Is the loss of Kendrick Perkins going to be the reason we missed out on #18?

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Do you think a big presence like Perkins in the middle would have made a difference in this series that we are likely to lose?

Did the trade involving Perkins end up to ending any chances of a championship?

I think so...

Its more than just a physical presence,when Perkins left, the locker room was missing a piece of their heart....He was TRULY LOVED by the big three and its not the same IMO.

Ainge did a lot to get this team on a championship level but he reversed that just 2 months ago....Horrible move and a horrible trade as we see now with the Celts backs up to the wall.

 

[Kontradiction]

Yes.

5678910

 

[Kontradiction]

In fact, the loss of Perk is the reason why you guys missed out on #18 last season and instead let the god damn Lakers have the title.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Perkins would have not helped this series...the C's problems are way beyond what he could have done. Not having Rondo 100% now is killing this team. Really cost them game 4.

Just imagine what could have been...Rondo healthy this series..Perkins healthy last season...KG year before that...man

I am getting so tired of everyone blaming the Perkins trade as to why they are down 3-1 right now

 

[ausbacker]

Perkins would have not helped this series...the C's problems are way beyond what he could have done. Not having Rondo 100% now is killing this team. Really cost them game 4.

Just imagine what could have been...Rondo healthy this series..Perkins healthy last season...KG year before that...man

I am getting so tired of everyone blaming the Perkins trade as to why they are down 3-1 right now

Because Perkins gives the Celtics size at a position we're clearly lacking in now as well as opening up shooting lanes for RayRay.

The Celtics decline in this series comes down to more than just trading Perkins, as you've rightfully mentioned.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Because Perkins gives the Celtics size at a position we're clearly lacking in now as well as opening up shooting lanes for RayRay.

The Celtics decline in this series comes down to more than just trading Perkins, as you've rightfully mentioned.

Perkins would not have helped the 1 sided FT attempts of what..30 -18 right now?

Nor would he have helped the bosh out of bounds then lebron 3..and the no call on glen davis and 1....that's a 6 pt swing that should be on the bored right now...he would have not helped that

He wouldn't have helped the fact that KG never showed up in game 4..and he wouldn't have helped rondo not dislocate his elbow

 

[ausbacker]

Perkins would not have helped the 1 sided FT attempts of what..30 -18 right now?

Nor would he have helped the bosh out of bounds then lebron 3..and the no call on glen davis and 1....that's a 6 pt swing that should be on the bored right now...he would have not helped that

He wouldn't have helped the fact that KG never showed up in game 4..and he wouldn't have helped rondo not dislocate his elbow

Perkins would have most definitely helped but so would have Nate Robinson, Luke Harangody.. well you get the picture.

The sum total of a team lacking chemistry was evident tonight. When it mattered in key moments the patchwork mid-season trade hurt the Celtics in the playoffs.

 

[BradyManny]

The trade changed the identity of our team and took away our advantage over teams like the Heat.

So, yes, it is the reason we are out of the playoffs tonight.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Stop using the Perkins excuse jesus...did it suck? Yes...but they should have been able to beat the heat without him.

 

[Boston Boxer]

Perkins would have most definitely helped but so would have Nate Robinson, Luke Harangody.. well you get the picture.

The sum total of a team lacking chemistry was evident tonight. When it mattered in key moments the patchwork mid-season trade hurt the Celtics in the playoffs.

that is the biggest thing imo...lack of team chemistry. Big Baby is lost, Jeff Green is absolutely lost, West stinks etc.

 

[jcdavey]

yep, team chemistry is huge, i think ainge hurt it with all those moves

 

[Kontradiction]

that is the biggest thing imo...lack of team chemistry. Big Baby is lost, Jeff Green is absolutely lost, West stinks etc.

I actually thought West played extremely well in this series.

 

[chicowalker]

I actually thought West played extremely well in this series.

Yeah, I don't understand the West part.

The trade hurt the team, but I don't think it was so much the players or even something as intangible as "chemistry."

It was the very real fact that guys didn't seem to fit in. There wasn't team. I think things could have been different with this roster from day 1, but that's not what they had.

If there were no trade, and we had Perkins and Nate, I could see this series going differently, but that's only because of how close it was (in most of the game, not the series score, obviously) -- a couple shots here or there in an alternate universe also could have made the series go differently.

 

[jcdavey]

so i guess the celtics will go hard after dwight howard, right?

 

[BradyManny]

Big Baby was something like a -35 this series. And that was mostly the first two games when we were playing him at the 5.

Big Baby as our center was the reason we lost this series.

