Stevens Looking for a Top 10

[Boris Badenov]

What a challenge this is going to be for Stevens. He needs to:

1. Evaluate Smart as a playmaker/PG;
2. Decide whether IT should start or come off the bench;
3. Pick Turner or Crowder as the primary SF (see 1, probably depends on that);
4. Find working combinations of bigs, many of whom have never played together before, and where it's not even clear who should be starting or playing more/fewer minutes;
5. Give some clarity on the progression/development of KO and Sully as they approach the ends of their rookie contracts;
6. Manage egos/PT for a group of 10 guys, give or take, who all think they deserve significant minutes;
7. Balance "win now" and player development when there's lots of pressure to do both.

Maybe it's just me because I observe the Celts more closely than other teams...but man does he have a lot on his plate, and in many cases the goals are conflicting.

For example the big question about Sully is really whether he can sustain a high level of play at 30+ minutes per game - but how the heck does Stevens evaluate that when he has all those other big guys demanding minutes?

I don't envy him.

[slamtheking]

I think Jonas is the 11th man in the rotation.

[Neurotic Guy]

No idea.  The pre-season is actually gong to be fun.  Should be extremely competetive.  Performances in pre-season games will really matter!   And obviously, pratice performance will matter too.

I also think that both injuries and trades will help iron this out.  I can't imagine there won't be trade by December.

[bdm860]

I don't think Lee is going to play that well. However I don't think his game fits with a ball-dominant guard like Thomas. I think Zach Lowe put it best when he said "Thomas is one of those guys where you pause the video and you can see a guy open in the corner and another guy in the post, but Thomas takes the shot anyway and it goes in." I don't think you want a guy like that with Lee. You want a guy like that with energy bigs.

I think the possibility of Lee declining is very real. I think if he declines enough he might just not play, but the middle ground would either be the awkward Thomas/Lee bench unit or just starting Thomas and benching Lee.

I actually think of Lee as a high energy big, do you not?  Maybe that's part of why we disagree.  Especially now at 32, having been reduced to a bench role last season, I can see him embracing it more.  I have hope he can mesh with Thomas!

My philosophy though, you don't start Lee because he doesn't mesh with Thomas.  You start Lee because he earned the starting spot.  He makes that 5 man starting unit better and the team as a whole.  If he's coming off the bench (where I think he belongs) and he doesn't mesh with Thomas, then you just leave him on the bench (overly simplistic, I know, as the same rationale doesn't work when applied to Thomas).

My pre-training camp prediction (barring injury), 10/28 we're going to see Zeller start, and David Lee will not be the other starter.  Stevens will mess with the starters throughout the season though, and we'll see a variety of lineups rolled out.

[More Banners]

Okay...holding out the players that may be better now, but aren't long term pieces or whatnot...

Smart/Rosier
Turner/Bradley
Crowder/Jerebko
Lee/Sully
Amir/KO

Trade  block:

IT, Zeller, and any other player for an upgrade at any spot, picks possible for stars.

Just don't see either one holding a trophy.

Turner's versatility is valuable in a rotation.
Lee and Sully splitting time would be interesting, and maintain a rebounding/interior scoring player on the court.

They necessitate the Amir and KO combo to spread the floor.  Zeller could best out KO with defense and great midrange shooting.

[littleteapot]

My philosophy though, you don't start Lee because he doesn't mesh with Thomas.  You start Lee because he earned the starting spot.  He makes that 5 man starting unit better and the team as a whole.  If he's coming off the bench (where I think he belongs) and he doesn't mesh with Thomas, then you just leave him on the bench (overly simplistic, I know, as the same rationale doesn't work when applied to Thomas).

Well we're having this discussion because everyone on our team is too good to be a bench player but not good enough to be a starter - I agree with you in most circumstances.

I just want a big to play with Thomas who doesn't need the ball. Maybe energy is the wrong word, but I like him with Zeller and Sully screening, crashing the boards taking some midrange shots and not needing to post anyone up unless its a huge mismatch.

[JBcat]

I would do something like this

PG - Thomas 30, Smart 18
SG - Smart 18, Bradley 30
SF - Turner 28, Crowder 20
PF - Sullinger 24, Lee 15, Olynyk 9
C - Johnson 28, Zeller 15, Olynyk 5

Total
Smart - 36
Thomas - 30
Bradley - 30
Turner - 28
Johnson - 28
Sullinger - 24
Crowder - 20
Lee - 15
Zeller - 15
Olynyk - 14

Team clearly needs a real legit starter at center and needs to consolidate the PF's.

