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Celtics' depth could lead to nights off for Celtics players
With so much roster depth that a big man who nearly averaged a double-double could be fifth in the frontcourt rotation, the Boston Celtics could decide to rest players for certain games during the regular season...Source: Jay King, MassLive
"But we don't have a plan, per se, in place to do that. We'll kind of see how it goes because I think once you communicate – especially early on – that you've got a plan for resting, and then you have a couple of injuries, now all of a sudden that plan for resting's out the window. So it's something that we'll talk about, and we'll continue to talk about, and we'll make those calls as they happen. But it's certainly an option for us."
I've conflicted thoughts here, mostly because I've said this a few times off-CelticsLife and I'm kind of bummed that I did not tape myself saying that so I could brag about that to you guys. But at the same time it'd be kind of weird to tape all my conversations - even if I were to just limit them to brilliant Celtics observations. Right?
But it just makes so much sense doesn't it? There's 96 minutes to be had the Power Forward and Center positions. There are 5 traditional bigs* (Kelly Olynyk, Jared Sullinger, Ahmir Johnson, Tyler Zeller, and "The White Owl" David Lee.) that all deserve time, as well as two small forwards (Jonas Jerebko, Jae Crowder) who should see time at the 4 spot. Clearly, just not enough minutes for each player.
It'd be interesting to see if the decision to give players a night off will be strictly used in a Spurs-like injury/fatigue way, or if the Celtics would ever consider going to a rotation; limiting themselves to four bigs (clearly Stevens' preferred amount) even if all five bigs are feeling healthy and fresh. As Mark Vandeusen pointed out during preseason, it could end up being a combo.
(Insert Jared Sullinger joke here).
* "But only one center!" - Internet commenter who is under the impression that there is a surplus of talented 7 footers in the league, and not just, like, ya know, 3.
Cup of Joe Notes
For those of you who are unfamiliar or new to Cup of Joe, you might as well ignore this next blurb. It'll be painfully boring. Honestly, the only reason you may want to continue reading is so you can you say you remember the Cup of Joe format change BEFORE we hit it like Peter Gabriel, BIG-TIME.
For those who've read this column in the past you may have noticed that our traditional format has been in 3 sections: Celtics news, a random video/photo with minimal commentary, and 'What the Hell Happened to...'
Going forward that third section will, fittingly for today's column, rotate. With 'What the Hell Happened To...' appearing on Thursdays. Some of the details are still being ironed out, but you should see a weekly piece on the Celtics' draft picks, conversational pieces, and a few other fun things to make sure this column remains light and fun.
But since the season hasn't started, we don't have any of that for you today. Instead, enjoy one minute and forty two seconds of a corgi playing with a mini-pumpkin
