Let's assume for a minute that this is the team we're going to war with in a couple of months. It's possible that Danny might make another move, but even if he does, it will only affect one position.
This breakdown assumes a couple of things:
- A 9-man rotation... which I think is widely considered your optimum number. If you've got 4 guys you can insert off the bench, you now have enough guys to give your starters proper rest, but not so many that guys wonder what their roles are. This 9 man rotation pretty much lays out a very realistic expectation of how guys will be used, while allowing for flexibility.
- A "perfect world" scenario. This assumes no injuries or early foul trouble. We all know both can happen, and that's what the Brian Scalabrine's and Shelden Williams' of the world are there for. They will hop in and take some of the minutes of whichever guy is hurt.
So here's a look at how all the minutes break down position-by-position.
The center spot is very straightforward. It's entirely Perk's domain. There's no scenario in which he's playing any other position. Wallace, will be his primary back up, getting most of his minutes at the 5. In some scenarios, KG will be the 5 when a smaller guy (i.e. Glen Davis) is in the game. For the purposes of this breakdown, When Wallace and KG are in the game together, KG is the power forward and Sheed is the center.
The majority of KG's minutes will come at the 4, which is no surprise. Wallace will be splitting time at the two big spots, while Glen Davis' primary minutes coming at the 4.
Davis, as we discussed yesterday, will get a FEW minutes at the 3, but that's clearly Paul Pierce's domain, with Marquis Daniels giving him all of his relief.
Daniels can also give Ray a few extra minutes of bench time at the 2 spot. The combination of House and Daniels will be enough to keep Ray right around 30 minutes per game.
Daniels has been mentioned at the point, so I'm going to assume there will be at least a few minutes per game that he'll be the primary ball handler. However, as you can see here, if the Celtics rely on House/Daniels to be their backup PG's, that will mean more minutes for Rajon Rondo. I've slated his expectation at 35 minutes per game. He averaged 33 minutes a game last season, and 41 minutes in the playoffs... so he can do it. It's just not ideal. Clearly, in looking at all these charts, there are minutes available at the point guard position.
This is how I see these guys being used. We've got flexibility in the frontcourt. We've got a couple of guys off the bench that can play multiple positions if need be. That all means our aging stars can easily be limited to 30 minutes per game. Our young point guard will have to shoulder a larger load with the current roster, but I think that when you look at it as cobbling something together for 13 minutes a game... it makes the current lack of a back up PG a little more tolerable.
One thing to keep in mind, we're not looking at the Rondo of two seasons ago... which is the last time we had a makeshift back-up point. This guy has now won a title, and carried a team in a playoff series. He's older and smarter. You can rely on him for 35 minutes a game... but you couldn't two years ago. He averaged 29.9 mpg two seasons ago and he played some minutes he shouldn't have because of that lack of PG depth. This version of Rondo can be pushed further than that one. So while I'm all for bringing some more PG help, I don't think not bringing one in will be as detrimental as some others think.
