National Basketball Association

Should Celtics, Lakers give it a rest?

Published Mar. 23, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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The other night, in the playoff-charged atmosphere of Madison Square Garden, Doc Rivers had a problem on his hands, one that a few other NBA coaches are familiar with at this time of the season.

With the Knicks showing signs of pulling away from Rivers’ Celtics early in the fourth quarter on Monday night, Rivers desperately wanted to reinsert Kevin Garnett into the game to restore some law and order at the defensive end. At one point, he looked down at Garnett and was just about to call his name, but then he remembered the number 34.

Paul Pierce?

Not in this case.

This time, the number 34 stands for the minutes limit for Garnett that Rivers has sworn not to exceed.

The last thing Rivers can afford to do is to burn out Garnett, even if means a stronger finish and potentially higher seed for the defending Eastern Conference champs. So, at the last moment, he caught himself and held off on calling for Garnett. In that moment, he was looking ahead to May and June, when the regular-season game against the Knicks would be long forgotten. (The Celtics still won 96-86).

“I don’t care what the situation is,’’ Rivers said afterward. “Kevin ain’t ever going over those numbers. I sat there and said, 'I don’t care what happens now. I’m looking at the future. He can’t go more than 34.’ You have to handle it that way, because at the end of the day, if Kevin’s not right and healthy, then we’re not going anywhere, anyway.’’

You see that strategy with other coaches, especially those with veteran teams. Gregg Popovich has been known to pick his spots during the season to rest Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan. He’ll sit them out of games entirely. Duncan’s recent ankle injury shouldn’t cost the Spurs the top overall record, but maybe now they won’t be able to rest Ginobili as much as they would have liked in the final weeks of the season.

For teams like the Celtics, Spurs and Lakers, who have won titles and know they can win games on another team’s floor in the playoffs, it’s vital not to overdo it with their key players. Seeding may not be of the utmost importance.

But for a team like Chicago, which will go into the playoffs with a rookie head coach, Tom Thibodeau, and will be getting its first postseason experience with a new cast, including Carlos Boozer and Kyle Korver, finishing strong to get the highest possible seed is probably the way to go.

There’s also a major difference between having to face the Knicks or Sixers in the first round, both of whom could be very dangerous opponents, vs. getting an inferior No. 8 team, like Indiana or Charlotte. That’s the benefit of landing in the top spot in the East. So the Bulls will probably push harder for that than the Celtics, as tempting as it will be for Rivers to get the top seed in the East.

“As a coach, you know you will get criticized either way,’’ said former Knicks and Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy. “If you rest guys down the stretch and then you don’t play well and you lose early in the playoffs, you’ll get it on that end. But if you play straight through and then one of your key guys gets injured in the playoffs and you lose early, you’ll get it on that end.

“But people on the outside have taken too simplistic an approach about this whole thing about getting guys rest, which is really in vogue today,’’ Van Gundy continued. “You can get your guys rest on days between games or even in practices, and I think that really pertains to teams with veteran guys. It’s not just games where guys can get rest.’’

Case in point: Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 42 points in the Lakers’ classic three-overtime win over Phoenix on Tuesday. And he did it on a tender ankle. But if you think Bryant is going to cut back on his minutes, with the Lakers winning 13 of their past 14 games, you’re forgetting how much of an old-school competitor he is. He’s not resting now, not with the two-time defending champs having a shot to finish with the second-best overall record.

The Lakers’ best player realizes he can take time off in practice, as he’s always done. Typically, he doesn’t go through three-on-two full-court drills because he knows the extra running can take its toll and come back to bite him in June. He’ll save it for the game.

“To me, there’s a fine line between sitting guys and losing that competitive edge,’’ Van Gundy said. “If you start sitting your guys and they’re healthy, I think it can be a very dangerous thing in terms of losing your sharpness. To me, I would sit guys seven or eight games out from the end of the season and then bring them back for the final few games to regain that edge you want. Like Bill Parcells always said, pacing your team correctly is one of the top job requirements of the head coach. You’re always thinking about that.’’

Rivers gave it a lot of thought last season, when the Celtics slogged their way through a difficult regular-season and were a banged-up team in mid-March. So he purposely sat Garnett, Pierce and Ray Allen more than usual in the final 14 games and wound up losing eight of them to drop to the No. 4 seed. That strategy raised a lot of eyebrows in Boston.

“Obviously, it didn't look right because we were losing games, but guys were resting and conditioning, and I thought that was the only chance we had for a long run in the playoffs,’’ Rivers said. “Because the one thing I did learn through the injuries was, we were not good enough injured. But we had a chance if we were healthy. There were no guarantees, but we had a chance if we would get healthy. So my gamble was, let's take health. So we lost some games, but we got healthy.’’

Rivers’ gamble didn’t pay off entirely. The Celtics lost Game 7 in Los Angeles, but they also suffered a catastrophic blow when Kendrick Perkins blew out his knee in Game 6. But there’s little doubt that his decision to cut back on his veterans’ minutes helped get the Celtics to that point.

“During the regular season, they knew what was important about the year,’’ Phil Jackson said during the Finals. “The year was important about . . . the playoffs. The Garnetts and the Pierces and the Allens and the Wallaces, they've been through these things. They know a little bit about what's important. Sometimes, those last 15, 20 games in the regular season can get to be arduous and you can beat a dead horse into a situation you don't want to get into, and I think Doc rode his team the right way. It's the second season that's important in this game.’’

Now, Rajon Rondo has been struggling, which might have something to do with his various injuries. As important as Rondo is to the Celtics, Rivers is opposed to sitting his playmaker to get completely healthy, for a very good reason, too.

The Celtics are still in contention for the No. 1 seed in the East. They’re also trying to incorporate several new players into their system, including Nenad Krstic. Plus, Shaquille O’Neal (remember him?) hopes to return next week after sitting out since early February because of a leg injury. Working Shaq back into the rotation, ostensibly to shore up the middle in the wake of Perkins’ departure, is reason enough to keep Rondo on the court, as long as his ankle/foot and wrist injuries are not too serious. And in Rivers' mind, Rondo can play through his ailments.

“The difference between last year and this year is that I’ve got some new guys and some of them are going to be getting time for us in the playoffs,’’ Rivers said. “So I’ve been trying to fit them in so they get a rhythm with our other guys. Plus, this year we’re deeper, so we can win some of these games now. But you’re always keeping the big picture in mind.’’

The big picture is always the same: Getting to June and getting there in one piece.

Mitch Lawrence covers the NBA for the New York Daily News.

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