Truly embracing the team concept

[sinbad]

Almost every player on a good team says they trust their teammates but how many of them really mean it? This is what truly makes the Celtics special. When KG goes out the natural tendency is for Ray Allen and Paul Pierce to take more of the offensive load. Who could blame them or the coaching staff or the rest of the team if these two took 20 shots a game up from their customary 13-14? Instead you see Paul and Ray truly trust their teammates with Rondo, BBD, and Perk getting more touches. Pierce and Allen's shots don't increase all that much and as a result we see Rondo, BBD, and Perk get their well deserved share of the glory. I applaud our stars who are really showing that they mean every bit of that Unbutu thing that they preached last year. Is Ray struggling...yes, but he has enough trust in his teammates that he doesn't force things. BBD gets his touches and scores 21. Even Paul, who had a good shooting night in game 5, took only 11 shots. There are games when Ray or Paul is hot and they get more shots but again this increase in shots come in the flow of the offense.

I bring this up because what Dwight Howard says goes against everything that these Celtics stand for. He may indeed have a point, but by saying it publicly, he is implying that he feels he is more important than team harmony. Howard really seems to be a nice guy and an incredible athlete but give me 1 Perk to 10 Howards any day.

The problem with the Magic is that the two matchups that they thought they had won coming into the series is turning out to be a draw. Perk is not scoring as much as Howard but is much more efficient and he doesn't have the benefit of having superstar calls from the refs. BBD is matching Lewis point for point. Rashard is a matchup problem for BBD but no one including us thought that BBD would be the offensive force he has become...and in particular the 4th quarter no less.

Marbury has embraced his role rather than just accept it because he sees all-stars like Ray and Paul actually practicing what they are preaching to him.

[GeoDim]

Perk has a better skill-set, but Dwight is a monster physically and athletically.  Give him a couple more years to develop and he will be unstoppable.  Perk is on a team with hall of fame veteran leadership, so he's able to mature and develop at a faster rate than Dwight.  If you would seriously take Perk over Dwight, you've gotta be wearing green goggles.  Dwight will end his career as one of the most dominant big men of all time.  He's still very immature at this stage, though.

[sinbad]

If I had a choice of Howard or Perk on this team especially if KG was playing...no question I'd take Perk. Howard is not a good man defender. Perk has hit turnarounds, drop steps, 8-foot jumpers and baby hooks on him this entire series. Howard has done none of this on Perk. Every single one of his makes on the offensive end is on offensive rebounds, fast breaks, or a teammate dumping off the ball on him. Perk is not going to demand the ball which would tear apart the team chemistry. Perk is no slouch himself on help defense, in fact you could make the case that he is a better help defender in terms of being where he is supposed to be when the initial perimeter defense breaks down. If I were starting a team with different players then yes I'd take Howard, I'm not naive to think that Howard couldn't develop into a more efficient player, but for this team for me its a no-brainer. Perk knows his role and accepts it. Perk right now is fundamentally more skilled, more intelligent, and a better team player than Howard is. So yes, I wouldn't trade Perk for Howard straight up if my goal is to win a championship with the current players (including KG) right now. I can't imagine, in light of Howard's recent comments, that any Celtic would trade Perk for Howard if it were their call.

[Mogreen17]

If it were for the sake of winning a championship, you better believe that sacrifices will be made. Reminiscent of KG and Ray, and look how well that went for them.

From day 1 it was 'Drop your ego's at the door'. Lets win a chip.

Perk over Howard. Really?

[vagrantwade]

This team has enough scorers. We need good defending big men.

[sinbad]

From CNNSI:

"Boston is defending him very well," an East assistant coach said. "Kendrick Perkins is underrated. To successfully defend Howard, you need a guy with good footwork, length and muscle; Perkins is above average in all three of those categories. And you don't double-team Howard when he catches it; you double when he makes a basketball move. When you come late, after he puts the ball on the deck, he usually makes a bad decision."

That's if Howard makes a basketball move. One thing that has become clear this series is that Howard's offensive repertoire isn't as diverse as the Magic would like it to be. From 5 feet in, Howard is the most unstoppable force in the league. But the questions come when he is outside of dunk and layup distance.

"He's phenomenal on tip dunks, rebounds and lobs, but you can't run a lot of half-court stuff for him," an East scout said. "All he really has is that left-shoulder half-hook."

[Roy Hobbs]

Can you imagine Howard with Big Al's moves?  We'd be looking at the next Hakeem.