NBA Playoffs 2017: What We Learned Over The Opening Weekend
By Mason McFee
It’s I.T. Time…. and I’m Not Talking about Technology
In the wake of his sister’s tragic death, Isaiah Thomas put in a 33 point performance that started off with some ridiculously deep 3s. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to propel my beloved Cs to a victory Sunday evening.
Al Horford flirted with a triple-double, posting a 19-7-8 stat line, Avery Bradley hit 4 3s, but the Bulls attempted 23 free throws (and made 20 of them), and Chicago got more out of its bench and that was the difference.
As I was watching playoff basketball all day yesterday, it got me thinking – why doesn’t the bench get more love?
I get that Jerian Grant isn’t as good as Isaiah Thomas, and Paul Zipser would get destroyed by LeBron in a game of one-on-one, but these guys are obviously good enough to get into the NBA, something many others can’t say. Unfortunately, only 5 people can be on the court at a time in basketball, so we have benches.
I don’t know if this ramble has much substance besides a question that I want to raise – why do coaches only rely on 8-9 players every game? Why not use your 3rd PG for just 3-5 minutes to get your starters a little more of a break? If a series goes 7 games, you want your players as fresh as possible right? What’s the worst that can happen in those few minutes? Your lead shrinks by a few points?
Regardless how you answered that question, I hope it gave you something to think on. I know Bad Stevens is going to be thinking about Sunday’s loss a lot leading up to Tuesday night for Game 2. If Boston wants to avoid an upset, they’re going to have to rely on I.T. as they have all season…. and that’s okay.