The Boston Celtics and the 5 deepest teams in the NBA

If you want to see what Bleacher Report says about the other deep teams, go to the link. This is the page about the Celtics.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1302563-the-boston-celtics-and-the-five-deepest-teams-in-the-nba#/articles/1302563-the-boston-celtics-and-the-five-deepest-teams-in-the-nba


Key Reserves: Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, Jeff Green, Jared Sullinger, Chris Wilcox and Jason Collins



The Boston Celtics fell short of their title goals last season, because they ran out of gas against a younger and more athletic Miami Heat team.

While Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are not going to get any younger, the best way to combat their aging is to make the team deeper.

General manager Danny Ainge did that—and then some.

Terry and Lee are two players capable of starting on most NBA rosters and will be able to score in bunches off the bench.

Green is another player who could probably start on most teams if he returns to his former self from Oklahoma City. In addition, he has the versatility to play either forward position.

Big men Sullinger, Wilcox and Collins give the Celtics a stable of bench big men and will allow for Bass and Garnett to get their rest. The Celtics will be back in the mix for an NBA title, not because of their starters, but because of their second unit.

bob
My Note: We have been cooing about the potential of Kris Joseph and Dionte Christmas but what is said in the article above should not be minimized. We have 3 players on our second unit that could start on most teams. Last year Doc kept Ray Allen or Pierce in with the 2nd unit to provide it with veteran leadership and a scorer. That added minutes to Allen's and Pierce's year, which took its toll later. He doesn't need to do that this year and that's big. It creates mismatch problems for opposing coaches who now have to worry about Jason Terry lighting them up or Jeff Green overpowering their 2nd string SFs. Furthermore, notice he doesn't even include Joseph and Xmas as "key reserves". He may be right, perhaps they don't play much or at all, but this is an article about depth and they definitely add depth, they're just unknown quantities.



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Bob,
Thanks for the link.

I'd also mention KD. He might not score as much as JT, CL or AB (unless he gets white hot) but he definitely is a "spark-plug" who can easily re-energize the team.

AK

Bob,

It won't surprise me if, early in the season, Doc has Pierce and/or Rondo putting in time with the second unit to ease their chemistry building without sacrificing effectiveness. Then, especially after Bradley returns, I could see Doc weaning an independent second unit from assistance from starters. Much of the possible cohesiveness of the bench—especially if it really achieves up-tempo status—will be determined by how well Jason Terry can run the break on a consistent basis.

I'm not a predictor, but it won't surprise me if all or most of the "third team" (the last five roster slots) fill very necessary roles at some points in the season. Injuries alone could necessitate it. And I definitely have a much better feeling about both the durability and potential effectiveness of this season's last five players than last season's last five players.

Sam

sam wrote:Bob,

It won't surprise me if, early in the season, Doc has Pierce and/or Rondo putting in time with the second unit to ease their chemistry building without sacrificing effectiveness. Then, especially after Bradley returns, I could see Doc weaning an independent second unit from assistance from starters. Much of the possible cohesiveness of the bench—especially if it really achieves up-tempo status—will be determined by how well Jason Terry can run the break on a consistent basis.

I'm not a predictor, but it won't surprise me if all or most of the "third team" (the last five roster slots) fill very necessary roles at some points in the season. Injuries alone could necessitate it. And I definitely have a much better feeling about both the durability and potential effectiveness of this season's last five players than last season's last five players.

Sam

Sam,

When you consider that Melo, whom some of us think would be better served playing in Maine, is the rough equivalent of Ryan Hollins I can heartedly agree with your assessment of 11-15.