Doc Still Bringin' His A-Game

The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Clippers 111-100 on Wednesday, and the Celtics bench played 127 minutes. They’ve been averaging in the 80s since the dawn of the new year. By contrast, Celtics starts played only 112 minutes. So in a competitive, relatively close game, Doc Rivers went with the bench for most of the fourth quarter.

Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo made appearances down the stretch, but the game hung in the balance and was decided by men with the names of Leon Powe, Glen Davis, Eddie House, Tony Allen, and James Posey on the floor.

The bench only scored 44 points, but played effective defense, even stretching the lead on a couple of occasions. Tony Allen scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, including an increasingly familiar sight, a three pointer. Leon Powe again turned in a rock-solid performance, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. In his last five games, Powe is averaging 11.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and shooting 56% from the field.

Doc deserves a lion’s share of the credit for the increased production from the bench. The second-string role players went from averaging less than 50 minutes per game early in the season, to now averaging more than 80. They are scoring more consistently, and playing more cohesively at both ends of the floor.

Doc used the first two months of the season to build chemistry and confidence on the first unit, sometimes playing the Big Three 40 plus minutes per night for several games in a row. Doc is now using months three and four to build chemistry and confidence on the second unit.

Both experiments in team build also allowed Doc and Danny to see what he had. Everyone was certainly impressed with the 29-3 start, and I think everyone is now starting to see the way the bench can impact games, too.

Once KG gets healthy, Greg Anthony speculated that Doc would begin looking for ways to sit Ray Allen and give him rest before the stretch run heading into the playoffs. This, too, would be a great decision. Forcing Ray Allen to take the better part of two or three weeks off would restore his vigor for when we need it most.

Resting Jesus won’t happen on either West Coast trip, as the Celtics will view both trips as measuring sticks where they have something to prove. There is also the question of whether it would be wise to rest Ray at a time when his game appears to be coming around. Nonetheless, you want your horses raring to go come the end of April.

Adding Sam Cassell to the equation wouldn’t hurt on this front either. I have no doubt that Doc would play Cassell and Rondo together for stretches of every game, thereby giving Ray additional opportunities for rest.

Many NBA fans fall asleep during the months of January and February, as do many players. But not Doc Rivers. The investment he is making in his bench now will pay dividends later. The same goes for giving KG rest now and Ray Allen later.

Doc’s been bringin’ his A game this entire year, with the dog days of winter being no exception.