Doc Rivers’ 2010-2011 wish list
Jay King | September 8, 2010 at 1:15 pm | 0 Comments
Despite briefly contemplating retirement, Doc Rivers decided to return for another year of coaching the Boston Celtics. And what does he have waiting for him? A locker room full of crazy egos and personalities. Joy. But he also has championship aspirations and a deep, talented team.
As the season draws near (only a month and 18 days until opening night, not that anyone’s counting), here’s one man’s thoughts on Rivers’ wish list for 2010-2011.
Kendrick Perkins, progressing well, plans to return better than ever
Jay King | at 10:45 am | 0 Comments
"I’ve got plans on coming back better than I did before."
One more win. That’s all the Celtics needed to bring home a championship. But Kendrick Perkins couldn’t help them, instead forced to stand on the bench in an oversized suit. That goddamn ACL injury, he must have been thinking as the clock expired on the NBA season. It robbed us of a title.
“I probably won’t ever get over [missing that game],” Perk told Slam Magazine’s Tzvi Twersky in a must-read interview. But don’t think Perk is dwelling on that game and letting it consume him.
“Mentally I’m good, I’m just focusing on this season, and focusing on my rehab and getting back and getting back healthy. Other than that, I really haven’t been worrying about too much more other than just getting on the court and chasing this title.”
Perk has been rehabbing hard, every day, and plans to come back strong.
“It’s getting a whole lot better,” Perk detailed his injury progress. “I’m walking without crutches and a brace, so things are moving along. I’m not rushing anything, but things are moving at a great pace.” So great, he says, that “I’ve got plans on coming back better than I did before.”
Perk continued, “It’s not as bad as everybody thinks. It’s difficult, obviously, but it’s not as bad as people think. If you’re mentally strong, you can get through it.” And Perk is most definitely mentally strong, as we Celtic fans have learned over the years. That mental strength, and its physical counterpart, helps Perk defend Dwight Howard better than anyone else alive, and it also allows Perk to willingly accept a smaller role.
Perk, the smileless wonder, is the offensive lineman of the Boston Celtics. He does all the dirty work. He takes elbows to the face. He does battle with the league’s fiercest beasts. But Perk gets very little shine, very little publicity. He hardly ever touches the ball. He has never made an All-Star team, never made an All-Defensive team. He simply does his job, helps his team win any way he knows how. And he doesn’t mind one bit that he doesn’t get more credit or touches.
“That’s not how our chemistry is,” Perk revealed. “There’s only one goal; so at times you want to get better as an individual, but then there’s times that you’ll be in situations you’ve never been in before. Like, there’s not too many times where you could be on a team that has a chance to win the title. So why not take advantage of it? I feel like stats are overrated, because stats—you could have an impact of the game and not have a huge number of stats. I feel like stats are overrated because—they just are.”
Stats are overrated because they just are, but Perk continues to be underrated. He just is. Yet nobody who follows the Celtics on a daily basis could understate his importance. He is the defensive anchor. He is the menacing presence. He is the enforcer, the monster, the beast. On a Celtics team that prides itself on defensive intensity and complete on-court selflessness, Perk fits perfectly. He has no agenda but winning.
And he wants another title. Badly. He just doesn’t care if he gets his revenge against LA.
“Man, it don’t even matter to me. I just want another shot at the ring, and to just go from there. It don’t matter if it’s the Lakers or whoever it may be.”
Oh yeah, one more thing. Perk admitted to smiling a lot when he’s not playing basketball. “Off the court,” he said, “I’m the coolest person.”
And on the court, ever-present scowl and all, he’ll always be cool by me.
(Note: Read the interview that provided me with all these quotes. Just do it. It has a ton of great stuff, including: 1) Perk would love to be a Celtic forever. 2) Perk says the Celtics have “a lot of guys with chips on their shoulder,” including himself — “I don’t have a choice but to have a chip on my shoulder.” 3) Kevin Garnett has taught Perk “too much. Seriously, man.”)
Do the Celtics have a new philosophy?
Jay King | September 3, 2010 at 8:25 am | 8 Comments
A. Sherrod Blakely writes that the Celtics’ offseason additions symbolize a change in philosophy. According to Blakely, gone are the days of lockdown defense and shutting down opponents. The Celtics will still focus on stopping teams from scoring, but realize they’ll have to score more points themselves to win games. (CSNNE)
The moves made by the C’s this summer signal not just a new season, but a new vision for success.
Instead of relying so heavily on defensive stops to win, rendering teams defenseless against an onslaught of shooters will likely be their modus operandi for victories this season.
When you look at the pieces added this summer and those that are no longer around, it’s clear the C’s are looking to outshoot, and not necessarily shut down, opponents.
The Celtics have lost their resident around-the-basket banger, Kendrick Perkins (right knee), for most of the season. Replacing him in the starting lineup will likely be Jermaine O’Neal, a solid defender but a definite notch or two below Perkins.
Rasheed Wallace has called it career for the C’s, robbing Boston of one of the more underrated low post defenders of the past decade.
And his replacement?
