Is Tyler Zeller just there for the jump ball?

[LooseCannon]

In three starts, he is averaging 11.3 mpg.

Game 1 - Zeller plays 10:39.  He plays the first five minutes before being replaced by Sullinger.  He plays a minute and a half in the late first half.  He did not play in the second half until the last four minutes of garbage time.

Game 2 - 16:29.  Zeller plays the first six minutes.  He comes in with six minutes left in the first half, but subs out after two and a half minutes.  He plays the first five minutes of the second half, comes back with seven minutes left, and plays two and a half minutes before leaving the game for good.

Game 3 - 6:28.  Zeller starts and does not re-enter the game after checking out halfway through the first half.

The Celtics have controlled the opening tip in all three games.

[Hemingway]

When he plays better he will play more.

[Monkhouse]

Lol, I liked the original premise of the thread, and burst out laughing when I read the title.

I think this is a sign that Stevens is telling Zeller to start being far more aggressive.

[LilRip]

It's called being a specialist. Some guys spot up for the corner 3. Some guys are defensive stoppers. Zeller is a jump baller, and an elite one at that too

[SHAQATTACK]

Statue of Liberty play

Standing around watching the other Centers eat his lunch.

[fairweatherfan]

It sure seems that way lately.  Starting bigs have done so poorly that Zeller stays planted after a short first stretch.

[PhoSita]

Our big rotation is a mess.

For Zeller to thrive, he needs to be out there in a lineup with floor spacers and shot creators.  Playing him a few minutes here and there in offensively challenged lineups, it's no surprise he hasn't made much of an impact.

So yeah, right now he's basically just there for the jump ball.

[Rosco917]

Zeller plays with little passion, aggressiveness, or purpose. He needs a wakeup call, Stevens is delivering it.

I understand small ball is part of the game, but you can't have small ball without the threat of quality size being available.

We don't have it.

[TA9]

CBS probably owes the Zeller family a favour, hence that Tyler is playing even though that he has been bad

[JBcat]

He hasn't had the best matchup for himself against plodding big centers in the first 3 games.   He'll have his time but it might best to come off the bench.

[Moranis]

Zeller is the worst of the 5 bigs.  Frankly I have no idea why he is starting and he should really only get time in certain situations i.e. we need some size down low.  I think he would play better getting bench minutes and would probably keep him in that sort of rotation.

I've put on here a number of times that I would do something like this (I can't remember exactly how I had the minutes divided up)

PF - Sullinger 10, Lee 22, Olynyk 16
C - Johnson 24, Sullinger 15, Zeller 9

I think something like that would be the right mix and Sully and Amir are the two best players and both should be starting.  If someone is playing great you give that person more time.  If we need shooting maybe you leave Sully and KO on the floor longer.  Maybe Lee is doing well in the interior scoring.  Maybe we need Johnson's defense or Zeller's size.  I don't think you have it be rigid, but over the course of a season (and if all are healthy) I think something like that is the right mix. 

[Evantime34]

Zeller is the worst of the 5 bigs.  Frankly I have no idea why he is starting and he should really only get time in certain situations i.e. we need some size down low.  I think he would play better getting bench minutes and would probably keep him in that sort of rotation.

I've put on here a number of times that I would do something like this (I can't remember exactly how I had the minutes divided up)

PF - Sullinger 10, Lee 22, Olynyk 16
C - Johnson 24, Sullinger 15, Zeller 9

I think something like that would be the right mix and Sully and Amir are the two best players and both should be starting.  If someone is playing great you give that person more time.  If we need shooting maybe you leave Sully and KO on the floor longer.  Maybe Lee is doing well in the interior scoring.  Maybe we need Johnson's defense or Zeller's size.  I don't think you have it be rigid, but over the course of a season (and if all are healthy) I think something like that is the right mix.

I agree that Zeller is the worst of our 5 bigs. I feel like he should get 0 minutes until someone goes down or there is a trade. Playing 5 bigs means we can't really go small at any point during the game. Since I believe going small is one of the driving factors of this team playing great down the stretch last year, I want to build the ability to go small into the rotation.

Tonight I think we will replace Zeller with a smaller player like Jerebko, or Turner in an effort to match up with George.

Long term I think Stevens replaces Zeller with Sully. Leaving Sully and Lee the starters.

[AngryAndIrritable]

It's called being a specialist. Some guys spot up for the corner 3. Some guys are defensive stoppers. Zeller is a jump baller, and an elite one at that too

If Korver can make an All-Star game for his shooting then surely Zeller should be there for the opening tip?

Joking aside, Zeller has been the biggest disappointment of the season so far (I was expecting Lee to initially struggle). Hopefully he can pull himself out of it.

[Hemingway]

Is KO really better at this point than Zeller? I think Zeller suffers from not having a better passers to play with. He seemed like he was at his best when we still had Rondo.

[PhoSita]

Zeller is the worst of the 5 bigs.  Frankly I have no idea why he is starting and he should really only get time in certain situations i.e. we need some size down low.  I think he would play better getting bench minutes and would probably keep him in that sort of rotation.

I've put on here a number of times that I would do something like this (I can't remember exactly how I had the minutes divided up)

PF - Sullinger 10, Lee 22, Olynyk 16
C - Johnson 24, Sullinger 15, Zeller 9

I think something like that would be the right mix and Sully and Amir are the two best players and both should be starting.  If someone is playing great you give that person more time.  If we need shooting maybe you leave Sully and KO on the floor longer.  Maybe Lee is doing well in the interior scoring.  Maybe we need Johnson's defense or Zeller's size.  I don't think you have it be rigid, but over the course of a season (and if all are healthy) I think something like that is the right mix.

The thing is, Zeller was probably the most consistent contributor to the team over the entirety of last season.  He was actually a pretty significant asset and a big part of the team's run to the playoffs.

The rotation you outline, I think, is a classic case of too many cooks in the kitchen. 

At this point, I don't even care about who is in the big rotation so much as I care that Stevens limits it to 4 guys, maybe even 3 guys with Jerebko or Crowder getting some frontcourt minutes in small-ball lineups.  I just don't think that any of these guys is really going to succeed getting shifted around so frequently.