The game tonight proves how flawed this roster is

[Diggles]

If your 5 best bench players are as good as 5 best starters, that's not really a recipe for success.  Both groups are mediocre weak.  I'd gladly trade all 10 of them for 5 upgrades.

The game tonight summed it up pretty well. 

PG - Rondo + Smart = Redundant
SG - Bradley + Thornton = Gladly would trade both for an upgrade
SF - Green + Turner = Gladly would trade both for an upgrade
PF - Sully + Oly = Redundant
C - Zeller + Bass = Gladly would trade both for an upgrade

Easier said then done wouldn't you agree?   

[Endless Paradise]

I would agree with the premise that this team is built for a trade and filled with redundant parts.  Last night was awesome to watch but when your bench is dropping 80+ points, it's illustrative of the fact that this team is filled with a bunch of average to above average players & the starters v. bench dynamic is rather fluid which means that you're not top heavy in talent.  The reality of it is that you want a discernible difference there. You need a couple of those top heavy guys and this team doesn't have it right now.

This team has been pretty entertaining to watch this season but the ceiling is pretty low.  I remain convinced that Danny is treading water with this roster for the time being.  Continue to shed more salary and move some of this young talent for established talent.  It could very well last into 2016.

Still, what an entertaining game last night.  The effort from the Celtics was very commendable and great to watch.

This, pretty much.

[CFAN38]

If your 5 best bench players are as good as 5 best starters, that's not really a recipe for success.  Both groups are mediocre weak.  I'd gladly trade all 10 of them for 5 upgrades.

The game tonight summed it up pretty well. 

PG - Rondo + Smart = Redundant
SG - Bradley + Thornton = Gladly would trade both for an upgrade
SF - Green + Turner = Gladly would trade both for an upgrade
PF - Sully + Oly = Redundant
C - Zeller + Bass = Gladly would trade both for an upgrade

What the Celtics currently have is an accumulation of assets rather then players with roles. With the exception of maybe Zeller none of these guys where brought in to fill a specific role. When DA was building a team and not accumulating assets it was easy to see where players where meant to fit. (IE Posey 3-D 6th man, House instant offense.) DA's decision on Rondo's future is going to be the lynch pin in future roster make up. If he is moved I expect at least one more season of a roster deep in mid level talent. If he is resigned then moves will be made to consolidate the talent into 7-8 man rotation.

[LarBrd33]

I would agree with the premise that this team is built for a trade and filled with redundant parts.  Last night was awesome to watch but when your bench is dropping 80+ points, it's illustrative of the fact that this team is filled with a bunch of average to above average players & the starters v. bench dynamic is rather fluid which means that you're not top heavy in talent.  The reality of it is that you want a discernible difference there. You need a couple of those top heavy guys and this team doesn't have it right now.

This team has been pretty entertaining to watch this season but the ceiling is pretty low.  I remain convinced that Danny is treading water with this roster for the time being.  Continue to shed more salary and move some of this young talent for established talent.  It could very well last into 2016.

Still, what an entertaining game last night.  The effort from the Celtics was very commendable and great to watch.

This, pretty much.

I agree. Also, it's fair to point out that some players, like Bradley, can't be moved until January... So I'm not sitting here angry about the lack of movement.  Like every year, I'll wait until the trade deadline until I freak out.

I'm just saying that last night was a great display of the problem with this roster.  Mismatched assets that need to be consolidated into better parts.

]

[Granath]

I love how LarBrd33 wants to make all of these trades to upgrade the roster, but when asked specifics the best trade he makes is for an injured guy who is worse than what the Celtics already have. Every team in the league would like to take two role players and turn them into one superstar player and that he's lamenting that Danny can't magically make this happen shows how little he knows about the sport.

Basically, everything the OP says is wrong because the game didn't demonstrate how flawed the roster is. Many OTHER games this year have demonstrated how flawed the roster is, but not last night's game. What last night's game showed is that this team is deep and has guys who can contribute at the 8th, 10th and 12th spots on the roster. When Danny finally has the opportunity to pull the trigger on that One Big Trade / Get Lottery Luck that everyone is waiting on, he has many assets to appeal to other teams without sacrificing much of the depth of the current squad. No, these guys aren't world beaters but they're young, relatively cheap and they can perform when called upon to do so. When the squad does get that stud at whatever position, the Celtics will already have quite a few complimentary pieces to put around that player.

