LOL. Well, I'll admit that my play-by-play recollection isn't there for the series, but I do remember things turned for the worse for the Celtics when Sheed had to play center in his place ... and for whatever reason Pau did get loose.
I think Stomp is on the right track; boston doesn't make this trade unless they think their system (or something) is making Perkins look better than he really is; they seem to see him as replaceable.
They really are not renewing him. Isn't he is an unrestricted free agent? He will have lots of options if he plays well. He is in control of his next destination.
He is at his best a 15 PER player for Boston, and he's an UFA after this year. A puzzling move, unless OKC really thinks they have a shot at the title this season.
He is an UFA. I posted it right after the trade was made. I just don't get it, but then again, I'm not an ESPN analyst who watches every Celtic game 4 times a day.
I feel like Green has a much higher ceiling than Perkins. My initial reaction was that this would hurt OKC.
How about getting first crack given that they have his bird rights. No different from Green, honestly.
I think this move is being massively over-hyped by the media. Perkins is an ok player who benefited from playing on a team with three future hall-of-famers and one perennial all-star.
I know it is the same as Green, but if they didn't want to spend money on Green I wonder how much they offer Perkins. I do see he is from North Texas, so maybe they are hoping he will feel comfortable in OKC. A city I personally never cared for. (Except for their BBQ)
Bird rights only mean that they can offer an extra year, not retain exclusive rights. IMO, that would be overpaying for Perkins, especially if you're going into max contract territory. They already extended Durant, and Westbrook is next.
Perk's health worries me and Green is a great role player. Boston still has a zillion bigs and now OKC starting posts are terrible offensively. KD and Westbrook can't score 80 a night. Where will they get their points from now?
Perk's health is certainly a concern. But they just got much, much better. Your teams going to do dick if you're starting Jeff Green at PF (and Krstic at C). Their interior defense and rebounding just skyrocketed and IMO their front line will now be able to keep up with the Lakers, Spurs, etc. (or at least hold their own better). Perk is a great defender, provides great toughness, and hes got the size and tenacity to handle big front lines. Scoring is easy to find in the NBA, centers who anchor the defense and can make life hell for the elite bigs of the NBA aren't so easy to find. Green was scoring 15 ppg. Krstic and Perkins score almost the same at about 7 ppg, though the last two seasons Perk has averaged 10 and 8.5 ppg and his playing time has been very limited this year. Obviously hes no scorer but as far as actual output hes near Krstic and certainly lightyears ahead in every other aspect. The Thunder believe its time to let Harden take more shots and they picked up Nate Robinson who can score in bunches as a 6th man. The makeup of their team just changed but, like I said, scorers aren't that hard to find. They now have a front line that can match up with the big contenders, worry about scoring later.
If Perkin's stays healthy, then it was a solid trade for both teams. I especially like the deal for Boston though.
Can you explain why? I don't think much of Jeff Green but Celtics people seem to think he can help them defend LeBron, Melo, Deng(?), whoever the hell else is out east at SF. And he is 6'9 235-240 and a pretty good athlete but I don't think of him as much of a defender nor do I think he can keep up with Bron/Melo that well. And what happens when you get to the finals against LAL? Can KG with Big Baby/Shaq/JO get it done? They're still big but Shaq and JO are old and broken.
I guess I don't think of Kendrick Perkins as a player that makes the difference between beating the Lakers or not. In the East, he could become a liability especially if he is not 100%. He did address a need for OKC, but to debate this from Boston's side, they should feel better adding a versatile 3 to their bench then sending out Perkins just in case they have to match up with Bynum. I agree that Green's not a defender who can lock down LeBron, Melo and the other wings in the East, but he is versatile overall and addresses a position off the bench that they did not have a significant player in before. It looks like Jeff Green is now the youngest player on the Celtics roster other than Avery Bradley.
They certainly needed a guy like Green off the bench. I just get queasy when I see teams trade big for small. And a starting C, perhaps the best defensive C in the league, for a backup combo forward.
It is scary though, and I am interested in the impact Kendrick Perkins will have on OKC. I heard the ESPN guys say they thought it made them as good as anyone, I think that is a stretch. Also looking at how badly the Celtics got beat on the boards tonight makes me rethink it a little.
Perkins is a great defensive player that OKC lacked, the trade makes sense for them the strange thing is the reason why Boston would give up there best Defensive big for Green. I think it has more to do with no backup at the 3 position and they see him being able to be a productive player there. Can the C's turn Greens willy nilly defense into something that can stop some of the best 3's in the league? Or do they think he can already do that but he was just playing out of position at the 4. I have no clue I can't come up with anyway this makes any sense for the C unless they expect Pierce is not going to be fully healthy.
