Short, Compressed Season: Good or Bad for Celtics?
by Jeff Clark on Nov 27, 2011 2:59 PM EST
in Boston Celtics Articles
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PrintEver since Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen arrived in Boston, the team has been great out of the gate and faded after Christmas. Wouldn't it be great (we thought) if the season was just 3 or 4 months long? Now we'll see if we should have been careful for what we wished for.
A schedule of 66 games actually sounds perfect to me, as long as there is enough time between games to travel and rest and maybe even, you know, practice once in a while. We haven't seen the new schedule yet, but the fear is that there will be lots and lots of back-to-back games (our Kryptonite for the last few years) and too many games per week to rest properly - especially for a veteran group like ours.
Of course, that's not to say all is lost. Doc will just have to be very careful about how he manages minutes. As Bulpett puts it:
Shortened season plays to Celtics’ hand - BostonHerald.com
Doc Rivers will have to manage minutes well, giving his veterans ample free time on off days to rest their legs, sip on a Geritol martini and watch "Matlock." One only can hope Ray Allen (36), Kevin Garnett (35), Pierce (34) and Jermaine O’Neal (33) aren’t using walkers by the end of the season.
Keep in mind, "manage minutes" is simply code for playing other guys more minutes, which can be dicey when you are trying to win games (something hardwired into every good coach's DNA). So Danny also has his work cut out for him in filling up the roster.
One guy already set to join the team that could make a positive impact is rookie JaJuan Johnson. Kind of a Kevin Garnett type of player (though it remains to be seen how much of a defender he will turn out to be).
Return to Boston tugs on Perkins’s heartstrings - The Boston Globe
Johnson said he has spent the past few months working on lower-body strength. The Celtics like his athleticism and energy, and his 6-foot-10-inch, 220-pound frame is reminiscent of Garnett when he came into the league 16 years ago. He runs the floor effortlessly and has a solid mid-range jumper, but Johnson has yet to display an NBA-level low-post game. "I have just been working on my core, my flexibility really,’’ he said. "I want to be able to move better on the court. Those things are pretty big for me. I feel like I’m moving better, it’s easier, and I am definitely seeing improvement.’’ Johnson said he has talked with Jeff Green and worked out with Rondo in the summer. He has yet to talk to Garnett.
If I could give some unsolicited advice to J.J. it would be this. Respectfully seek out KG, request to become his apprentice, and soak in every last drop of knowledge possible. Remember, there were reports of guys joining the Celtics (Patrick O'Bryant was one of them I believe) that didn't listen to Garnett when he tried to show them something. Disgusted, KG shut them off and didn't bother with them anymore. Don't let that happen to you J.J. In a best case scenario, you could take the baton from Garnett and help Rondo lead this team into the next era. Cherish this season of learning - in particular considering how little time you'll have to practice.
I think there will be time for him to play, however. There will be times where he'll be buried on the bench and perhaps even in Maine. But the team will need big, durable bodies to eat up minutes and that will be his chance. If Semih Erden could play and contribute last year, I would think that the (theoretically) more talented Johnson could as well. He won't be perfect, but that's a luxury nobody will have in this shortened season.
You could even argue (and I think that I will) that giving young players and role players larger minutes will prepare them better for when they'll be called upon when it matters most. So as a result, a few losses would totally be worth the added experience given to guys that will need it.
The season will be short, hectic, and tiring. It remains to be seen just how much that will impact the Celtics and how the team will be positioned for the playoffs. I don't think seeding will matter all that much, but getting the team to the post season in good shape will be critical - even more than ever.
Related: NBA season to run Dec. 25-April 26, source says - ESPN
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according to @howardbecknyt
there will be a few back-to-back-to-backs in the regular season and there will be at least one back-to-back in the conference semis. yikes
Doc needs to turn into Popovich for a season.
Doc has a tough time balancing rest vs. winning and that’s been O.K. in the past. But as we enter this season which perhaps has more back-to-backs it’s going to be very important that he gets Pierce/Ray down to 30-32 MPG with occasional second of back to backs off.
Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up. - Red Auerbach
Yup the seeding is not important, rest is much more important
The only seed that really matters is the #1 seed, because then you get to avoid one of the other top teams until the conference finals and get homecourt advantage. Out of the top 3 teams: Celtics, Heat, and Bulls the other 2 teams have much younger stars and are in prime position to take seeds #1 and 2 just like this past season. If the Celtics can still get 3rd while the big3 play 30ish minutes great, if they drop to 5th or 6th so be it. Either way the Celtics will have to go through the Heat and Bulls to win it all. Also I feel like JJJ and Moore are more nba ready than our rookies in the past, and we should give them a chance to show us what they can do.
not even
I think the big 3 should have their minutes cut down between 25 – 30 minutes to conserve energy
I believe our bench is good enough to secure us the top 5 seed…i think in this shortened season, seeds don’t matter, our health is most important, since there WILL be back to back games, you don’t want your players to be dead by the time we reach playoffs
agree, though I'd be happy with around 30 each
I’d even be ok with giving members of the big 3 the occasional night off – in particular the 2nd night of a back to back – if you stagger them, it works out for everyone without too much damage to the W-L record
Faith and Sports - an essay by Jeff Clark
Um .... what bench?
I want to share that optimism, and I may do so as of the middle of December after Danny signs some FAs.
But until then, we don’t have a bench and there is no guarantee that it will be good enough to ‘secure us the top 5 seed’.
Now, it is reasonable to expect Danny will do his best to get us a good bench. So I would go along with a statement like, “If Danny does his usual job, we should have a bench that will be good enough to secure a top 5 seed.”
We desperately need to add at least 2 legitimate bigs to go along with JO, KG & JJ. Until I see the names that will fill those spots, I’m hesitant to make any predictions.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
I agree on the point about seeding...
not really being that important in the shortened season. It is all about health. But it’s also about rhythm and chemistry and 30 minutes is about as low in MPG as Ray and Paul will allow Doc to go with them. And even then I am sure there will be a wholesome amount of moaning and groaning on Ray and Paul’s part for the reduced minutes and even more so on the taking games off.
Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up. - Red Auerbach
Not a good look
Bad. Back-to-backs will kill our nucleus of older guys. There are also going to be “back to back to backs”, as in 3 gms in a row and back to backs in the 2nd round of the playoffs too. I love my C’s, but this does not bode well for older teams. Imagine if we have situations like last year (i.e. dressing 7 or 8 guys during injuries) as far as healthy bodies go heading into 3 straight nights of games. The one positive-thing is that our Big 3 are all notorious for taking care of their bodies. Ray, Ticket & P-Dub will all come into camp looking great as usual.
www.RedsArmy.com
Same should apply to Rondo
Being ready, I mean.
He's looked pretty buff and in shape in the various exhibitions he's been playing in.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
Doc needs to give JJ some minutes
I think he will be a solid player for us if he is given the minutes to do so
by Kgwillkillyou on Nov 27, 2011 4:12 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Agreed.
I’m not in the least worried that he will ‘fail to heed KG’ ala Patrick O’Bryant.
Everything in JJ’s history profile points to him being a high-character, team-oriented player who is eager to improve, having made several distinct self-transformations during his college career to address specific weaknesses and boost specific strengths. That screams, “Coachable!”, to me.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
+1
I also hope Doc gives JJ minutes this year, regardless if Baby is resigned or not .
I think he has the talent and potential to really become a nice player and help the C’s not just down the line in the future but this year also.
Having a legit pro typical power forward off the bench who has length, athleticism a inside and outside offensive game and a decent defensive game will indeed be interesting to see come off the bench for the C’s, so I hope for these reasons Doc can find him some court time this year.
It all comes down to how quick he picks up Doc's defense.
If he adapts quickly and proves a reliable man in Doc’s schemes I could see him giving the Celtics another weapon to be utilized by Rondo.
Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up. - Red Auerbach
True...
Doc has a tendency to not play players who can not follow his defensive game plan (ex Celtic Patrick Obryant being a perfect example), so I hope J.J. can learn Docs defensive schemes fast.
I assume since J.J. was a very decent defensive player in college and having KG as his mentor it will help him to learn to play Celtic style defense.
I just hope Doc cuts J..J some slack and allows him to stay on the court without pulling him out of games prematurely, if he does go through any defensive growing pains so he can learn from his defensive mistakes.
I know its tough to stick with a rookie, when he is making mistakes, maybe hurting you in games and maybe even costing you a few games, but I hope Doc can find that fine line and balance of allowing J.J. to play and to learn from his mistakes.