Now maybe instead of going for the home run, Danny decides to package some of these players + draft choices to make incremental gains. He also has that option. But until the NBA nears the trade deadline, he can't make that happen. This time of year the trade market is pretty dry. Either way, what it shows is that the Celtics have options to improve their roster via incremental trades, making a blockbuster deal or sitting tight and seeing how those draft picks wind up. Very few teams have all 3 of these improvement routes open to them.

In short, last night's game showed that at least we have parts who can play. Even better for trade proposals, we have younger parts that can play.

[Celtics4ever]

  It was one game. Can you possibly read more into what happened than that?

He didn't play much in the end of the last two games.  His minutes are down three minutes in December to November.  In these comebacks, a lot of times he has been on the bench.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/6624/jared-sullinger

Against Washington for the year he averaged 24 MPG.  For some reason, he does not match up well with them.  Maybe Stevens did not play him because he was 5-13 for these two games.  He could also be injured.  Stevens is a stat guy, he will notice this stuff.

Sully had a great game against ATL even though Horford abused him after he talked smack to him.   Bad game against Detroit, Solid game against LA, and two bad games against Washington although he rebounded well the first one.  This doesn't take into his D, which is not existent over than the slap the ball out of a guys hands every few games.

We need to pump him up and start him  and sell high.  He needs a rim protector to cover up his defensive short comings and he struggles against height and length of any sort.  KO tries harder and moves the ball better.  Sully has more talent than him, presently.   Sully is used to being the star and taking big shots.   For every one he tries to gun into a close one, he misses two others.  I think despite his 2.5 APG he is selfish and more worried about this stats.
 
He also lack endurance and can't play D nor does he always try.   He is a lot like Kevin Love, in that he doesn't play D.   He is the same player as he was at OSU.  Fool's gold, productive offensively but horrible on D and selfish.  It is painfully obvious that he  is not dedicated to being a complete player with getting conditioned.

I bet we see more of him on the pine in fourth quarter of close games, better to have a guy who tries than someone just out there to shoot threes when he is tired.

[TheGreenBrit]

Me right now...

[LB3533]

I would agree with the premise that this team is built for a trade and filled with redundant parts.  Last night was awesome to watch but when your bench is dropping 80+ points, it's illustrative of the fact that this team is filled with a bunch of average to above average players & the starters v. bench dynamic is rather fluid which means that you're not top heavy in talent.  The reality of it is that you want a discernible difference there. You need a couple of those top heavy guys and this team doesn't have it right now.

This team has been pretty entertaining to watch this season but the ceiling is pretty low.  I remain convinced that Danny is treading water with this roster for the time being.  Continue to shed more salary and move some of this young talent for established talent.  It could very well last into 2016.

Still, what an entertaining game last night.  The effort from the Celtics was very commendable and great to watch.

Last night's 82 points from our bench happened in a double OT game and coach Stevens decision to sit or rest 4 out of 5 of our starters.

I do not see this scenario happening on a frequent basis.

Before last night's game our bench scoring was 34.5 ppg over 18 games. Include last night's game, bench scoring went up to 37 ppg over 19 games.

4 of our bench players played over 30 minutes (one over 40 min, Kelly O). 4 of our starters played under 24 minutes, 1 starter, Sully, played 17, less than Marcis Thornton's 19.

The Wizards' 5 starters played 36 minutes or more....could they have been fatigued to defend our bench players.....maybe, maybe not. One game out of 82 does not represent an accurate reflection of our team.

Am I happy our bench played well, yes.....if they were asked to do it again, would I want them to? YES.

Is that going to happen on a consistent basis? I do not think so, but KG said it.....anything is possible.

[beantownboy171]

You can find the negative in any situation when you're a middle of the pack team in the NBA. Because part of you is torn between wanting to win and wanting to lose.

I think that our depth is pretty incredible and a credit to DA. Other people will see it as slowing our rebuild to have players like Thornton, Bass and Turner on the team. At this point I'd rather have Rondo and Green resign this offseason, because we look like a team that can compete.

We've got a huge number of draft picks coming up. Trading up in the NBA draft is hard to do historically. But few teams have ever had this many draft picks, to go along with the depth we already have on this roster.

Anyone can be traded for the right price.

There is nothing similar between Green and Turner. Their offensive games are totally different, and I think they complement each other in a cool way.

I think now is the time to showcase our young guys on the playoff stage. It's the only way Sully, Olynyk, Bradley and friends will generate serious trade value leading into this offseason.