I agree with this mostly, but I think KO could get a tick more, and Smart a tick less.  The bigs may not get as much playing time as they would like but I think it will work out just fine.

This is all under the assumption that everyone will play all 82 games which is not going to happen so you will see a few MPG rise above these projections.

I like the idea of all these guys getting regular rotation minutes, Jerberko or Jones whoever stays getting spot minutes when needed, and Young, and the 3 rookies getting garbage time until they prove themselves maybe forcing a trade to happen or develop in the D league.

[Csfan1984]

Thread so needs a better title thought is was going to be

Looking for a top ten player to acquire.

[86MaxwellSmart]

13 days to go until Celtics Basketball is back.

[aingeforthree]

So many people on here just crapping on Lee.

That's going to be a huge mistake when it's all said and done.  This is a legit all star player, no matter the age.  He helps in many different areas, and those are all areas that this team stunk at last season and beyond.  The guy is going to help a ton, same with Amir.

[BDeCosta26]

  Where in the world do people get the idea that Zeller is better than Olynyk.  There is literally nothing he does better than K.O. and a ton of things he is way worse at.  Every advanced statistic tells you that there is no comparison and yet people still think he is somehow better.  Mind boggling.

Easy. The C's haven't had a great interior defender since the early KG era. It's been one of our biggest holes for years. Zeller is an adequate, albeit just average, interior defender. KO is a poor interior defender.

The fact that he's better at just about every other facet of the game means very little to some folks around here. Because he's "soft as charmin", and can't protect the rim consistently. Nevermind that he's 7 feet tall, can shoot, drive and pass like a guard and has very positive impact on our offense because of his unique skill-set.

[SHAQATTACK]

So many people on here just crapping on Lee.

That's going to be a huge mistake when it's all said and done.  This is a legit all star player, no matter the age.  He helps in many different areas, and those are all areas that this team stunk at last season and beyond.  The guy is going to help a ton, same with Amir.

I agree.

Lee and Sully are liable to steal the show .

[Greyman]

What a challenge this is going to be for Stevens. He needs to:

1. Evaluate Smart as a playmaker/PG;
2. Decide whether IT should start or come off the bench;
3. Pick Turner or Crowder as the primary SF (see 1, probably depends on that);
4. Find working combinations of bigs, many of whom have never played together before, and where it's not even clear who should be starting or playing more/fewer minutes;
5. Give some clarity on the progression/development of KO and Sully as they approach the ends of their rookie contracts;
6. Manage egos/PT for a group of 10 guys, give or take, who all think they deserve significant minutes;
7. Balance "win now" and player development when there's lots of pressure to do both.

Maybe it's just me because I observe the Celts more closely than other teams...but man does he have a lot on his plate, and in many cases the goals are conflicting.

For example the big question about Sully is really whether he can sustain a high level of play at 30+ minutes per game - but how the heck does Stevens evaluate that when he has all those other big guys demanding minutes?

I don't envy him.

TP here, nicely sums up the task facing CBS and the 'wait and sees' facing the team and individual players.

[Jon]

I would do something like this

PG - Thomas 30, Smart 18
SG - Smart 18, Bradley 30
SF - Turner 28, Crowder 20
PF - Sullinger 24, Lee 15, Olynyk 9
C - Johnson 28, Zeller 15, Olynyk 5

Total
Smart - 36
Thomas - 30
Bradley - 30
Turner - 28
Johnson - 28
Sullinger - 24
Crowder - 20
Lee - 15
Zeller - 15
Olynyk - 14

Team clearly needs a real legit starter at center and needs to consolidate the PF's.

But why play Lee, Zeller, and Olynyk essentially 15 minutes each? Why not give the best two 22-23 mpg?  Clearly, the answer isn't because of fatigue. Any in shape NBA player can play 20-25 mpg no problem.

So are we just being nice to the lesser player? If so, this isn't Little League; we aren't compelled to play anyone.

Are we trying to keep trade value up? Maybe, but how much is 15 mpg of any of those guys going to do to entice anyone to give us anything of worth?

Maybe you can argue they all have different styles, but all 3 aren't known for their defense and even Zeller who supposedly is a real center still isn't a rim protector or a post force.

So really, I'd rather just see Stevens pick the top 4 and bench th 5th. Because quite frankly, while we do have depth, we have no stars. So if Zeller/Olynyk/Lee can't crack the top 4, he has no one to blame but himself.

[Celtics4ever]

I think it will be KO vs. Sully and one of those will lose out.