Though its easier said then done I think J.J. can help the C’s kill 2 birds with 1 stone in the sense that I think he can
Help the C’s this year if he gets minutes, but also the gravy will be if he gets those minutes this year, it will help expedite his game and development which will also help the C’s goal to rebuild for the future and potentially help the C’s find the future power forward of thew future they will need to replace KG very soon .
I agree fully J.J. could be a big time weapon when teamed with Rondo.
To take it a step further I would really like to see Rondo out on the court not just with J.J. but with Green also, as I think that trio with the young legs, speed and athleticism could be a a lethal group of players for Doc to utilize especially if the C’s want to really play a fast break, transition type offense.
Again just my 2 cents though.
I think that it helps that JJ has the same agent as Rondo.
That has meant that he has been hooked up with Rondo all along, working out and playing together in the various exhibition games.
So he’s almost certainly gotten a heads-up on the various things Doc will want out of him. Plus Rondo will already have gotten a sense of how to use this new ‘weapon’ at his disposal.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
It all depends on how Doc handles it.
If he rests all of the starting five enough, he’ll develop chemistry on the bench and some of the newer guys. Then the short season will be to their advantage.
How many games will they lose with that approach? Maybe a few more. Not a big deal.
A back-to-back-to-back all on the road would just be brutal... for any team
You would like to think this scenario would take place at home or at least partially at home, but who knows.
It depends...
In some sense I’m glad that it’s 66 instead of 82 games because of what we’ve witness these past 2 seasons in-spite of injuries being factor. Being this team is a veteran ball club and is likely in it’s finally run less games would be helpful.
Doc will need to monitor minutes with the starters, but Danny will have to provide some talent to ease out minutes between starters and bench. On the other hand none of us will know until the season starts and into the first 20 games. But I think less games helps out the veteran teams like the Celtics, Mavericks, Lakers, Heat and Spurs.
I know what I’m about to write on here has nothing to do with this topic, but why is it already some in the media i.e., ESPN/Yahoo Sports are assuming the Lakers or Heat will win the 2011 finals? The season has not started yet and already some are predicting these two to win.
Here’s the hypocrisy:
-—————————-
The Lakers got swept by the Mavs, and Mavs destroyed the Heat in the NBA finals, but some how they’re set to win. Some in the media are ignoring the Mavs, Bulls and Celtics, but the Lakers to win, really??
Jeff Clark or maybe you members can answer because I just don’t get it?
On paper the Lakers do look good
but Pau has to not disappear, Bynum has to step up, Odom needs to be consistent, Artest needs to be not crazy, Kobe has to share the ball, and Brown needs to get them all to play defense – oh, and they need a point guard that isn’t 50 years old and moonlighting as a lawyer
so, yeah, if I was a betting man, I’d take the field
Faith and Sports - an essay by Jeff Clark
Jeff I also think...
though LA could still be a team to be reckoned with if things break right for them, that the loss of Jackson, the team being a year older when they are already a older team, Kobe being a year older, having to deal with the bone to bone condition in his knees, having to deal with his chronic bad finger will not help LA’s cause this year…at least thats my hope, lol.
You would...
think a shortened season playing less games would help the C’s, but looking at it more closely and the fact I assume there will be more games played per week and more back to back games during this season, its not the greatest environment for a aging Boston Celtics team to be playing in.
Doc as others have mentioned will have to monitor the starters minutes closely and utilize the bench (like it or not) more often and may at times have to give them nights off especially during back to back games situations.
the good thing is...
There are less total games, less total minutes, less bumps and bruises. I think the busier schedule is tough but ultimately Doc will manage minutes, rest players for games, etc. in order to lessen the effect of that. When everything goes back to 0-0 when the playoffs start the shortened season will hopefully have helped the Celtics.
Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up. - Red Auerbach
Good.
You say more back to backs hurt, I say the longer offseason/rest/recuperation helps more.
