Stevens appears to have settled on his top four bigs

[TheSundanceKid]

There will be some nights where Sully sees minutes being the opposition have bigs that bully KO and Zeller. Sully will be needed to step in and throw his bulk around. I think as the year goes on brad will be forced to play him. It's all well and good playing pace and space but unless you tire the opponent, they'll outscore us down the stretch. A team like Memphis or Houston or even Detroit will use their bigs to batter us down. In those situations it's useful to have a guy like Sully there to push them back, something Lee can't do alone.

[Greyman]

How much game time Sully gets will come down mostly to his attitude, effort and performance. CBS said that 'who is playing well' will come into it. Of course the needs for particular games, injuries etc will determine some things but ultimately it is up to Sully to prove himself and be more valuable than another big. I think he will get opportunity to do this, even on a crowded roster.

[Who]

Disappointed there is no Jerebko. I thought he was very good for the team last year.

[Celtics4ever]

Therefore, all of your conclusions that follow aren't really all that valid. David Lee may recover. He may be the 18/10 player he was three years ago. But given the normal decline of a NBA player in his 30s - especially one who is coming off an injury - making the assumption that he will be the player he was is a pretty massive leap of faith and it's not one I'm willing to make at this juncture. 20 games into the regular season, maybe, but not after two preseason games in Europe.

When is the normal decline of a morbidly obese player?  Your guilty of the same thing as you claim others being guilty of once again.

I think the normal decline really depends on the player.   If your a specialist you can play longer most often as skills decline less than age.  I think fit tall guys who are lucky and not injured most have some of the best longevity though look at Jabbar and Chief.  Guys who take care of themselves have an edge too.

[Celtics4ever]

Quote
Disappointed there is no Jerebko. I thought he was very good for the team last year.

He was but this year he is a wing.  So really no need to panic, he is a wing.

[Granath]

Therefore, all of your conclusions that follow aren't really all that valid. David Lee may recover. He may be the 18/10 player he was three years ago. But given the normal decline of a NBA player in his 30s - especially one who is coming off an injury - making the assumption that he will be the player he was is a pretty massive leap of faith and it's not one I'm willing to make at this juncture. 20 games into the regular season, maybe, but not after two preseason games in Europe.

When is the normal decline of a morbidly obese player?  Your guilty of the same thing as you claim others being guilty of once again.

I think the normal decline really depends on the player.   If your a specialist you can play longer most often as skills decline less than age.  I think fit tall guys who are lucky and not injured most have some of the best longevity though look at Jabbar and Chief.  Guys who take care of themselves have an edge too.

Let me know when there's anyone on the team is "morbidly obese" and I'll happily consider that individual's circumstance.

As for players who were pretty fat in the NBA, Glen Davis had his best seasons at 25 and 27. Huge Oliver Miller had his best at 25. Charles Barkley was great until his mid-30s.

As for Sullinger - who isn't nearly as big as Davis or Oliver Miller (those guys were over 300 pounds) - the peak for an NBA player is 24-27 years old. Sullinger is just coming into that range (23 1/2). So projecting a decline in his statistics isn't logical and can't be justified.

Thanks for playing, please try again!

[Jon]

It should be noted that the article and the OP's original post are both somewhat misleading.  All Stevens said was that he'll only go with 4 bigs most nights.  I 100% agree with that.  This isn't Little League; everyone doesn't need to get playing time.  And it's more than reasonable to expect 4 guys to consume 96 minutes of playing time (which only averages to 24 mpg).

But nowhere in that article did it say that Stevens had settled on Lee, Zeller, Olynyk, and Johnson.  And I think it's some pretty shoddy reporting to think that based on two preseason games that weren't even against NBA competition that things are going to shake out like that. 

[spikelovetheCelts]

It should be noted that the article and the OP's original post are both somewhat misleading.  All Stevens said was that he'll only go with 4 bigs most nights.  I 100% agree with that.  This isn't Little League; everyone doesn't need to get playing time.  And it's more than reasonable to expect 4 guys to consume 96 minutes of playing time (which only averages to 24 mpg).

