Boston has been beating teams so badly of late, it has afforded head coach Brad Stevens an opportunity to empty his bench; well almost empty his bench.
Veteran David Lee has been the one Celtic player who has remained a mainstay on the sideline, regardless of how lopsided games have become.
And it sounds like that’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens explained why he has opted to keep the 6-foot-10 forward on the Celtics bench in 14 of the team's last 15 games.
“That’s more about, he’s been in the league a long time and that’s more out of just … I’m not going to put him in there for five minutes or four minutes at the end of a game,” Stevens said. “He’s a really good player. The reason he hasn’t played is a style of play choice.”
Boston comes into Sunday’s game having won five in a row which has involved getting a lot of mileage out their smaller lineup which has 6-6 Jae Crowder at the power forward position.
And when the Celtics have faced a team with significant size in the frontcourt that has afforded minutes for Tyler Zeller.
Boston Celtics
“It’s a tough situation for him,” Stevens said. “He’s handling it like a pro.”
Danny Ainge, Boston’s president of basketball operations, told CSNNE.com that he has had conversations with Lee and his representatives as far as his future with the Celtics.
Ainge declined to elaborate on specifics of those conversations, but he was quick to mention how pleased he has been with Lee handling what most would agree has been a difficult situation for the impending free agent.
“All the success he has had in the NBA … he has dealt with it right,” Ainge told CSNNE.com. “He knows an opportunity is going to come to him at some points. He’s staying ready.”
Stevens won’t make any promises about playing, but reiterated that he’s always looking to see what combinations work best for the Celtics.
“You look all the time at that stuff and you look at how our guys are playing,” Stevens said before adding, “But hey, he’s a really good player. If he plays I feel really good about our chances to play well.”