Who Should Start Bradley or Brown?

[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?

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

Bradley has earned the chance to start though, he can still provide 2nd unit offense due to a staggered rotation. If he's already going to be the focal point of some 2nd unit lineups (which he was before he got hurt) what is the upside of bringing him off the bench, when he already did the things you want him to as a starter?

[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.

Bradley has earned the chance to start though, he can still provide 2nd unit offense due to a staggered rotation. If he's already going to be the focal point of some 2nd unit lineups (which he was before he got hurt) what is the upside of bringing him off the bench, when he already did the things you want him to as a starter?

Because the flip-side to Bradley being fresh against tired starters or second team guys, is that we would be maximizing Brown's minutes. Brown has looked much better playing alongside the starters.

[hwangjini_1]

oh, another "shiny new toy" thread at cb. 

right now, the celtics are trying to win games first and foremost.

right now, bradley is the better nba player.

i like brown, but bradley helps this team this year more. he should start.

[BitterJim]

oh, another "shiny new toy" thread at cb. 

right now, the celtics are trying to win games first and foremost.

right now, bradley is the better nba player.

i like brown, but bradley helps this team this year more. he should start.

Bradley is no doubt the better player, but I look at it like Bradley vs. Ray in 2012.  Ray was the better player, but we needed more scoring off the bench.  There was enough offense from the starters in 2012 and there's enough now, so starting the worse player doesn't really hurt the starting offense by much.  It would do wonders for the bench offense, though

[clevelandceltic]

Sorry for taking this trend a little off topic but the basic premise of this trend is been an issue I have been looking at very closely.

For me, its not so much about who starts between the two of them its can Brown play this position. At the beginning of the season I couldnt figure out why they were playing Brown at the 4. I get that he is a strong kid but I really didnt like the idea. Maybe its because Im not a huge fan of small ball but this idea nonetheless made little sense to me. I always thought he was a 3 with a chance to play the 2. And for those that say it doesnt matter Im talking more on defense than on O. I thought that he provided some serious advantages at the 2 if he could defend it.

Anyways, Coach rarely played him at the 2 so I could never see him play that spot. I thought it was important to see him at that spot because A) the draft provides 2 high level guys that can play the 3 B) I think this team breaks down having to hide IT on 2 guards for big stretches of games. I think he is much more engaged on the ball than off. C) I wanted to see if his shooting would limit the team if he was at the 2. D) this team is going to have to make a decision on AB, IT, and Smart either this season or next so it would be good to get a few more answers.

After watching Brown play yesterday, Im comfortable saying he can play the 2 defensively. He has been much better guarding quick players than I thought he would be at this point.

This gives me much greater clarity on this team moving forward as I can see a possibility of them trading Bradley (I really like AB and Im not saying they should) to make Smart the 3rd guard that can play both spots. Brown can play the 2 and 3. I think this bodes well for the team long term.

Now lastly, in regards to the OP's question, I dont know. Its not very clear. I lean favorable to AB due to consistency and his level of play but I can see the argument for Brown especially since I think IT on any shooting guard is a disaster waiting to happen.

[The Oracle]

Bradley was amazing in the 4 games he came off the bench last year.  He scored 74 points in 103 minutes and was a +59 in those 4 games.  That is 25.9 points per 36.

Playing Bradley off the bench would do wonders for this team. 

1.  It breaks up the I.T./Bradley pairing who are very weak defensively.
2.  It allows Bradley to be more of a focal point of the offense for like 6 or 7 minutes per half.
3.  The bench desperately needs scoring.
4.  The C's have an Off. Rat. of 110.0 in 1206 minutes without Bradley this year and his offense
     in the starting unit is not missed at all.

With that said if the C's still have all of I.T./Smart/Avery/Brown after the trade deadline there is no way you can start Brown at SG because it will just eat away at the 96 guard minutes that I.T./Smart/Avery would use all of come playoff time.

The solution is to either trade Bradley and or start Smart, not Brown.

[Bostoncelticsforlife7]

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.

Don't forget his rebounding either.

Brown is also a great rebounder for a 2 and helps when go against teams with bigger SG's

[clevelandceltic]

Bradley was amazing in the 4 games he came off the bench last year.  He scored 74 points in 103 minutes and was a +59 in those 4 games.  That is 25.9 points per 36.

Playing Bradley off the bench would do wonders for this team. 

1.  It breaks up the I.T./Bradley pairing who are very weak defensively.
2.  It allows Bradley to be more of a focal point of the offense for like 6 or 7 minutes per half.
3.  The bench desperately needs scoring.
4.  The C's have an Off. Rat. of 110.0 in 1206 minutes without Bradley this year and his offense
     in the starting unit is not missed at all.

With that said if the C's still have all of I.T./Smart/Avery/Brown after the trade deadline there is no way you can start Brown at SG because it will just eat away at the 96 guard minutes that I.T./Smart/Avery would use all of come playoff time.

The solution is to either trade Bradley and or start Smart, not Brown.

If Bradley is not on the team why would you start Smart? Stevens has already made a decision to start Brown.

[Roy H.]

Bradley is better at almost everything. He's going to win us more games as a starter.

Plus, why mess with team chemistry?

[Chief]

Bradley is better at almost everything. He's going to win us more games as a starter.

Plus, why mess with team chemistry?

Seems that chemistry,  on a 7 game win streak, is pretty good. I don't want to mess with that either.

[TheTruthFot18]

Bradley is better at almost everything. He's going to win us more games as a starter.

Plus, why mess with team chemistry?

Seems that chemistry,  on a 7 game win streak, is pretty good. I don't want to mess with that either.

Aside from Houston, we've beaten everyone we should have.

We played the Clippers and Raptors at home while they missed their 1st or 2nd best player. If we actually beat a handful of full strength teams I'd side with brown and the new starting 5.

[GreenShooter]

Wow, I thought the poll would be heavily in Bradley's favor. I voted for him as it's a no-doubter for me. I'll read the replies on people's thoughts on Brown but I can't see it happening once Bradley is healthy enough to play.

[footey]

Bradley's absence has been good for Brown's development. That's obvious. Bradley is also considerably more valuable to this team when healthy.  He has been having a career year.

I hope when he comes back, and starts (a given), Brown will at least be able to continue to get 20 plus minutes a game.  He has improved on both sides of the ball considerably, and the coach's confidence in him in pressure situations has grown considerably.

Win Win.

[playdream]

I guess if the Q is who is better then you choose Bradley and if it's who should start you choose Brown

[Ilikesports17]

Bradley is better at almost everything. He's going to win us more games as a starter.

Plus, why mess with team chemistry?

Seems that chemistry,  on a 7 game win streak, is pretty good. I don't want to mess with that either.

Aside from Houston, we've beaten everyone we should have.

We played the Clippers and Raptors at home while they missed their 1st or 2nd best player. If we actually beat a handful of full strength teams I'd side with brown and the new starting 5.

If CP3 and Derozan had been healthy in those two wins, this decision becomes much more difficult.