Today in practice scrimmage, Stevens used the following starting lineups for the two teams, per Marc D'Amico:
Starting lineups:
Green - Thomas, Crowder, Jerebko, Johnson, Olynyk
White - Smart, Bradley, Turner, Lee, Zeller
Could these be the two main lineups that Stevens will use (Bench mob and starting lineup)?
The most interesting thing might be that Sully wasn't in either starting unit. It seems like one of the bigs is going to sit pretty much the whole game on any given night. I have a feeling Sully, Olynyk, and Mickey are going to be fighting it out for that last spot in the big rotation.
Another noticeable thing about the lineups is that Stevens put all three of the secondary ball-handlers in the rotation in one lineup, and then put shooters and cutters around Isaiah Thomas. Makes sense.
It illustrates how the weaknesses of the team make it hard to craft lineups, however. Turner can't play with IT because they both need the ball to be worth putting on the floor. Smart and Bradley can't play together unless Turner is on the floor with them, because neither is a competent enough lead ball-handler. IT can't play with Bradley too much because they give up too much size in the backcourt.
Crowder and Jerebko have to be on the floor with Thomas or Turner for similar reasons -- neither can really run the pick and roll.
On the other hand, with Lee, Olynyk, and Sullinger, the Celts have three bigs with above average passing ability. Zeller is no slouch in that area, either. So they can make up some of their ball-handling deficiencies in lineups with two passing bigs. Higher degree of difficulty to run the offense through big men, though.
Thinking about lineups with this team is reminiscent of playing a strategy board-game. So many strengths and weaknesses to put together and cover up. It's fun to think about, but also really shows why it's so hard to succeed without star players that make everything simple for the role players.
