Shhhh. The Celtics may have a Bench

11/11/07


We've seen only a handful of games, but, outside of a certain No. 5 and another No. 20, what do we make of the Other Guys? Namely, lads 4-12, who generally were regarded as a shade better than Uruguay?

Well, in the first two home games, the Celtics blew things open in the second quarter when guys named Brian Scalabrine and Eddie House were in the game and guys named Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were mostly on the bench. What was deemed by a lot of people - including de facto commissioner Bob Ryan and yours truly - to be a potential liability has so far been anything but.

As Scalabrine said, "Let me ask you this. If we're one of the top five in defense, what does that say about players 4 through 12?"

Scalabrine and House said they had not heard or read the many disparaging comments regarding the non-Big Three of 2007-08. But Doc Rivers had and, as he put it, "If I know, the players know. From 4 through 12, we're the worst team in the NBA? I've heard that a bunch. I don't have to bring it up with them because if I know, they know. And they have a lot of pride."

The whole bench/depth issue is a nonissue now because, outside of James Posey's cranky back, there hasn't been much of an injury problem. One of the Big Three, usually Paul Pierce, plays with the second unit, in part, Rivers conceded, "because he's used to playing with that kind of group."

One thing the bench has is experience, which is a plus for Rivers. Scalabrine is in his seventh season, his third with Boston. Posey is in his ninth season and has logged 34 playoff games, including 22 for the 2005-06 NBA champion Miami Heat. Scot Pollard has played 10 seasons and has 60 playoff games on his resume. And House is in his eighth season and - get this - with his eighth NBA team, sixth in the last three years. And he's on a one-year deal here.

"I go where I'm wanted," House shrugged.

But what do the players think about the belittling of the bench?

"People always will have opinions. You can't stop that," House said. "The guys who said that probably never played the game before so, at the end of the day, how can they speak on what the worst 4-12 in the league is?

"I don't think our bench has hurt us. I think the two other starters have done a great job."

House was with the Suns two years ago, and if there were an NBA situation with Eddie House's name on it, you'd think it would be with Phoenix, spotting up and shooting threes. He thought so, too, until the Suns decided to go with Marcus Banks two summers ago. House played for the Nets last season, battling injuries. It still rankles him that a missed free throw allowed the Celtics to stage a remarkable comeback in New Jersey March 3. He prides himself on making free throws.

But Boston soon joined Jersey, Phoenix, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Sacramento, the Clippers, and the Heat as stops on the Eddie House career path.

"Doc gave me a call and there was a rotation spot here and, well, it's nothing to sneeze at," House said. "My bags were packed."

Rivers said Posey and House have brought a new dimension of feistiness to the team, something he welcomes. Before each game, you can see Posey, at halfcourt, giving a bear hug to all the starters along with words of encouragement. House is, well, a motor-mouth. But in a good way.

"Posey and Eddie bring such a swagger to the game, they give juice to the second unit," Rivers said. "Posey talks on the floor and brings an intensity to the game. We lose a lot when he's not around. Eddie never stops. He's a mini-Kevin as far as energy is concerned. He gets the bench going. He's the talker. He's the towel guy. He does it all."

Scalabrine is the veteran on the bench. He may be one of the few players who draws boos when he comes into a game and cheers on the first possession if he happens to make a play deemed noteworthy by the fans. Like Rivers, Scalabrine noted that the bench never plays without one of the studs (unless it's in blowout situations) and he, not surprisingly, takes umbrage at the comments about the reserves.

"We have a playoff bench," Scalabrine said. "By that, I mean you take one of our studs and put the bench around him and I think that's a playoff team.

"When you have a James Posey, and Eddie House to spot up and shoot, and I can play solid basketball ... but it is hard for us to play without one of those guys. We know we're not going major, serious minutes without one of them out there with us."