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Robb: Time For Brad Stevens To Remove Reins From Isaiah Thomas

BOSTON (CBS) -- Brad Stevens has been unable to catch a break while managing an ever-changing Celtics roster this season. In the midst of dealing with constant overhauls to his team's personnel via trades over the last three months, Stevens has cycled through 12 different starting lineups over the first 57 games of the season.

Now that the trade deadline has passed, Stevens was poised to finally find some continuity with his core group. That was the hope anyway, until the injury bug decided to strike again.

First, it was Jared Sullinger going down for the season with a stress fracture in his left foot two weeks ago.

Now, Avery Bradley is the latest casualty after suffering a left elbow sprain Wednesday night against the Jazz. Stevens told reporters today he is expected to miss the team's three-game road trip, consisting of stops in New Orleans, Orlando, and Miami.

With Bradley out, Stevens must go back to the drawing board with his team's rotation and figure out a new starting lineup combination for the 13th time this season. With so many new faces and unfamiliar combinations, Stevens has a lot of possibilities to evaluate. Let's take a look at a few of the potential groupings.

START ISAIAH?

It was just last week when Stevens told reporters he had no intention of starting Thomas for the foreseeable future.

"I like the way our two guys (Bradley and Smart) are starting together and I like what he's done off the bench," Stevens before a game against the Knicks last Wednesday. "So is he capable of being a starter? Absolutely. He's a good player. But we'll cross that bridge if we need to."

Well, the time may have come to cross that bridge. On the surface, starting Thomas in place of Bradley makes plenty of sense. He's the team's best scorer right now. He also provides the kind of perimeter spacing and scoring that Boston's starters need, especially given their lack of outside shooting in the frontcourt pairing of Brandon Bass and Tyler Zeller.

With that said, it wouldn't surprise me if Stevens is hesitant to start Thomas for a couple reasons. First, his short stint in Boston thus far means his knowledge of the team's playbook on both ends is limited. Stevens likes his starters to have familiarity with the team's schemes, especially when going up against another team's starting group. So early into his Celtic career, Thomas still lacks that.

Additionally, Thomas has thrived so much with the team's second unit -- with running mates like Jae Crowder, Jonas Jerebko and James Young -- that Stevens might be inclined to leave him with that group as an offensive catalyst. If that's the case, look for Turner to be shifted to point guard, with Crowder inserted as a small forward in the starting five.

The problem with that thinking is that Turner-Smart-Crowder-Bass-Zeller combination has plenty of flaws too. That grouping (with Bradley starting in place of Smart) has struggled mightily on the offensive end this season, thanks to a lack of shot creators and outside shooting. It's an above-average lineup on the defensive end, but it's unclear whether they can score enough points against opposing starting lineups to keep Boston competitive in most games.

Knowing that, the best solution for Stevens might be simply to boost the minutes of Thomas (26.4 per game) no matter what role he ends up with. The Celtics need Thomas to run the show to create opportunities for himself and teammates on the offensive end as much as possible with Bradley out of the fold.

Whether it's in the starting lineup or coming off the bench, it's time to take the reins off Thomas and hand him the big minutes he deserves.

Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.

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