Who Should Start Bradley or Brown?

[Ilikesports17]

Bradley. Not close.

[RockinRyA]

Wait, so because a player is better than the other player, he needs to start? Why the heck did Stevens move Smart back to the bench in favor of the rookie? That's right, it has nothing to do with being the better player. It has to do with roster balance and matchups.

Bradley is okay with the starters, problem is, Brown doesnt work as well with the bench because he has to do too much there. It has nothing to do with who is a better player.

[SHAQATTACK]

Funny I was too chicken to post this thread last night.....  ......I figured it would start a storm of hate ....TP to OP .....for  bringing it up. LOL

The more I see what the team does and needs , the more I think Brown just NEEDS to be in the game.   

Smart and Jaylen size help cover the IT defensive issues , I think better than Bradley .  Who is usually has his man wrapped up fine.  But , Smart and especially Jaylen give us that size we miss from the Turner days to mess with the tall ruff guards IT will encounter.

We miss ABs shooting for sure And rebounding.

But I like what I'm seeing from Brown .   If they pressure him outside , he is developing a serious thread to take the ball inside on the guards , even with bigs in the paint . 

Brown looks more comfortable every game .   He also does the Smart type of hustle plays , small things , pretty cool for a guy his age.

The team is actually gaining more depth as Brown improves during ABs absence.

I like IT with Brown as his running partner .

[Eddie20]

Wait, so because a player is better than the other player, he needs to start? Why the heck did Stevens move Smart back to the bench in favor of the rookie? That's right, it has nothing to do with being the better player. It has to do with roster balance and matchups.

Bradley is okay with the starters, problem is, Brown doesnt work as well with the bench because he has to do too much there. It has nothing to do with who is a better player.

Exactly. It's about maximizing minutes. When Bradley plays with the second unit, which he often does, his production and usage rate goes up as they feature him offensively. Conversely, without Bradley in the starting lineup the usage rate of Thomas, Crowder, and Horford also increases. Which can be attributed to them picking up the offensive slack. The key thing, and this speaks to the maximizing of minutes, is Jaylen Brown and his production playing with and without the starters.

This does NOT mean that Bradley's minutes will be greatly reduced. He's currently at 34.9 mpg and I think as a 6th man he'll probably be around 32 mpg.

I mean Red Auerbach was the architect of the 6th man and he seemed to know a little bit.

[SHAQATTACK]

Wait, so because a player is better than the other player, he needs to start? Why the heck did Stevens move Smart back to the bench in favor of the rookie? That's right, it has nothing to do with being the better player. It has to do with roster balance and matchups.

Bradley is okay with the starters, problem is, Brown doesnt work as well with the bench because he has to do too much there. It has nothing to do with who is a better player.

This is the way CBS coachs ^  .......and Brown adds more to to the IT issues in the starting lineups against some teams.   

You are right the best player is not always the best fit in certain situations .

As Brown is getting better himself  as games go by.

THE result is what is important .....NOT playing the best player or highest paid ....just because.

[Rosco917]

At first I chose AB as the starter.

Then I thought about it, and realized our 1st unit scores well with either AB  or Brown being the starter. At least that how it seems since AB has been sidelined.

We have trouble when our second unit sometimes stalls trying to score. Adding AB to that unit would really give it a lift at both ends.

[Ilikesports17]

Wait, so because a player is better than the other player, he needs to start? Why the heck did Stevens move Smart back to the bench in favor of the rookie? That's right, it has nothing to do with being the better player. It has to do with roster balance and matchups.

Bradley is okay with the starters, problem is, Brown doesnt work as well with the bench because he has to do too much there. It has nothing to do with who is a better player.

I think its actually possible that Bradley comes back into the starting lineup but after a handful of games, brad decides that it works better with Jaylen in the first unit and that an Avery-Marcus second line will feast on opposing backups.

However, I give it almost 0 chance that Avery is not reinserted into the starting lineup upon becoming healthy.

[Moranis]

Wait, so because a player is better than the other player, he needs to start? Why the heck did Stevens move Smart back to the bench in favor of the rookie? That's right, it has nothing to do with being the better player. It has to do with roster balance and matchups.

Bradley is okay with the starters, problem is, Brown doesnt work as well with the bench because he has to do too much there. It has nothing to do with who is a better player.

Bradley should start because Boston's needs Bradley's scoring and defense next to Thomas in the starting lineup.  That is where he will be most effective and is most needed. 

[Vermont Green]

I take Bradley.  I based that on watching the games and coming to the conclusion that Bradley is a much better player right now, particularly when you consider consistency and reliability, two things I would look for if I were the coach.

[Surferdad]

We need Bradley's much improved and reliable scoring and defense.  Jaylen can will go back to the bench.

This.  Bradley has earned the spot.  Good thing we have a legit coach, not a CB poster making these decisions.

Did McHale and Havlicek not earn the spot? Throughout history there have been other extremely successful players (guys like Ricky Pierce, Ginobili, Schrempf, etc.) that came off the bench. Not because they weren't better than the starters, but did it for the betterment of the team.

Yes McHale and Havlicek earned starting spots, as did Ginobili.

[Eddie20]

Wait, so because a player is better than the other player, he needs to start? Why the heck did Stevens move Smart back to the bench in favor of the rookie? That's right, it has nothing to do with being the better player. It has to do with roster balance and matchups.

