The Boston Celtics have been a very up and down team so far this year and their record reflects it as they are 11-9 through 20 games. One of the things the Celtics really liked about their roster coming into the season was that it was deep and they would be able to withstand injuries and while that is a good thing it can also mean less playing time for certain players. David Lee is one of the guys who has not gotten the minutes he would like so far this season and he is frustrated by his role, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
Lee was acquired by the Celtics via trade this offseason from the Golden State Warriors as the Warriors had no place for him in their rotation and the Celtics were looking for a low post threat on offense. Lee was expected to start at one of the frontcourt positions for the Celtics this season but so far has only gotten three starts and he is not all that happy about it.
"I don't accept it, and the moment you start to accept it is when you've kind of stopped trying. While Coach can make any decision whom he wants to start or bring off the bench, my goal is to be a guy who's playing 20, 25 minutes, and I've had a meeting with Coach and told him that. And that's no disrespect to any other big man we have. But as a player I think everybody wants to play more and that's just having confidence in your own game," said Lee.
Brad Stevens and the Celtics have hung their hat on their defense this season and have become one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. Defense is not exactly Lee's strong suit which could be part of the reason his minutes are low this season (15.4 per game.) Instead Stevens has been giving the bulk of the frontcourt minutes to Amir Johnson and Jared Sullinger and both have played pretty well.
Lee is currently dealing with a heel issue that kept him out of the Celtics' last game against the San Antonio Spurs but when he has been on the court he has played pretty well. In his limited time Lee is averaging 6.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while making 51 percent of his field goals which is good for an above average PER of 16.1. Stevens has made it a goal of his recently to shorten his rotation and although he has played well this season, Lee just seems to be a victim of the depth on the Celtics.