But nowhere in that article did it say that Stevens had settled on Lee, Zeller, Olynyk, and Johnson.  And I think it's some pretty shoddy reporting to think that based on two preseason games that weren't even against NBA competition that things are going to shake out like that.

Sully will take minutes from both KO and Zeller. He has more upside in my opinion.  If we want to make a better playoff seed Johnson and Lee have to play. Lee and Johnson both can go to a contender if we are not one at the Trading deadline. Going to be fun to see how this plays out.

[mmmmm]

Yeah, I have to say I'm really happy with these rotations - especially the Olynyk + Johnson combination.  Between Olynyk's perimeter game and Johnson athleticism/physicality that is probably one of the most unorthodox front lines in the league, and I think that combination is going to the opponents bench headaches on a nightly basis.  Especially once you throw Thomas in the mix.

When you throw Crowder and Jerebko into that at the 2 & 3 (as Brad has done), that bench lineup looks even more interesting.

Plenty of length & athleticism.  Plenty of shooting.   Great pick & roll and pick & pop combinations.

[mmmmm]

Where's the evidence? There's nothing in there from any member of the Celtics organization that suggests who the 4 are. It's Blakely - who is often incorrect - pulling 4 names out of his ass with nothing to back it up.

Let's look at Stevens' quote again:

“My thought right now is we won’t play more than four on most nights,” Stevens said. “Whoever those four may be, may depend on the night, may depend on how they’re playing, may depend on who is healthy.”

Ok, let's break it down.

“My thought right now is we won’t play more than four on most nights,” Well, duh. There's 96 minutes to go around. You simply can't give more than 4 meaningful minutes on any given night unless there's overtime. It's pretty simple math. A couple of guys get 28 or so minutes, a couple get 20 and that's all she wrote.

“Whoever those four may be, may depend on the night, may depend on how they’re playing, may depend on who is healthy.” Well, this is also pretty self-apparent. Because Brad has flexibility, who plays will depend production, match ups and health. This is makes perfect sense. Need rebounding? Sullinger is in there. Are you going to need inside scoring? Lee may be the man. A defensive presence? Amir, step forward. Need a big body? Zeller, you're up. Want to draw their guy out of the paint? KO, come on down.

In short, nothing to see here folks. This was the game plan all along and Blakely is just trying to stir the pot with a clickbait article.

I concur.

We haven't even played one single NBA team in pre-season yet.

It makes no sense to assert that any lineup decisions are final.

But, Blakely ... yeah.

[fandrew]

Jeez, all Sully had to do this offseason was lose a ton of weight. That alone would have improved his conditioning enough to shut people up. He could have just had 25 lbs removed with liposuction at the beginning of the offseason and then worked out like crazy after to build up strength.

Its nice that he improved his conditioning a little, but seriously... all he needed to do was put a greater focus on the weight loss. None of us would have a complaint if he LOOKED like he worked himself into shape. Maybe he should join Biggest Loser for a season.

[sofutomygaha]

Just noise.

[Donoghus]

Article seems awfully speculative at best.

At least early on, I wouldn't be surprised one bit if the front-court rotation & starter are predicated on that night's matchup.

EDIT:  Also "having a ton of depth" essentially equates to "no one has separated themselves from the pack".

[mmmmm]

Disappointed there is no Jerebko. I thought he was very good for the team last year.

Don't worry.  They didn't sign him to a 5M contract to sit on the bench.

Early indications by both Stevens and JJ himself are that he will be playing more as a 'big 3' this year. 

He came into the league as an SF and did reasonably well in defending James in the playoffs (yeah - a purely relative statement, of course).  And given glut of 4/5s on this roster, it makes sense to try him there.   I don't think he'd be put on some of the really quick 3s, but he's a good defensive option for the 'big 3s' like Lebron, Durant, Chandler Parsons, etc.

He won't have to be a play-creating 3, ala Paul Pierce, if he's on the floor with Isaiah.   But he can definitely create space with his shooting and also cut and roll from the outside.  He's also a nice pick & pop option with IT.

[PhoSita]

Disappointed there is no Jerebko. I thought he was very good for the team last year.

I imagine he will get significant minutes at the 3.  Not an ideal fit there, but he's the only guy on the team who can play on the wing and actually hit an open three at a high rate.