Doc Rivers needs to rest his Big Three and Rajon Rondo to get them Playoff ready – NBA Feature
After Ray Allen’s recent injury, the Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers needs to be very careful in the remaining 7 games of their season.
Ray Allen sat out of the game against the Toronto Raptors due to swelling on his right ankle. He had the same problem last month, and it came up again Tuesday night in the match against Miami Heat. It is too early to tell how many
games will Allen miss and whether he will be available for the playoffs or not, but it has brought into attention a serious issue that needs to be addressed.
Doc Rivers has not rested his four main players throughout the season. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Allen and Rajon Rondo have started almost every game this season. Boston has so far played 58 games this season and out of those
58, Pierce and Garnett have played in 55 and Rondo has played in 48.
It is pertinent to note here that all three players are regular starters for Boston hence they are averaging above 30 minutes per game in the games they have played. Rondo is young and currently in his 5th NBA season
but Pierce is in his 13th year and Garnett in his 16th year as a professional.
The lockout shortened NBA season has been a very tough and gruelling one. The number of games being played with such a small amount of rest in between is causing player injuries. Ray Allen was the latest to fall victim to injury
this season. Boston have 8 games remaining this season, out of which 3 are back to back.
Doc Rivers needs to realize that playing his regular guys throughout those 8 games would not be a wise decision. After all, it is not the season record that matters in the end, it is the playoffs. They Celtics are at the 4th
spot presently, and should focus on managing to stay on that 4th spot while resting their key players for the playoffs. Even if the players do not get injured, and play throughout the remaining games, they will be exhausted and blown out by the
time they reach the playoffs, when the games really become tough.
Gregg Popovich recently rested his three star players in a game against Utah Jazz which the San Antonio Spurs lost. Popovich risked losing the game when the Spurs were on an 11-0 run to rest his players because he knew that the
players needed to be well rested and ready to go for the playoffs. That was his number one priority. Doc Rivers also needs to re-evaluate his strategy and think about how he will ensure that all his star players are well rested and in good shape once the playoffs
begin.
Rivers does not need to remove his stars from the roster; he just needs to manage their work. Fine, his team was short handed for most of the season, but now Mickael Pietrus is back and players like Avery Bradley, Brandon Bass,
Kenyon Dooling and Greg Stiemsma have done enough to deserve some extra playing time.
That does not mean that Rivers should not worry about the result of his remaining games. But he needs to be sensible with the playing minutes of his big three and Rondo, so as to ensure that their absence is not too big to cause
a problem for the team while at the same time, they are rested as well.
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