Ian Thomsen knows exactly what’s up
We'll miss you, Perk. Hell, we already do.
Sports Illustrated’s Ian Thomsen offered a great analysis of the Perkins trade. Which sucks to read, I warn you. (WEEI)
“First of all, I was just wondering who the Celtics are now?” Thomsen said of his initial reaction to the trade. “Before they signed [Shaquille O'Neal] last summer, I was wondering who they were. Because they were outrebounded in the finals, the Lakers front line looked too big for them, even when Perkins was playing. But then when they got Shaq, and you thought about Shaq and Perkins as the front line, now you thought that they were going to have an edge to them, they were going to be able to play down low, they’d always have a big man in there, for 48 minutes, potentially.
“And now again, I’m just not sure who they are now, what the edge is. There are things that they can no longer take for granted: that they can guard Dwight Howard one on one, that they’re going to throw a lot of size at the Lakers — like a big offensive line that creates room for [Rajon] Rondo and all the other guys.
“So, it’s just now going to be interesting to see what’s going to be the new identity of the team. Because no matter what they do, if they get Troy Murphy or anybody else, it won’t be able to replicate what they had in Perkins. And Shaq just won’t be able to give them enough minutes, even if he’s healthy — 25, 28, 30 minutes, maybe.” …
“It’s like a chicken-or-egg thing,” he said. “Do you respond to matchups of other teams or do you create matchups of your own that they can’t deal with? So now, against Miami, was one reason Boston had an edge over Miami this year because of guys like Kendrick Perkins and the physical edge that they clearly have over Miami? So, you can say, OK, you don’t need to worry about Miami’s big men, so you can afford to get rid of Kendrick Perkins. But in letting go of him, are you letting go of your inherent advantage over them. And now are you sort of playing their game as opposed to making them play your game. They’re less of an imposing team without Perkins. They’re playing more to Miami’s style. …
Added Thomsen: “If they do get Troy Murphy, it’s an exceptionally deep team with a lot of different options. But we all know that in the playoffs, it’s that hard edge that overcomes everything. It’s playing hard and playing physically and just fighting that often makes the difference. We’ll have to see how this Celtics team responds in that category.”
The Celtics used to have an identity. They used to have one thing — toughness — that separated them from any other team in the league. What is their identity now? What do they do better than any other team? I don’t know. I really don’t.
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Celtics Blog | Jay King | February 25, 2011
Another thing if nobody’s mentioned it yet:
TEAM CHEMISTRY! You can talk stats and talent all you want, but the C’s came out on the floor looking depressed and betrayed last night. They lost a brother, one of their starting five that they were planning a championship with.
With all these new pieces, it’s going to take time to gel, for players to know each other on the court. Does anyone really believe they will still end up the top seed in the East? I highly doubt it. It may take the rest of the season just for these guys to learn to play together.
Yes, Jay, the C’s lost their identity. Ainge became like a HS girl trying to copy the “cool” girls by changing his team to the style of Miami and NY. What a horrible time to have an identity crisis. The C’s were the top seed. Make them beat you, not the other way around.
I’m disgusted, and yeah, Perk would have stayed a Celtic for less money than elsewhere. Just b/c he turned down the first offer doesn’t mean anything. Ainge was looking for an excuse.
When the C’s exit the playoffs in the first or second round, I hope Ainge is fired that day.
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When other teams makes trades its like–oh–let’s see how it works out. When the Celtics make a trade it’s like the father disowning his son. What is it about, this is a business don’t people understand? Hello?–Professional sports?–not church league or Demolay? The GM is like a chess master moving players around and trying to win. I wish people would grow up.
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If they traded Paul Pierce to make the team better I would not feel one twinge of emotion.
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Who the f*** cares what any SI writer thinks? I care about what DA, Doc, and the players think and how the players react. Last night they were depressed which is understandable but they also had minimum players available. When you all see Green on the wing take a pass from RR and slam it down I guarantee you’ll think differently. Orlando sucks and is not as strong as before. Let Howard get 30 and STOP all the others. You do not ever pay for guys who have heart Chris, you pay for stats. It’s a business pure and simple. Again, put down all your guns and knives and take a step back. The core is still intact – the real core (the HOFs and All-stars) – and we improved the bench. What the hell would you all be doing if KP got injured again (oh that’s right he is)??? Go Cs…please let it be Monday so this crying scenario is over. At least it better be by then. Enjoy your weekends everyone and have a toast to KP!
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len…amen brother!!! Go CS…
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People can dump on DA all they want–but before he got here the Celtics were irrelevant.
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Okay, James, once again, I hope you are right, but stats still don’t mean everything.
Last week, Doc mentioned that Shaq had lost a few pounds. I’m wondering if they have him in some type of health spa/training simply for conditioning, i.e. the secret weapon to pull out come playoff time, a well rested machine ready to kick some ass?