We can thank Ainge for that situation.

 

[BradyManny]

Stop using the Perkins excuse jesus...did it suck? Yes...but they should have been able to beat the heat without him.

The Heat have two of the best penetrators in the history of the game. They will not be able to beat the Heat until they can defend the interior again.

 

[reflexblue]

It was the trade in general, it was not only Perkins it was Robinson also, and as Boston Boxer says it disrupted the chemistry.

 

[chicowalker]

Biggest issue this team has is its bench, imo. It could have been a strength, but for a variety of reasons come the playoffs, they had nobody to come off the bench to be an offensive spark, a defensive stopper, a rebounder or inside presence.

Think about the championship year: Posey provided energy, defense and some offense; House provided outside shooting and some energy; PJ Brown offered some size and rebounding and put in some big buckets in the finals; Powe offered rebounding and some inside offense.

This year, there always questions off the bench at center just like in the starting rotation. I think Big Baby was thrown out of his game by playing out of position so much, or maybe it was conditioning?; regardless of the reason, he went from being a huge asset in the first half of the year to a liability at the end of the season and playoffs. Daniels had contributed at both ends of the floor but was lost for the year (any word on him, btw?). Wafer showed flashes but never really came back from his injury.

West was a good backup, imo - superior to Nate, though I'd have preferred to have both of them. Green showed potential but was very inconsistent, same goes for Krstic -- maybe they'd turn into valuable pieces if they're with the team from training camp, but they weren't it for a championship team. Murphy might have provided some rebounding strength but hadn't played much w/the Nets, got hurt when he came over here and then offered nothing. Pavlovic and Arroyo never got integrated. Could they provided something next year? no idea.

But even with the existing team's age, if they're able to add some combination of a legit center, 3-point shooter, defender / energy guy and rebounder to the bench, this team contends again next year. maybe Green offers some of that if he comes back. maybe Avery can become a defensive pest / energy guy? To me it comes down to whether those guys are out there, and whether we can get them.

 

[BradyManny]

Biggest issue this team has is its bench, imo.

People say this - as if it is in defense of the Perkins trade.

People do realize that our bench would've included Jermaine O'Neal had the trade not gone down, right?

The Celtics - by my count - were a +19 with Jermaine O'Neal on the court this series.

As I said earlier, Big Baby was a -35 by my count.

If you have Perkins in there, playing at a higher level than JO can, and then you bring in JO off the bench - you have such an immense upgrade over playing Big Baby at the 5, it would have made the difference.

Our play at the backup 3/4 (Jeff Green) was not at all a factor in this series. Green couldn't guard James to save his life, he did not have a fraction of the impact we had hoped.

 

[chicowalker]

People say this - as if it is in defense of the Perkins trade.

People do realize that our bench would've included Jermaine O'Neal had the trade not gone down, right?

The Celtics - by my count - were a +19 with Jermaine O'Neal on the court this series.

As I said earlier, Big Baby was a -35 by my count.

If you have Perkins in there, playing at a higher level than JO can, and then you bring in JO off the bench - you have such an immense upgrade over playing Big Baby at the 5, it would have made the difference.

Our play at the backup 3/4 (Jeff Green) was not at all a factor in this series. Green couldn't guard James to save his life, he did not have a fraction of the impact we had hoped.

If I were stating it as a defense of the trade, I would have said that. I'm stating what I view as the biggest issue with the team, both this year and next.

Of course there's an upgrade with J. O'Neal off the bench (when healthy). maybe you missed it where I stated, "I think Big Baby was thrown out of his game by playing out of position so much, or maybe it was conditioning?; regardless of the reason, he went from being a huge asset in the first half of the year to a liability at the end of the season and playoffs."

As for guarding james, I guess you missed were I stated, "...they had nobody to come off the bench to be ...a defensive stopper, ...Think about the championship year: Posey provided energy, defense and some offense; ...But even with the existing team's age, if they're able to add some combination of a legit center, 3-point shooter, defender / energy guy..."

and re Green in particular, "...showed potential but was very inconsistent..."

I agree that the Perkins trade hurt the team. As I posted last night, the pieces acquired didn't fit in. I don't know whether they could with more time.

btw, the one thing you do seem to overlook is that Perkins was no sure thing in coming back from injury -- so there was some risk at relying on him as well. The bottom line is that we had 3 injury risks at center from the start of the year. Given the #s, pesonally, I was fine with that bet. When he pulled the trigger on the trade, he made a gamble on health (Perkins's as well as the O'Neals') among other things and lost.