How Often Will Doc Play the Triple-Tower Lineup?

Rotation with Minutes

Kevin Garnett     28  Baby              16   Rasheed Wallace            4
Kendrick Perkins  28  Rasheed Wallace   14   Baby/Shelden               6
Paul Pierce       26  Marquis Daniels   10   Sheed                      12
Ray Allen         30  Eddie House       12   Paul Pierce                6
Rajon Rondo       36  Marquis Daniels   12

Average Minutes Per Game

KG          28
Perk        28
Pierce      32
R.Allen     30
Rondo       36
Sheed       30
Baby        22
Marquis     22
E.House     12

If you listened to Doc's debriefing yesterday, it sounded like he might be regularly playing Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, and Rasheed Wallace together on the same unit once the season gets underway. If so, the next questions would seem to be how long will the Tall Three be on the floor at the same time and what impact will it have on the rotation?

My answers are 12 minutes and more than you might think.

In the above chart, I have Sheed penciled in for 12 MPGs at the 3 (it could easily be KG at the three, but for now, let's go with #30). That seems like the maximum amount of time we'd want this unit on the floor. Sheed's best position will be the 4 and 5 spots, and it makes sense that we'd want him to devoting most of his energies there. But against some teams there no doubt will be an advantage derived from the Celtics playing a Triple-Tower lineup. Doc may not always play them together for 12 minutes, but I bet he plays them at the same time for at least a few minutes every game, with 12 minutes being the max, except against maybe the purple, the Cavs, and the poodles.

Next up is what impact will playing a triple-tower lineup have on the rotation?

My guess is that since the goal of this lineup is to leverage height, Doc will pull out the stops and stick Squisy at the point and Paul Pierce at the deuce. That's a helluva a tall lineup, with a helluva lot of potential for domination. Playing Rondo, House, or Ray Allen in the backcourt would present other advantages, but early in the season, I am confident Doc will want to determine how much advantage he can exact from a lineup with this length.

As for the question of who will back up Ray Allen if Marquis Daniels is playing the point? Paul Pierce might be the answer for six or more minutes each night, while a big is backing up Paul Pierce (and don't rule out Glen Davis at the 3, either, if only for short stints).