Doc doing Small Ball Exclusively on Camp Day 3

http://bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view/20221002celtics_see_size_as_small_matter/



WALTHAM — With injuries ravaging the Celtics [team stats] frontcourt, Doc Rivers had no choice but to use small lineups last season. This season, the Celtics coach plans to willingly play small ball.

This edition of the Celtics appears to be the most versatile of the
Kevin Garnett era. In large part, that is because of the presence of
Jeff Green, a 6-foot-9 athlete capable of playing multiple positions.

In some respects, Green’s lack of a defined position has made it
difficult for him to get the most of his unique size and skill-set, but
Rivers views the versatility as an asset. By playing Green at power
forward, the Celtics will be more athletic than most opponents.





“He’s the main guy when you talk about the small lineup,” point guard Rajon Rondo [stats]
said. “He played the 4 at Oklahoma City, he stretched the floor with
his shooting and he beat a lot of bigs down the floor as well. He can go
from the 4 to the 3 and even defensively he can check 1-through-4, I
believe. We expect a lot of Jeff, but he’s fine with that pressure.”

The Celtics relied heavily on small lineups in the playoffs last
season, although much of that was dictated by matchups. Rivers referred
to it as “best-player ball” at the time, as he tried to put his top five
players on the floor to combat the athleticism of the Heat and 76ers.

“Just because a guy is 7-feet, he doesn’t have to play,” Rivers said
during the Eastern Conference finals. “Put your best players on the
floor. If there were more good 7-footers, you wouldn’t see small ball.
That’s what it is. At some point, you have to make a choice: Play the
7-footer because he’s 7-feet, or put your five best on the floor. And
I’ve always gone with the five best.”

That could mean a number of configurations this season. Rivers will
try to find the best mix from a deep group of guards and wings that
includes Green, Rondo, Paul Pierce [stats], Courtney Lee, Jason Terry and Avery Bradley, when he returns from double-shoulder surgery.

“We’re going to almost exclusively have small lineups on the floor,”
Rivers said of yesterday’s practice plan. “We’re going to change them
all around, so that will be fun. This is the first year we’ve actually
really worked on it and we’re going to work on it so we can do it every
game.”

Rivers’ memory seems a bit hazy, as he said last year the team worked
on their offensive small-ball sets at every practice. He’s always been
open to using undersized lineups, playing James Posey at the 4 and Glen
Davis at center in the 2007-08 season.

There will be more of a focus on mixing the lineups this season, however, because of the personnel.

“I don’t know if I’ll use more, but I know we’ll use it effectively,”
Rivers said. “We’ll be able to go back and forth. We’ll be able to go
big, too, with Jeff and Paul at the 2 and 3. We have a lot of lineups on
paper that look good, and we’ll see how they look when the season
starts.”

Rondo should benefit the most from having more athletic running mates.

“This is the best we’ve had since I’ve been here, I think, as far as
on paper, as far as the depth and talent,” Rondo said. “So we’ve got to
make something of it.”




bob
My Note: Danny and Doc relying are putting a HUGE amount of eggs into Jeff Green's basket.


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