It's an old question that gets kicked around in every sport, every year. Should we rest the starters to get them fresh for the playoffs, or try and keep the momentum going with some wins on the way out of the regular season? I wish that I had some kind of statistical analysis to help answer this question, but I don't. The question also came up recently for me, with the Canucks clinching the President's Trophy. While "resting the stars" in hockey is quite different than doing to same in basketball (less ice time versus just sitting out), my Celtics reached the point in their season where they were faced with the same question. To rest, or to play?
Doc Rivers said that the 77-100 blowout loss to "Heat-Donna" (in honor of Madonna's reported reversion to Catholicism) on Sunday helped him make the decision that the starters needed a break. In his own words, "Just reset yourself. Reset the team." The C's tried to reset themselves last night against the Wizards, and with the big four on the bench, the B-Squad tried their best. In the end, though, a 94-95 overtime loss was the result.
The Celtics started Jeff Green, Glen Davis, Jermaine O'Neal, Delonte West, and Von Wafer. The bench squad was Krstic, Arroyo, Murphy, and Pavlovic. You'd have to guess that against the Wizards, this group of the Green Army should have stood a chance. And they did, early on. But, you can only hold a lead for so long when you shoot 38% from the field and 28% from deep. Greenie hoisted up 20 shots in the game, making 8 of them, as he played a wannabe Ray Allen role for the night. He finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds, which surprisingly was one of two double doubles (with animal fries) on the night. Jermaine had the other, getting 15 and 13, and Big Baby added 20 in the hole as well.
The game underscores two things. First, something I've said since the trade dealine, the C's bench is probably the worst version of the bench since the big four came together. Second, the big four are possibly the worst version of that group since they came together. As the season winds down, they just haven't been able to get it right. Big losses to the Bulls and the Heat as things close out have served to make us look foolish in the media, and to make it look like losers to the fan base. Are we destined to be dropped out of the playoffs before even reaching the Eastern Conference Finals? I know I'm being negative, but it's really looking that way.
Not so, says Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge. Giving our best players some time to rest and reset will completely turn this team's fortunes around. That's the problem! We're tired. Like I said, I don't have any statistical evidence to help answer the question of rest versus momentum, however, I will provide an answer that makes sense to me. Have you ever gone for a long run on the streets? You are running and running, feeling tired, but not overwhelmingly so. Eventually you come up to a red light and are forced to stop running, as you wait for the traffic to pass. What happens when you start up again? Our instinct would tell us that a quick little break would help is go further with greater ease, but is that right? Well, in my experience, that brief little rest completely brings my tiredness to the forefront. Running feels so much harder after that break, even though it seemed like a great idea. Eventually you learn to keep moving at a red light, because if you keep active, running once it turns green isn't as hard.
I'm not saying it's a perfect comparison, I'm just saying it makes sense to me. But whatever. What I think doesn't matter. So, let's give the big guys a break, and just pray that they don't get handed an even bigger break by the Knicks in the first round.
The regular season closes out with more B-Squad action tomorrow against said Knicks, and then we're on to the second season.
By the way, Von Wafer posing to the crowd after bricking a dunk he thought he made, and then slamming into Jermaine O'Neal, who got the rebound, causing him to double dribble? Completely classic.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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