Bradley is okay with the starters, problem is, Brown doesnt work as well with the bench because he has to do too much there. It has nothing to do with who is a better player.

Bradley should start because Boston's needs Bradley's scoring and defense next to Thomas in the starting lineup.  That is where he will be most effective and is most needed.

Is there any evidence to support that? During our 7 game winning streak we have scored the following:
120
128
112
113
109
113
107

Moreover, the only scoring issues I've seen us have is what Thomas is OFF the floor and the second unit is in. A fresh Bradley playing versus second team guys could potentially offset those scoring droughts.

[Evantime34]

Bradley. Not close.

Completely agree, I can't believe the results of the poll. This doesn't speak very well of Celticsblog if that's what the consensus is.

Bradley is the better player, the better defender, the better shooter and this season he's even been the better rebounder. For most of the season Bradley has been our second or third best player.

Jaylen has played well during the winning streak, and he will continue to play well with consistent minutes off the bench.

[Eddie20]

We need Bradley's much improved and reliable scoring and defense.  Jaylen can will go back to the bench.

This.  Bradley has earned the spot.  Good thing we have a legit coach, not a CB poster making these decisions.

Did McHale and Havlicek not earn the spot? Throughout history there have been other extremely successful players (guys like Ricky Pierce, Ginobili, Schrempf, etc.) that came off the bench. Not because they weren't better than the starters, but did it for the betterment of the team.

Yes McHale and Havlicek earned starting spots, as did Ginobili.

You're missing the point as to why they came off the bench in the first place.

The idea of bringing in a bench player to change the game is hardly new. The original concept dates all the way back to the 1960s, when legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach used to bring one of his best players off the bench to allow them to play with reckless abandon. Frank Ramsey was the NBA's first sixth man, and eventually John Havlicek grew into the role. Those players allowed the Celtics to continue playing at a breathneck pace when all other teams got tired.

[Evantime34]

We need Bradley's much improved and reliable scoring and defense.  Jaylen can will go back to the bench.

This.  Bradley has earned the spot.  Good thing we have a legit coach, not a CB poster making these decisions.

Did McHale and Havlicek not earn the spot? Throughout history there have been other extremely successful players (guys like Ricky Pierce, Ginobili, Schrempf, etc.) that came off the bench. Not because they weren't better than the starters, but did it for the betterment of the team.

Yes McHale and Havlicek earned starting spots, as did Ginobili.

You're missing the point as to why they came off the bench in the first place.

The idea of bringing in a bench player to change the game is hardly new. The original concept dates all the way back to the 1960s, when legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach used to bring one of his best players off the bench to allow them to play with reckless abandon. Frank Ramsey was the NBA's first sixth man, and eventually John Havlicek grew into the role. Those players allowed the Celtics to continue playing at a breathneck pace when all other teams got tired.

Doesn't Smart already play that role? Having two guys that fit that description coming off the bench kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it?

Wait, so because a player is better than the other player, he needs to start? Why the heck did Stevens move Smart back to the bench in favor of the rookie? That's right, it has nothing to do with being the better player. It has to do with roster balance and matchups.

Bradley is okay with the starters, problem is, Brown doesnt work as well with the bench because he has to do too much there. It has nothing to do with who is a better player.

Bradley should start because Boston's needs Bradley's scoring and defense next to Thomas in the starting lineup.  That is where he will be most effective and is most needed.

Is there any evidence to support that? During our 7 game winning streak we have scored the following:
120
128
112
113
109
113
107

Moreover, the only scoring issues I've seen us have is what Thomas is OFF the floor and the second unit is in. A fresh Bradley playing versus second team guys could potentially offset those scoring droughts.

Bradley might be our best defender, at the very worst he's top 3. Long term we are going to need Bradley's defense. Just because Bradley starts doesn't mean he won't get minutes with the second unit too. I expect Bradley to come back and the C's to play a staggered rotation in which one starter is on the court with the bench guys at all times.

[Eddie20]

We need Bradley's much improved and reliable scoring and defense.  Jaylen can will go back to the bench.

This.  Bradley has earned the spot.  Good thing we have a legit coach, not a CB poster making these decisions.

Did McHale and Havlicek not earn the spot? Throughout history there have been other extremely successful players (guys like Ricky Pierce, Ginobili, Schrempf, etc.) that came off the bench. Not because they weren't better than the starters, but did it for the betterment of the team.

Yes McHale and Havlicek earned starting spots, as did Ginobili.

You're missing the point as to why they came off the bench in the first place.

The idea of bringing in a bench player to change the game is hardly new. The original concept dates all the way back to the 1960s, when legendary Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach used to bring one of his best players off the bench to allow them to play with reckless abandon. Frank Ramsey was the NBA's first sixth man, and eventually John Havlicek grew into the role. Those players allowed the Celtics to continue playing at a breathneck pace when all other teams got tired.

Doesn't Smart already play that role? Having two guys that fit that description coming off the bench kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it?

Why would it? Bradley provides the scoring punch that Smart does not at this point in his career.

Is there anything to suggest that we struggle offensively when Bradley is out of the starting lineup? While at the same time I think it's fairly apparent that we do have issues scoring the ball when the second team is in. This isn't a slight against Bradley. In fact, it's a testament to him growing as an offensive player that I feel he could be a focal point of the offense as part of the second unit.