I hope so. and can Shaq stay out of foul trouble? Will Jermaine even be on the court come playoff time? No matter what you say, this team is now very weak at center.
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Sorry, I’m the eternal optimist. Except when the Cs have played down to suck-ass teams this season. That should be over. Murphy is on his way and he’ll be loving the opportunity to play for a ring. He can spread the floor, rebound and will play team defense. Funny how all these non-defender types come to Boston and immediately buy into the team defense philosophy. DA knows what he is doing. Go Cs…
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I think we will still be strong, But not as strong with Perkins healthy on our starting five.
“Banner 18 in 2011″
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Funny, all these people that claim to know the Celtics identity are the same people that gave them no chance against the Cavs and magic last year… and come to think about it, they gave them no chance to beat LA in 08
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I’m continually amazed by people who claim about sports that ‘it’s just a business, period’. What a load!! Sports is about emotion. It’s not something that people do, or watch, for practical reasons. Not fundamentally. Another thing that amazes me is that folks profess great loyalty for their team, but claim that they have none for the players! Without the players, a team is a bloodless abstraction. To have loyalty to the team has to mean, to some significant extent, having loyalty to the players. They are not just cogs in a machine.
But, putting all that aside, the only way this trade works is if Shaq plays brilliantly the rest of the way. If that happens, maybe Ainge looks like a genius. But if it doesn’t, he looks like a guy who put together one of the greatest teams in history, and then recklessly pulled the plug on it.
Sure, if you make a bunch of favorable assumptions, you can make this sound like a good trade. You can argue that the Cs record without Perk proves that we didn’t need him. That’s specious, of course, because it took Shaq playing extraordinarily well, AND Jermaine to replace Perkins, but you can say it all the same. You can also argue that we had no chance whatsoever of resigning Perkins. That’s absurd, of course, since Perkins made it clear that he wanted to stay, and so far as we know, the Cs only made one offer. But you can say it. You can argue, if you so choose, that we will surely pick up Dwight Howard to replace Perkins, but of course, that ignores the fact that many other teams will be lining up to sign Howard, and we likely won’t get him (and it ignores questions about whether or not Howard really would be better for THIS team). You can argue, if you want, that Jeff Green will be a star, though that means ignoring the fact that so far he has failed to achieve that status with other teams. You can argue that players not known for defensive prowess will become defensive standouts when they come to the Celtics; but, of course, now that players see how the Cs’ management treats defensive standouts, the ‘Celtics Way’ sell is going to be harder to make to incoming players.
Many strained arguments are being made to support Ainge’s moves, but possibly the most revealing one is that we need to believe in this trade because we should trust Ainge and Doc. Really? Is that so? Yes, these guys have had several years of incredible success, but have they really earned Red Auerbach status yet? Ah, no. No they haven’t, and even Red made some awful mistakes along the way.
This whole deal hinges on Shaq. And that is a pretty weak hinge at this point in Shaq’s career. Ainge panicked and now it’s up to Shaq to save the situation. I don’t think Shaq’s body will be up to the role he’s been thrust into (or demanded), nor do I think it will hold his attention for the amount of time it will take to win a championship. I love Shaq, and I love what he has done for us, but he was never supposed to be the Main Guy.
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Paul..I have to get to sleep and will respond more in-depth tomorrow but this run is nothing like Auerbach’s. Not even close to Cowens or Bird either. He’s worked out fine and yes injuries happen. They can happen at any moment like to KP in Game 6 last year. Sports is a business for owners and GMs as they have to take their emotions out or else there would never be any trades of superstars. More tomorrow. Go Cs…and exactly what mistake did Red make? I believe they won 11 out of 13 at one point.
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Paul…I promise to be quick. My arguments are not “strained” and yes I am a fan and have emotion but GMs and coaches cannot have the same emotions towards players. Any team that can upgrade its talent has the obligation to do so – even championship caliber teams. Why do you think the Celtics, Lakers and every other team that wins the title then goes in search to upgrade their weaknesses? The Lakers won last year and brought in Blake and Barnes. It happens all the time. As Len said yesterday; if PP was traded but it improved the team then he would be all for it. I would too. I love the Celtics and have been a fan for 50+ years but there are only a handful of Celtic players I would never have traded or would trade (the whole 60′s team, JO JO White, Cowens, Bird, McHale, DJ, KG and RR). PP doesn’t make the team for me. I like him a lot but his play is too erratic at times and he DOES NOT BRING IT EVERY NIGHT. RR doesn’t either but he is still young and I think will stop that bad habit. At least I hope so. If not, he’s expendable…but ONLY if it improves the team. I am all about the Celtics winning titles and nothing else. This trade improved the Celtics’ chances of getting banner #18 and maybe even #19 and that’s why I trust DA. He’s won titles as a player and that is why he is a great GM. Now let’s chill and see how the next few weeks go before slitting our wrists. Lastly, it doesn’t rest on Shaq but the center ‘committee’. Go CS…
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