We just need a quality center to compete. I don't think we need to tank to get one.   

[kozlodoev]

Last night's 82 points from our bench happened in a double OT game and coach Stevens decision to sit or rest 4 out of 5 of our starters.

I do not see this scenario happening on a frequent basis.

That's not the point. The point is that it is absurd that you can bench 4 of your 5 starters and not get a massive drop-off in performance. That probably means said starters are not exactly world beaters.

[hwangjini_1]

  It was one game. Can you possibly read more into what happened than that?

He didn't play much in the end of the last two games.  His minutes are down three minutes in December to November.  In these comebacks, a lot of times he has been on the bench.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/6624/jared-sullinger

Against Washington for the year he averaged 24 MPG.  For some reason, he does not match up well with them.  Maybe Stevens did not play him because he was 5-13 for these two games.  He could also be injured.  Stevens is a stat guy, he will notice this stuff.

Sully had a great game against ATL even though Horford abused him after he talked smack to him.   Bad game against Detroit, Solid game against LA, and two bad games against Washington although he rebounded well the first one.  This doesn't take into his D, which is not existent over than the slap the ball out of a guys hands every few games.

We need to pump him up and start him  and sell high.  He needs a rim protector to cover up his defensive short comings and he struggles against height and length of any sort.  KO tries harder and moves the ball better.  Sully has more talent than him, presently.   Sully is used to being the star and taking big shots.   For every one he tries to gun into a close one, he misses two others.  I think despite his 2.5 APG he is selfish and more worried about this stats.
 
He also lack endurance and can't play D nor does he always try.   He is a lot like Kevin Love, in that he doesn't play D.   He is the same player as he was at OSU.  Fool's gold, productive offensively but horrible on D and selfish.  It is painfully obvious that he  is not dedicated to being a complete player with getting conditioned.

I bet we see more of him on the pine in fourth quarter of close games, better to have a guy who tries than someone just out there to shoot threes when he is tired.

c4e, sorry but i can't figure out whom you are writing about here. who is the "he" you are focusing on?

[Jonny CC]

Last night's 82 points from our bench happened in a double OT game and coach Stevens decision to sit or rest 4 out of 5 of our starters.

I do not see this scenario happening on a frequent basis.

That's not the point. The point is that it is absurd that you can bench 4 of your 5 starters and not get a massive drop-off in performance. That probably means said starters are not exactly world beaters.

Or...on the brighter side...it could mean that your bench is really good.   

[hwangjini_1]

Last night's 82 points from our bench happened in a double OT game and coach Stevens decision to sit or rest 4 out of 5 of our starters.

I do not see this scenario happening on a frequent basis.

That's not the point. The point is that it is absurd that you can bench 4 of your 5 starters and not get a massive drop-off in performance. That probably means said starters are not exactly world beaters.

that, and/or ainge has assembled a team the is relatively flat in terms of talent. that is, from the top to number 10ish there is not a HUGE difference in talent levels. lots of parts that can be interchanged or recombined in new ways.

[footey]

You are one of the main people talking about upgrades as if there are a lot of guys out there so much better and guys who are available. Say what you want about Jeff, there is not ONE upgrade to him out there that is available! I dare you to show me one.

I'm not going to go back and forth on the other guys b/c you are always going to think the grass is greener with other players!

It always happens.

Look at Jet and Lee. Everyone was so happy when we got them, they didn't mesh well and everyone started to say they sucked. Perk sucked, let you all tell it, and now all of a sudden, we are lost without him. 

Yep. Jeff Green is earning himself a nice contract. He's now a threat posting up. And he's starting to pull up in the lane which I rarely saw him do before.

I think the question is not who is better then Jeff Green. But how much do the Celtics pay him. He's currently in the top 25 for points per game and climbing. And if the Celtics can get closer to 500, I think he might make the all-star game.

I say pay that man his money. It would suck to lose Jeff Green.

I think Green based on performance to date will be entitled to a bigger contract than Rondo in FA.

[Fred Roberts]

Silly me, I thought it showed how tough and deep this team is.

I'm gutted that we lost, but very proud of my team right now.

Agreed.

This is a team in transition, yet, they beat or nearly beat every top team in the East and some in the West. What are people looking for?? Wake up! The team is not a finished product. Be glad we have enough players already to be getting some good wins and narrowly losing a lot of others. The C's aren't that far away after 1.2 years rebuilding.