My Twitter @totheights
Not just back to backs though, each team will play 3 games in 3 nights at least once. That will be an absolute killer.
by IsItTheShoes on Nov 27, 2011 9:46 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Doc definitely needs to give the big 3 some nights off to make up for that
Just straight up take some games off on those back to backs or back to back to backs.
easy if we resign everyone
Jo 20 Baby 12 player to be named later(ptbnl) 16
KG 28 Baby 8 JJ 12
PP 12 Green 28 JJ 8 or PP more if DW is healthy
Ray 32 PP 16 DW if healthy fills in
Rajon 36 Avery 6 DW 6
we need another center who stays healthy and is big and can rebound and that might be all we need if JJ pans out, Avery can play, and DW stays healthy…and JO stays relatively healthy
I think the season will rest on Rajons jumper and FT’s IF we sign a center who fits what we need,a guy like Gortat, and if everyone else DW Jo and all stay healthy
the point is that JO, Baby, KG, JJ, PP, Green, Ray, DW, Rajon and Avery is TEN players
If that group is coddled they don’t have to play a ton night after night AND we do need another BIG man. Health, one guy who wants to help JO and Rajon and DW will key they year
It's good for the Miami Heat
They could go undefeated in the regular season. We lost a quarter of the season and we all know how dominant LeBron James can be if he only has to play three quarters.
here's a question...
say a team is over the cap slightly and signs a player for the MLE, can they then release a player for say $15m (Exm) putting them under the cap and then sign a FA with the money they just freed up??? kinda like getting the milk for free
by craziness@analltimehigh on Nov 28, 2011 1:51 AM EST reply actions
Two additional questions I got
Has Rondo improved that jumper, or at least his free throws? :(
And since we’re getting plans of resting the core, Danny’s probably working on getting new bench to enable that rest, how does Miami rest their core? Oh, yeah, they’re mega athletic and all, but they’re still humans. By the time playoffs come, they will be exhausted with no one to give them a few minutes of rest. No, wait, they got House. I lol’d.
Given a choice, I'd rather get improved Free Throws for Rondo
His jumper is perfectly fine for how he uses it. But he does need to get that FT% up.
I predict that Danny will bring back a lot of our ‘old’ bench from last year, given that those guys already know the system and there will be such a short training camp. If guys like Delonte’ & Co. could actually stay healthy, they are still potentially a very good bench.
The one area he must upgrade, imho, is bench bigs, though. Especially at the 5.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
Upgrade? How about reinstate? We got none...
But yeah, our bench from last year wasn’t all that bad. But still, would love to see Tony and Lasme back.
JJ Johnson
Throw him in to learn the dude is tough enough, it’s only BB, nothing else. Don’t sit the man. He’s the future…….. Look what the Clippers did with Blake Griffin the man can PLAY.
+1
I have high hopes for J.J. also and think it would be wise for the C’s to play him as I believe he can help the C’s this year if given court time which will also expedite his growth as a player to help groom him as the C’s potential power forward of the future sooner rather then later.
Though
J.J. of course is no KG, he does seem to have from the little I have seen him play the same game style KG plays where he uses his athleticism, speed and length on both ends of the court.
He is a decent defensive player and has some low post scoring capabilities and a outside perimeter jumper also as KG does.
NBA 2012 season outlook
The season will open on December 25, 2011, and run until April 26, 2012.
The 2011-2012 NBA Playoffs are slated to kick off on April 28, 2012, with a latest possible date for the end of the Finals coming on June 26.
The season, as previously announced, will be 66 games, with each team playing 48 in-conference games and 18 non-conference games. The full breakdown of these games is as follows:
Conference Games: 48
• Play 6 teams 4 times (2 home, 2 away)
• Play 4 teams 3 times (2 home, 1 away)
• Play 4 teams 3 times (1 home, 2 away)
Non-Conference Games: 18
• Play 3 teams 2 times (1 home, 1 away)
• Play 6 teams 1 time at home
• Play 6 teams 1 time away
Back to Back to Backs: All teams with at least 1; no more than 3
Playoff Back to Backs: Possible in second round
A Better Photo
May I suggest that a better player photo to accompany this post’s headline might have been Nate Robinson?
Good Or Bad
I think the shortened season is bad for the Celtics mainly because we lost the off-season in going after players, especially when we only have 6 signed players (vets) and probably Jeff Green.
We have one Center, JO, which we know is a problem because of his injury history. If he could play all the games healthy his defense can help us, but that’s a stretch. The signing period will be so short that players and agents won’t have time to look at alternatives.
I’m sure Danny has a list of the guys he’s going for, but it would be close to one phone call and done. Danny likes to go knocking on doors during the summer. He won’t be able to do this. Hopefully our signed vets may have influenced some guys to come here.
"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird
"Criminally Negligent Officiating"--Tommy Heinsohn
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