Celtics, Doc set to plow through pre-season

http://espn.go.com/boston/nba/story/_/id/8505389/boston-celtics-doc-rivers-set-plow-exhibitions



HARTFORD, Conn. -- The Boston Celtics
launched into a game-heavy stretch that features six exhibition tilts
in nine nights starting with Saturday's overtime loss to the New York Knicks at the XL Center.

After spending a week in Europe, the Celtics caught a few days of practice
last week but will now plow through their remaining preseason slate. And
that's just fine by coach Doc Rivers.





AP Photo/Jessica Hill
Doc Rivers is focused on getting his core players ready for the start of the season.

"I love it. Listen, get them all out of the way, then you have practice
time," Rivers said before Saturday's game. "I think we have [eight
practice] days before the first game [in Miami on Oct. 30], and I like
that better than having that last preseason game and having four or five
days before your first game. I like the way we're doing it. I think we
should play eight in a row."

The exhibition season can be a grind, particularly the tail end when teams get eager to start playing
games that actually matter. But there's plenty of work ahead for Boston
before that happens.

Rivers, who has sent out three different starting lineups in three games, hopes to stabilize his
rotations, clean up areas of concern (including pick-and-roll defense,
which was exploited Saturday against the Knicks) and determine who will
fill out the back end of the roster.

But priority No. 1 is making sure the core of the team is ready for when the ball goes up on
South Beach at the end of the month.

"I'm going to get the core guys ready," Rivers said. "At the end of the day, that's the most
important thing. Everybody else, we're going to try to look at them in
practices, we're going to watch them in some games. But at the end of
the day, we're trying to get ready for the season."

Rivers has operated with Jason Terry in the starting lineup the past two games and has to like the offense
he provides in that spot (especially being able to create off the
dribble, taking some stress off Rajon Rondo).
What's more, on Saturday, Rivers subbed Terry out early enough to bring
him back when Rondo checked out for the first time, allowing Terry to
operate as a ball handler with the second unit.

Rivers is mixing and matching his personnel and suggested the team will consider a
transitional starting lineup (rotating the likes of Terry, Courtney Lee, Jared Sullinger, Brandon Bass and Darko Milicic into the starting five alongside Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Rondo). Rivers is confident that these games will help him
determine the groupings that will allow both Boston's first and second
units to thrive.

The Celtics brought all 18 camp bodies on the road, and the game-heavy schedule should allow Rivers to get a
longer glimpse at those jockeying for a final roster spot.

Rookie second-round draft pick Kris Joseph and first-year guards Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith appear to be competing for two available spots, while camp invitees Rob Kurz and Micah Downs are trying to make an impression as well.



The younger players all are hoping to make an impression, one that will prevent Boston from flirting with the idea of
adding another veteran body (such as a ball handler to add depth behind
Rondo). Cap constraints work in the favor of the younger players, but
Joseph has a nonguaranteed deal and Smith's guarantee is minimal
($25,000), making it easy for the Celtics to cut ties in order to add a
more seasoned body if they desire.

Regardless of their contributions, the extra bodies will help limit wear and tear during
this busy stretch. But Rivers said the team will make cuts soon after
this string of games ends in order to generate more practice reps for
the veterans in the final week of camp.

"I think, in practice, guys are not getting enough reps right now," said Rivers, who
has to balance three units, even with the likes of Avery Bradley (shoulders) and Chris Wilcox
(back) sidelined. "I knew we had a ton of games coming up, so I wanted
to bring more guys for this because we're not going to play all our guys
every night. But I would say after this string of games we're about to
go through, we'll absolutely make moves."

The Celtics visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, then return to Boston to host the Nets on Tuesday. The
team treks to Brooklyn on Thursday before a back-to-back against the
Knicks (Saturday in Albany) and 76ers (Sunday at TD Garden) to wrap up
the exhibition season.






bob
My Note: A brutal playing schedule, which will no doubt highlight a lot of youth as Doc preserves his veterans, and then 8 days of practice. The games are meaningless, especially to a veteran team who have played together before, but the practice time is invaluable to key newbies like Darko, Sully, Lee, Terry and Jeff Green (technically not a newbie, but hasn't had much practice time with the team over the past 1 1/2 years). If you look at a team as being 10 players plus 4-5 scrubs/garbage time/injury replacements/insurance policies, that's half our team that are newbies. Practice days are like gold.





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