Friday, November 2nd. The Celtics destroyed the Wizards 103 - 83. The game was over by halftime.

Wednesday, November 7th. The Celtics wrecked the Nuggets 119 - 93. Nuggets coach George Karl and superstar Allen Iverson both said it was one of the worst beatings they suffered in their careers.

Friday, November 9th. The Celtics blasted the Hawks 106 - 83. They had a 14pt lead at halftime and never looked back.

Tuesday, November 13th. The Celtics powered by the Pacers 101 - 86, proving they can win big on the road.

Wednesday, November 14th. The Celtics embarrassed the Nets 91 - 69 and hit 7-0.

Wednesday, November 21st. The Celtics pounded the Warriors 105 - 82. The Celtics went up by 9 pts at the end of the first and stayed in control the rest of the way.

So what’s the problem?

Garnett, Pierce, and Ray Allen averaged 35 minutes in blowout games!! In each of the blowout games mentioned, the big three played entirely too much. Even worse, Garnett and Pierce are averaging about 38 minutes per game for the season, and Ray Allen is averaging more than 39 minutes. There’s only one word for letting these three guys play so many minutes so early in the season — INSANITY.

The Celtics are headed for trouble — they’ve got a bunch of 30-somethings playing major minutes. Garnett is 31. Allen is 32. Paul Pierce is 30. Because these guys are on the wrong side of 30, they’re more likely to get injured. That’s by no means a slam — it’s just a fact of life. The smart move would be to let the “big 3″ play enough minutes to win the game, and then not one minute more. So why are Pierce, KG, and Jesus Shuttleworth running 35+ in blowout games?!

I know that all three of these guys have averaged nearly 40 minutes a game in their careers, and that they’re each athletic enough to handle the load. But there’s no getting around the fact that these guys should be playing less minutes every year, not more. This point is so obvious to me that it really makes me wonder what the problem is. Coach Doc Rivers and GM Danny Ainge know the game, and they should be trying to cut back on minutes in order to protect their biggest assets.

So why does Rivers allow these guys to play so much in games that are often over in the 2nd quarter?

It’s because the Celtics have almost no depth. Rivers is allowing his superstars to play league-leading minutes because he thinks that’s the only way they can win. Obviously, that’s bad. 82 games @ 38+ minutes a night = three tired veterans come playoff time. Does anyone really believe that Garnett, Pierce, and Allen will ALL be healthy and ready to go after 6 months of that kind of abuse?

It’s hard to win a championship, let alone a playoff series, when your top players have played 38+ an entire season.

If the prospect of failing come playoff time isn’t enough, there’s another problem with these insane minutes — Boston isn’t developing their bench. Big Baby Davis is playing about 6 minutes a game, despite an above average rebounding rate per 48. Tony Allen — a guy who shot 51% from the field last year — is averaging only 12 minutes. Powe, a promising 2nd rounder, hasn’t even cracked 5 minutes in one game! Only veterans Posey and House are getting decent run, but that’s not very smart. Boston needs to develop their future talent, and the best way to do that is playing in NBA garbage time.

Here’s what the Celtics need to do:

1) Copy the Spurs. San Antonio could probably win 70 games a season by playing Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili 40 minutes a night, but they’re too smart for that. They limit their veterans during the regular season (especially during the first half of the regular season), keeping Duncan and Parker to less than 35 minutes a night, and Ginobili to less than 30. If that means they lose some close games, so be it. The team will be rested and ready come playoff time.

2) Develop the bench, even if it costs them some games. Boston’s bench sucks — with the exception of House and Posey, they don’t have anyone who could jump in and play starter’s minutes. But that can change — Big Baby Davis is a talent that could give them some inside scoring punch, once he gets some minutes. Tony Allen is set to explode this year after a great season last year. Pruitt (if he wasn’t sent down to the d-league) and Powe might be able to provide some solid minutes every night, if they can just get their feet under them. Besides, so what if the Celtics lose some close games? They don’t need to run the table to get a decent spot in the playoffs — they just need to win the division. Considering how poorly New Jersey and Toronto have started (not to mention Philly and New York), it’s quite possible it will only take 45 wins to win the Atlantic. I’m not saying they should coast just yet, but it might be alright to rest a little.

3) Rivers needs to take control and use his head. I still can’t get over it — what is Rivers thinking? Take the home opener against the Wizards — that game was over by halftime. Why didn’t Rivers give his bench players more time to beat up on the Wizards? They could use the confidence, and you’ve always got the big 3 in reserve if the game starts to get away from you. I’m sure that Rivers probably wanted to let his big dogs run in front of the home crowd, and I’m sure that none of the big stars wanted to sit, but Rivers is the head coach. He needs to act like one.

Despite this problem, there is some good news: If the Celtics can develop some of their younger players, ratchet down “the big three” to 30-35 minutes a night, and stay injury free, there’s absolutely no reason to believe they can’t compete for the NBA championship. They’re pretty damn good.