Boston Celtics: Should They Rest Their Starters or Fight for the No. 1 Seed?

Ah, the age-old question. To sit or not to sit? We know what Gregg Popovich would say. 

The Celtics have shown more regular season grit this year than in any of the previous three. 

In fact, it was as early as late August that Paul Pierce was discussing the pursuit of No. 1: 

“I think we're right there at the top,” the Celtics star said to the Boston Globe. “I think we're one of the top four or five teams in all of basketball. I think we should try to get the top seed.” 

Leave it to a newly assembled, younger team being crowned “the new big three” to meddle with the pride of a core of veterans. 

The new twosome in New York should only fuel ambitions for bragging rights. 

The Celtics have made it this far, fighting through more injuries to the supporting cast than ever before. The team has managed to stay on top through days of either no centers or no guards to back up the starters (anyone that gets regular minutes, anyway). 

Yet, here they are, a half game up on the team that stole the offseason headlines. A half game up on the team they put out a playoff effort against three times this season—3-0 with one more to go. 

The same type of effort has been seen in but a few games this year, with the post-Perkins Nuggets game being the chief example. 

The Celtics seem to become more determined with every bump in the road and have managed a 3-1 record since the trade. 

With this team, adversity is an everyday thing. 

To think that there will be any let-up on the part of the starters down the stretch would be foolish. The Celtics have battled to get to this point, with the knowledge that the top seed is now as valuable as ever. 

Still, what Pierce, Allen and Garnett want will have little to do with how many minutes they play down the stretch (although, I'm sure they could be persuasive). 

For the Celtics, playing time in the last 20-plus games will come down to what Doc Rivers thinks it should be—for better or worse. That is, if he has a choice. 

The latest injury to Glen Davis means more players will have to step up, and Garnett will be thirsty to pick up a few of the extra minutes. With an MRI to come, fans will once again be praying that another tower doesn't fall. Not for long, anyway. 

When healthy, the Celtics have enough talent off the bench to weather the storm of a few less minutes for the starters. Unfortunately, these are new backups. 

Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic (on the bench once Shaq comes back) and Troy Murphy will need every game on the remaining schedule to adapt to their new teammates. It will be a learning process for the new role players and starters may be forced to play extra minutes late in games if the bench is throwing away a big lead (like Wednesday against Phoenix). 

Rivers is not likely to willingly throw away games for extra minutes of rest, but that doesn't mean that the big three won't see the gaps in time lengthened a bit down the stretch.

However, if the race stays close to the way it is now, an April 10 bout with the Heat could produce as much hype as any regular season game in recent years (should this happen, feel free to throw anything I have mentioned about minute limitations in the trash).

Thirteen of the Celtics' last 23 games came against squads below .500, which will hopefully mean some three-quarter games. Moreover, the Wizards (if the Celtics avoid thinking a game ahead, as we have seen before) can serve as a buffer with Chicago, Washington, Miami, Washington and New York making up the last five games of the season. 

The next eight games come against teams in the lower half of the NBA and the Celtics would be wise to do everything they can to pull them out, in hopes of building a lead against Miami/Chicago. 

Hopefully, a solid stretch run in these next 12 games can build a reasonable cushion, allowing older bodies to refuel for the real run. 

Reading it over, it all sounds like wishful thinking, right? 

Miami's next five games consist of Orlando, San Antonio, Chicago, Portland and the Lakers. Given the Heat's record against the top five teams (1-7), it wouldn't be surprising to see them drop two, three or even four of these games. 

The current race is gaining interest by the day, not that any of that will impact Rivers' decisions. What may influence the Doc's agenda is the belief that it would be good for a team with a lot of new pieces to fight for the top seed (within reason) in order to create the kind of bond that is necessary to overcome a grueling two month postseason. 

It is a wait-and-see scenario, with a lot depending on the circumstances that arise in the coming weeks. 

If one thing is certain, Rivers will not do anything to risk any more injury problems than he already has.