymore.

[SparzWizard]

Looks like Doc found his answer in stopping Raymond Felton- Terrence Williams.

As for Courtney Lee, couldn't we put him on J.R. Smith? And keep Bass on Melo?

Then have the rest of our squad guarding Jason Kidd, Prigioni, Shumpert, Tyson, Novak?

[CelticConcourse]

Looks like Doc found his answer in stopping Raymond Felton- Terrence Williams.

Thing is, even before TWill, Lee wasn't getting many minutes.

[Boris Badenov]

I'll add that his performances in the first three games of the series were, by any measure, awful. Not only was his shooting poor, in games 2 and 3 he logged straight doughnuts other than taking 2 shots - no rebounds, assists, steals, etc...not even a foul. It's like he wasn't even on the court.

It's a puzzle to me how someone could decline so dramatically.

[LooseCannon]

Lee played 20 minutes in game 1.  Perhaps Doc thinks that Lee isn't putting forth the necessary effort.  Perhaps Lee complained that he should have more minutes.  I wouldn't be surprised if he was unhappy about Terry getting the start in game 3 and his demeanor at halftime in the lockerroom led to him not playing in the second half until garbage time then getting two DNPs.

[Chief]

Anyone have any ideas about what is going on there?

As far as I can tell here are the facts:

1. He struggled at times this year, but actually performed better after the All-Star break, esp. in terms of shooting 3s (44%). This is not a case of steady decline over the year.

2. He seemed to be squeezed a bit by Crawford, but not much - Lee still averaged 21mpg in August.

3. He now appears to have been passed in the rotation by Williams and Crawford. (At least until Crawford embarrassed himself the other night - we will see.) He's logged two consecutive DNP-CDs, his first all year.

What gives? With our lack of depth I can't understand why Doc has benched him completely. And, it seems to me that he'd be a decent matchup against Felton, being a little bigger than Bradley and offering some outside shooting.

I'm curious to hear what others think.

With most teams pg/sg/sf depth, Lee would probably be in a playoff rotation. Unfortutely for him, the Celtics have too many players better or equal too him at those spots.

I bet he is the first player traded this summer.

[CelticConcourse]

With our lack of depth I can't understand why Doc has benched him completely.

Do we really have a lack of depth? (not taking sides)

[Chief]

With our lack of depth I can't understand why Doc has benched him completely.

Do we really have a lack of depth? (not taking sides)

At pf/center maybe? But not combo guard.

[SparzWizard]

I can certainly see Courtney Lee leaving this team in the offseason due to him getting the doghouse treatment.

[AB_Celtic]

With most teams pg/sg/sf depth, Lee would probably be in a playoff rotation. Unfortutely for him, the Celtics have too many players better or equal too him at those spots.

I bet he is the first player traded this summer.

I don't get this, for several reasons. Assuming you're comparing him with Bradley, Terry, Crawford, and Williams, Lee is...
1. the only one capable of playing backup minutes at the 3
2. an excellent defender, and bigger than Bradley so he matches up with NY's guards
3. a less one-dimensional player than Terry
4. more consistent than Crawford
5. more knowledgeable of the system than Williams

I'm not saying he should have the most minutes, but he is by no means replaceable by any one of these four guards. He is a unique player on our team, and one that we should be using, especially against NY.

[Boris Badenov]

With our lack of depth I can't understand why Doc has benched him completely.

Do we really have a lack of depth? (not taking sides)

At pf/center maybe? But not combo guard.

We do lack depth, overall, even if most of our talent is at the 2/3 spots. Doc only played 7 guys in the last game, and our front-line guys have been playing huge minutes.

So yeah, it's surprising to me that Pierce played 44 minutes, and JET 35, rather than having those guys get a tiny breather and having Lee play even a couple of minutes.

Alternatively, if Doc is down on Bradley I don't understand why Lee doesn't get a few of those minutes, particularly in a game where Doc also benched Crawford completely.

That's the puzzle, to me.

[Yogi]

With most teams pg/sg/sf depth, Lee would probably be in a playoff rotation. Unfortutely for him, the Celtics have too many players better or equal too him at those spots.

I bet he is the first player traded this summer.

I don't get this, for several reasons. Assuming you're comparing him with Bradley, Terry, Crawford, and Williams, Lee is...
1. the only one capable of playing backup minutes at the 3
2. an excellent defender, and bigger than Bradley so he matches up with NY's guards
3. a less one-dimensional player than Terry
4. more consistent than Crawford
5. more knowledgeable of the system than Williams

I'm not saying he should have the most minutes, but he is by no means replaceable by any one of these four guards. He is a unique player on our team, and one that we should be using, especially against NY.

1. Williams is the only one capable of playing a little 3 because he is big and strong.  Lee would get eaten alive by most 3s.
2. Courtney Lee is a couple of inches taller than Bradley but Bradley has a bigger wingspan and vertical.  Bradley is quicker and a better defender in general. 
3.  This is simply false.  Terry is a former sixth man of the year, who is a versatile scorer and an excellent shot creator.  Courtney Lee is a streaky spot up shooter who has a decent mid range shot off one dribble.
4.  Yes, he is more consistent than Crawford.
5.  Williams knows enough and gives us more of what we need, which is ball handling, rebounds, slashing and passing.
That being said, I'm sure there will be opportunities for Lee.  He just has to stay ready like everyone else.  He's a nice player. 

[BudweiserCeltic]

At the moment not understanding how he's been benched in this series, it's not making much sense to me. I liked the Terrence Williams move, particularly because he adds defensive size and quickness to our guard rotation that was missing with Lee on the doghouse. So I'm fine on that account.

[BballTim]

With most teams pg/sg/sf depth, Lee would probably be in a playoff rotation. Unfortutely for him, the Celtics have too many players better or equal too him at those spots.

I bet he is the first player traded this summer.

I don't get this, for several reasons. Assuming you're comparing him with Bradley, Terry, Crawford, and Williams, Lee is...
1. the only one capable of playing backup minutes at the 3
2. an excellent defender, and bigger than Bradley so he matches up with NY's guards
3. a less one-dimensional player than Terry
4. more consistent than Crawford
5. more knowledgeable of the system than Williams

I'm not saying he should have the most minutes, but he is by no means replaceable by any one of these four guards. He is a unique player on our team, and one that we should be using, especially against NY.

 We don't need a backup three and we needed the offense from Terry and Crawford (desperation offense) that Lee doesn't provide. I don't think we'll solve the mystery on our own though, he might be injured or something that we don't know about.