Shaquille O’Neal, one of the most dominant offensive players of this generation whose defense . . . is what it is.
The Celtics’ defense on the perimeter isn’t all that much better, either.
I respect the hell out of A. Sherrod Blakely, but I couldn’t disagree more strongly with his assessment. The Celtics lost Perkins… but when the playoffs come around he’ll be in the lineup. The Celtics signed Jermaine O’Neal to replace Rasheed Wallace… and O’Neal is an infinitely better defender than the Sheed we saw most of last season. The Celtics lost Tony Allen… but reportedly tried their hardest to keep him, and replaced him with two players — Delonte West and Von Wafer — who are known as solid defenders. Shaq sucks at the pick-and-roll… so Doc Rivers has spent the entire summer devising a way to hide that weakness.
The Celtics will still start Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo, two All-NBA-caliber defenders. When Perk comes back, there will be three All-Defense types in the lineup. The defensive mentality ain’t changing, folks. The Celtics are still going to shut people down. They’re still going to be out to take your heart and limit your scoring. My only concern is that the Celtics will miss Tom Thibodeau more than we realize.
This is where I (almost) overreact to the sight of Perk walking without crutches
Jay King | September 2, 2010 at 3:05 pm | 1 Comment
For whatever reason, the video (of Kendrick Perkins addressing a crowd of middle schoolers/walking without crutches) won’t load. Just click here to watch it on ESPN Boston.
Ah, the NBA offseason. The time of year when people see one of their team’s players giving a speech at some random school and think, “Hell yeah! He’s not even limping that badly! He’s supposed to come back in February, right? Screw that, he’ll probably be back by Christmas!” Silly them. But you know what, he’s not limping that badly. He’s got a little bit of swagger to him, yes, but that’s no limp. You know what? He’ll probably be back by Christmas!
That is, if the Celtics want him to get hurt again because they rushed him back too early. Perk will recover, people, but he’s going to need time. And it’s nice to see that he’s walking without crutches, but he’s still got quite a ways before he’s ready to lock down Dwight Howard in the post.
Doc Rivers discusses Rondo, starting five comments, and his team’s old age
Jay King | August 30, 2010 at 11:47 am | 0 Comments
Doc Rivers spoke with the blog You’ve Been Blinded at his son Austin’s high school all-star game. Doc discussed many subjects, including his comments about the Lakers never beating the C’s starting five, Rajon Rondo’s withdrawal (or whatever it was) from Team USA, and how the Celtics set out to get younger this offseason but actually got older.
Red’s Army transcribed the following quote Doc said about Rondo, and then offered a nice analysis on it.
The thing that stuck out to me was the last question… which was about Rajon Rondo. He was asked whether any of Rajon’s past… let’s say stubbornness… played into anything that happened with Team USA. Doc’s response was interesting.
“I hope not, I don’t think it did, I just think Rondo is growing. He’s getting better each year, he’s maturing each year, I think he’s shown improvement on the floor and he just has to keep getting better. He’s still so young. You know, Rondo doesn’t have the luxury most of us have where we can grow up behind curtains. He has to grow up in front of everybody, and that’s tough.”
Click here to read the rest. It’s an interesting take on how suffocating sports coverage has become.
Kendrick Perkins breaks silence about Shaq
Jay King | August 20, 2010 at 2:15 pm | 0 Comments
No caption necessary.
There were initially some worries that Kendrick Perkins might not like the Shaq signing. No worries anymore, not if Perk is telling the truth at least. (Boston Globe)
“I thought it was a great pickup for what we got him for,” Perkins said by phone from Texas. “Shaq is a Hall of Famer. He can always help us. I think it was a great pickup. I am glad that he is on the team. We just got one goal, and that’s just trying to win the ring.”
Team president Danny Ainge said last week that Perkins would have to work to regain his starting spot in the lineup when he returned to full health. Perkins said he is not intimidated by that challenge.
“I don’t see it threatening me at all,” he said. “I gotta work hard. I know I gotta fight to get back to where I was. It’s no problem with me. Hard work is not a problem.”
To be honest, I don’t know why there were ever any worries. Perk is about as team-first as players come. When Rasheed Wallace occasionally played during crunch-time last season, did Perk say a word? No. When Perk doesn’t get many touches, does he complain? Never. He simply keeps a scowl on his face and keeps doing the little things that add up to Celtics wins. So I never thought the Shaq addition would rub Perk the wrong way, even if the two have been involved in some overly physical play over the years.
“We just got one goal, and that’s just trying to win the ring.” Preach on, Perk.
P.S. – Perk also discussed his rehab.
“I’ve been doing a lot of rehabbing, make sure I get my work in every day,” he said. “Make sure I keep my weight down, just taking it one day at a time. I’m walking without crutches, so that’s a plus. The swelling is my leg went down so everything’s coming around pretty quickly. Right now I can’t work out like I want to, I can’t hoop. But everything else is doing great.”
“It’s a mental thing for me,” he said. “If you are a hard worker, you are going to get back faster. I am putting all my time into my rehab.”
I didn’t expect anything less, but I still love to hear it.
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