Sneaky tank job. I think Stevens has the green light to experiment with lineups to see how different combinations of players handle the pressure of the 4th quarter.

Then when Toronto has momentum, bring in Green to save a little face with 3-4 minutes to go. Loose by a few points, and add some ping pong balls to the pile.

I have no problem with his. Honestly we/he want to see what these players have in the 4th, and see who can be primed for trades, or developed into keepers.

Jeff Green played 20 minutes in the second half.  Coach Stevens had to take him out for a 4 minute rest in the middle of the fourth after riding him hard through the come back late in the third into early in the fourth.

In retrospect, Coach Stevens even admitted that he maybe should have rested him a little earlier so he could bring him back a little earlier.  However, if you are pointing to Jeff Green's minutes last night as an example of a "tank" strategy, you weren't paying very close attention. 

Stevens admitted to making a few mistakes himself last night. It's expected, he is still learning on the job as an NBA coach. Hopefully he learns to remove Bass and Lee from the rotation after a few more games too.

Because Stevens is not Tom Thibideau and won't run his players into the ground.

Jeff Green had played the entire third quarter and the first 3 and a half minutes of the fourth quarter.

Olynyk came in for him with 8:38 left and Green returned 4 minutes later. The C's went from a 1 point Celtic lead to a 6 point deficit.

So playing Jeff Green 20 minutes out of 24 in the second half is "sneaky tanking" now? Seeing what you want to see, you can't play your players 48 minutes a game.

Edit: Stevens also rested him at a similar point in the second quarter. Just a normal substitution pattern in a loss.

I'd rather he rest guys early in the quarter. Bottom line is Green left the game at a very in opportune time.

Quote from: Fafnir on October 31, 2013, 01:30:37 PM

Jeff Green had played the entire third quarter and the first 3 and a half minutes of the fourth quarter.

Olynyk came in for him with 8:38 left and Green returned 4 minutes later. The C's went from a 1 point Celtic lead to a 6 point deficit.

So playing Jeff Green 20 minutes out of 24 in the second half is "sneaky tanking" now? Seeing what you want to see, you can't play your players 48 minutes a game.

Edit: Stevens also rested him at a similar point in the second quarter. Just a normal substitution pattern in a loss.

I'd rather he rest guys early in the quarter. Bottom line is Green left the game at a very in opportune time.

The argument could be made either way.  It wasn't a tank move, regardless.

Going to be a long year on these boards!

Jeff Green had played the entire third quarter and the first 3 and a half minutes of the fourth quarter.

Olynyk came in for him with 8:38 left and Green returned 4 minutes later. The C's went from a 1 point Celtic lead to a 6 point deficit.

So playing Jeff Green 20 minutes out of 24 in the second half is "sneaky tanking" now? Seeing what you want to see, you can't play your players 48 minutes a game.

Edit: Stevens also rested him at a similar point in the second quarter. Just a normal substitution pattern in a loss.

We will see if this is just normal substitution experimenting with a new team, or a sneaky way to tank as the season rolls on. Gut instinct after one game had me thinking of the early Doc days and the ol' ML Carr days.

Another example of a sneaky tank move, would be to continue to let Avery Bradley run the offense. It is a legit move, because with Rondo out on a lottery bound team, you might as well keep developing Bradley's skills as a combo guard. Yet at the same time, Bradley is so bad on offense as a point guard that you are already putting your team at a disadvantage. Win-win for the quest for pingpong balls and player development.

And yes Green played a nice minute total. But Stevens should be smart enough to know that you shouldn't play your best player for 15-16 minutes straight, only to sit him the next 4 in the middle of the 4th while the other team goes on a momentum shifting run. He should have subbed him out for a break in the 3rd, and then a smaller one in the 4th.

And when Green or any other young best player on a team gets that hot you might as well play them extra minutes, and take advantage of butting 1-2 minute rest breaks with timeouts and quarter breaks. Then when Green regresses to his more passive mode you can play him just 30 minutes on that night.

Again, it is just one game. We will see how this plays out.