Too many quality players, not enough play time

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This is a problem that all teams would like to have at the beginning of the training camps, as they do now for the 30 teams: Decide to rotate when you have too many players who deserve a significant amount of play time.

So, how will head coach Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics understand this?

This is a problem exacerbated by his two All-Stars returning from injury, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.

"It was goodIrving told reporters after the first day of the camp, while he is anxious to regain high-level basketball. An April knee surgery ended the incredible first season of Irving with the Celtics.

In the absence of Irving, Boston won with Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart. Aside from his infamous 2-for-14 in the seventh game of the semifinal against Cleveland, Rozier was a boon to the playoffs, averaging nearly 17 points, six assists and more than five rebounds per game. match in 19 starts. Smart has accumulated nearly 10 points and more than five cents per game per game.

So how is Stevens going to appease Rozier, an unrestricted free agent after the season, and Smart, who has just signed a $ 52 million four-year contract to return to the team? Irving played 32 minutes per game in the regular season last season, averaging Smart 30 and 26 Rozier.

But that allowed playing time was eliminated after Hayward did not play a minute after his horrible injury in the first game of the 2017-2018 season. Hayward soaked with his left foot On Tuesday, he told reporters and should be ready for the start of the regular season.

"There is still not all the way," he said. "I think it will be the last piece, and it will come slowly throughout the year."

Worse than the overabundance at the guard position will be what Stevens chooses to do on the wing. What he could do with Hayward is to bring him back slowly, to play him between 20 and 30 minutes per game to put him back in his business, and maybe rest him the second night in a row or when Stevens needs from him. to calm things down. This would ease his decision-making process on what to do with Hayward, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Tatum was nothing short of a revelation in his rookie campaign, with 14 points and five rebounds per game, shooting over 43% against three. At just 20 years old, Tatum could be a potential MVP candidate. Brown, who will turn 22 next month, averaged 14.5 and five points against 39.5%.

Tatum and Brown started every game they played and recorded 30 minutes a night. It does not make sense for Stevens to slow down their development and play them less minutes per game. But how will they record all this play time? and give Hayward the heavy minutes he deserves? This is undoubtedly a good problem, but nevertheless a problem.

For young Celtics like Guerschon Yabusele, Jabari Bird and rookie Robert Williams, expect a strong dose of the Maine Team G-League affiliate. But what about a promising young player like Semi Ojeleye, who has accumulated just under 16 minutes per game in 73 games off the bench in his rookie season? It could be SOL with the premium options that Stevens has at his disposal.

Boston's big group of Al Horford, Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes are back, Daniel Theis probably having problems after Greg Monroe's departure in the mid-season.

Last year, the most popular five-man team – Irving, Brown, Tatum, Horford and Baynes – outshot their opponents by 84 points in 354 minutes in 36 games. by NBA.com. But queues including Irving, Smart, Brown and Tatum played fewer minutes, but inflicted more than 30 points in less than 80 minutes. The fact is that all these combinations of four and five players look great, but do not take into account all the minutes that Hayward has to play.

Zach Lowe from ESPN delighted last week about the range of critical moments for Irving, Brown, Tatum, Hayward and Horford, but noted Boston's reluctance to play Horford as a center for small balls and how Morris was "their glue" last season. The Celtics who have too many players worthy of this time are a microcosm of the dilemma that Stevens has with this team, while too many options could cause problems and cause problems of playing time.

"I would rather be too deep of a team than get enough" Irving said Tuesday. "I'm part of a few teams where we did not have enough talent and it was scary."

Of course, each team would like to have this problem, and a long-term injury or two would make this whole scenario useless. But if and when the Celtics choke over the season, the decisions of the Stevens team will be questioned, and this super talented team from Boston with so many players level rotation could find themselves in a difficult situation .

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This is a problem that all teams would like to have at the beginning of the training camps, as they do now for the 30 teams: Decide to rotate when you have too many players who deserve a significant amount of play time.

So, how will head coach Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics understand this?

This is a problem exacerbated by his two All-Stars returning from injury, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward.

"It was goodIrving told reporters after the first day of the camp, while he is anxious to regain high-level basketball. An April knee surgery ended the incredible first season of Irving with the Celtics.

In the absence of Irving, Boston won with Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart. Aside from his infamous 2-for-14 in the seventh game of the semifinal against Cleveland, Rozier was a boon to the playoffs, averaging nearly 17 points, six assists and more than five rebounds per game. match in 19 starts. Smart has accumulated nearly 10 points and more than five cents per game per game.

So how is Stevens going to appease Rozier, an unrestricted free agent after the season, and Smart, who has just signed a $ 52 million four-year contract to return to the team? Irving played 32 minutes per game in the regular season last season, averaging Smart 30 and 26 Rozier.

But that allowed playing time was eliminated after Hayward did not play a minute after his horrible injury in the first game of the 2017-2018 season. Hayward soaked with his left foot On Tuesday, he told reporters and should be ready for the start of the regular season.

"There is still not all the way," he said. "I think it will be the last piece, and it will come slowly throughout the year."

Worse than the overabundance at the guard position will be what Stevens chooses to do on the wing. What he could do with Hayward is to bring him back slowly, to play him between 20 and 30 minutes per game to put him back in his business, and maybe rest him the second night in a row or when Stevens needs from him. to calm things down. This would ease his decision-making process on what to do with Hayward, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Tatum was nothing short of a revelation in his rookie campaign, with 14 points and five rebounds per game, shooting over 43% against three. At just 20 years old, Tatum could be a potential MVP candidate. Brown, who will turn 22 next month, averaged 14.5 and five points against 39.5%.

Tatum and Brown started every game they played and recorded 30 minutes a night. It does not make sense for Stevens to slow down their development and play them less minutes per game. But how will they record all this play time? and give Hayward the heavy minutes he deserves? This is undoubtedly a good problem, but nevertheless a problem.

For young Celtics like Guerschon Yabusele, Jabari Bird and rookie Robert Williams, expect a strong dose of the Maine Team G-League affiliate. But what about a promising young player like Semi Ojeleye, who has accumulated just under 16 minutes per game in 73 games off the bench in his rookie season? It could be SOL with the premium options that Stevens has at his disposal.

Boston's big group of Al Horford, Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes are back, Daniel Theis probably having problems after Greg Monroe's departure in the mid-season.

Last year, the most popular five-man team – Irving, Brown, Tatum, Horford and Baynes – outshot their opponents by 84 points in 354 minutes in 36 games. by NBA.com. But queues including Irving, Smart, Brown and Tatum played fewer minutes, but inflicted more than 30 points in less than 80 minutes. The fact is that all these combinations of four and five players look great, but do not take into account all the minutes that Hayward has to play.

Zach Lowe from ESPN delighted last week about the range of critical moments for Irving, Brown, Tatum, Hayward and Horford, but noted Boston's reluctance to play Horford as a center for small balls and how Morris was "their glue" last season. The Celtics who have too many players worthy of this time are a microcosm of the dilemma that Stevens has with this team, while too many options could cause problems and cause problems of playing time.

"I would rather be too deep of a team than get enough" Irving said Tuesday. "I'm part of a few teams where we did not have enough talent and it was scary."

Of course, each team would like to have this problem, and a long-term injury or two would make this whole scenario useless. But if and when the Celtics choke over the season, the decisions of the Stevens team will be questioned, and this super talented team from Boston with so many players level rotation could find themselves in a difficult situation .