Brad Stevens has no intentions of starting Isaiah Thomas

[LooseCannon]

Bradley should be on the bench not Smart.

Out of Bradley, Thomas, and Smart, the one who the team most needs to start is Bradley.

[kozlodoev]

There's a reason that, despite being the best player on the team, IT isn't starting. Brad uses a motion offense that demands strong defenders on the floor, and for all the offensive prowess IT has under his skills he's nowhere near a great defender like Bradley or Smart are. Should he be starting? Yeah, maybe. He's talented enough to be an NBA starter, but how will that fare with Marcus Smart? He's the PG we're set to build around and to regress him to the bench at this point is gonna mess him up. Ainge sent out Rondo not only because he was utter garbage his last days here, but because he wanted Smart to take the PG duties, despite his recent struggles the kid has to learn through them. How shady will it be to send him right back to the bench because Ainge decided to bring another PG that will bump him to the bench. He's a rookie and might not care as much, but it hurts his development. Let Smart shoot the 3 and clank them, let him turn the ball over, let him make mistakes. Growing pains. IT is the perfect 6th Man and should be utilized as such. He's the scoring punch this team needs whenever they're anemic on offense.

Please enlighten me how the motion offense requires having good defenders on the floor.

[byennie]

Bradley should be on the bench not Smart.

Out of Bradley, Thomas, and Smart, the one who the team most needs to start is Bradley.

 I disagree. Smart has the most overall impact on our points margin, and Thomas is perfectly suited for a 6th man role where he can have high usage especially against the other team's bench. Ideally we would be starting James Young if he were ready, and playing Bradley and Thomas together off the bench as they cross-match very well together. Bradley could be a very good role player if paired with the right backcourt and allowed to harass the Jameer Nelsons of the world for 20-25 minutes per night.

[Dino Pitino]

If he's not going to start, if Stevens really relishes having IT come off the bench, even if he's in the game when it counts at the end...fine, that's cool...(well, we shall see how cool it is with Isaiah himself, his desire to start was revealed tonight)...but he should still be leading the team every night in minutes, or at least getting full starter's minutes, in the range of 35-40, every single night. Playing him 25-30 minutes a night, having him on the court for 5-10 minutes less than Evan Turner, Brandon Bass, and Jae Crowder...that cannot be optimal. It's like putting your best hitter 7th-9th in the lineup.

[BDeCosta26]

There's a reason that, despite being the best player on the team, IT isn't starting. Brad uses a motion offense that demands strong defenders on the floor, and for all the offensive prowess IT has under his skills he's nowhere near a great defender like Bradley or Smart are. Should he be starting? Yeah, maybe. He's talented enough to be an NBA starter, but how will that fare with Marcus Smart? He's the PG we're set to build around and to regress him to the bench at this point is gonna mess him up. Ainge sent out Rondo not only because he was utter garbage his last days here, but because he wanted Smart to take the PG duties, despite his recent struggles the kid has to learn through them. How shady will it be to send him right back to the bench because Ainge decided to bring another PG that will bump him to the bench. He's a rookie and might not care as much, but it hurts his development. Let Smart shoot the 3 and clank them, let him turn the ball over, let him make mistakes. Growing pains. IT is the perfect 6th Man and should be utilized as such. He's the scoring punch this team needs whenever they're anemic on offense.

Please enlighten me how the motion offense requires having good defenders on the floor.

Because forcing turnovers or collecting rebounds via well contested shots is key to easy points for any offense, certainly for one that predicates itself on playing fast and moving the ball toward a high percentage shot. The best offense in the world won't do much for you if you can't at least be respectable on D. Lockdown perimeter defenders like Smart are vital to getting key stops.

Reasonable, no?

[ViolentGhandi]

I don't think IT is a bad defender - I actually is a pretty darn good one for a guy of his size imo. Its easier to shoot over him thats true and its an issue.

You want him to play offence at a pace and dominance that forces opposing guards to waste their energy on D. If IT is on the court you want him to have as high of an impact he can have. So like BS does I would bring him in the 4th and of the bench - limiting his miniutes and maximizing his offensive impact.

I like Smart as starting pg - he hardly turns the ball over but instead creates numerous extra positions. He also is a good rebounder at his position and is a very good passer especially ahead into the open court. His great D and passing easily make up for his lack of scoring compared to IT. If you run Smart along IT on offence he is losing most of his value since you degrade him to the SG spot - his impact on offence will be 6 to 8 points at most with him looking lost on offence like when Turner was handling the ball. Bradley fits much better into that role.

Also you can't bring Bradley of the bench - he is just no pg.

IT of the bench suits me fine and as long as the team plays sucessfull with IT having an really importent role (which he does) I think he might be able to life with that and if not Ainge can allways upgrade again .

[Moranis]

Also you can't bring Bradley of the bench - he is just no pg.

This doesn't make any sense.  Bradley comes in for Thomas, Smart moves to PG.  Bradley comes in for Smart, Thomas is the PG.  That is how 3 guard rotations work.  You have one PG, one SG, and one guy that could do both.  That is what Boston has.