You can’t overestimate the value of experience

The knock on the Celtics at the beginning of the year was that beyond the so-called “Big Three”, they lacked depth to win a title. The answer? Bring in seasoned veterans midseason with championship experience: aka P.J. Brown and E.T. himself – Sam Cassell.

Still, Doc Rivers seemed perfectly content to stick with his regular rotation during the season. Eddie House remained the backup point guard and Big Baby Davis and Leon Powe still got solid minutes in the frontcourt. And when this kind of combination produces 66 wins, the smart decision would be to keep the same rotation during the playoffs, right? Apparently not.

Now, no disrespect to P.J. Brown – I think he’s a solid inside presence who spreads the floor on offense with his ability to knock down the midrange jumper. But, the real offense Doc is committing here is playing Cassell over Rondo, who just hit two threes to pull the Celts within sic as I’m writing this.

Borrowing from one of my favorite authors, Cassell gives “veteran experience down the stretch — sure, it’s been the experience of blowing playoff games against inferior teams, but, still, it’s an experience.”

Alright, maybe it’s foolish to completely buy into the words of Bill Simmons – let’s check the stats, shall we?

Brought in as a shooter, something Rondo supposedly isn’t, Cassell is shooting a paltry 34.7% in the playoffs, with a clip under 30% from beyond the arc. Compare that with Rajon shooting just under 44% during the playoffs – nothing spectacular, but considering the defensive battles that have dominated the Eastern conference, not too shabby.

Ok, so maybe Cassell is facilitating the offense for Boston. But he’s only dishing out 1.5 assists per game in the postseason to Rondo’s 6. Granted Rondo plays more minutes – about twice as many – but that still gives a batter assist-to-minute ratio.

Defensively, Rondo’s averaging about a steal and a half per game, yet another category where he far exceeds Cassell, who takes the ball away .27 times per game. And Rondo’s quickness and agility are far superior to the aging Cassell, who gives up far more on defense than he gets on offense.

But the real shame of Doc putting so much faith in Sam Cassell is how it’s seemingly destroying Rajon Rondo’s confidence. Take it from a seasoned coach like Phil Jackson – when a guy is supposed to be your franchise’s point guard for years to come, like Jordan Farmar for the Lakers, you have to keep in the game even if he isn’t playing well as an investment for the future. And lucky for the Celtics, that might actually help the team if Sam is playing as few minutes as possible.

the boston celtics aren’t smart

ok, i’m getting sick of hearing this. every time a reporter asks the celts about their road woes, [insert random celtic player here] says, “if we’re gonna win the title, we got to learn how to win on the road”

no – you don’t. lucky for you, y’all play in the leastern conference and racked up the best regular season record in the league, so NO, you don’t have to win on the road. which sucks, because you’re clearly not the best team. but then, the last couple champions really haven’t been the best team in the NBA.

and another thing the celts have going for them – rajon rondo is an excellent perimeter defender who should merit all-NBA defensive consideration every year.