What happens if Jermaine is Better than we Expect?

[bballee]

. . . there is a 100% chance he will be better during the reg season than the average poster here thinks. No one thinks he can be a 20-10 guy and whats funny is he was a 16-7 guy while stuggling through injuries all year...its obvious few think he will be a 16-7 guy, and that exactly what he will be while Perk is out. Meanwhile Perk himself was nowhere near a 16-7 guy. This move alone has made us better.....but

If that had been Oneal instead of Sheed in game 7 we lose by more than 4. I think we lose something net in the playoffs and that isn't good.

I think there is a 100% chance that O'Neal will be better in the regular season than Rasheed was last year!

[ManUp]

I expect him to be just as good as Perk against centers not named Yao or Dwight defensively. I also expect him to be better on the boards and better offensively. This is all assuming he will stay healthy of course.

[nickagneta]

Haven't read the thread yet so I am going to go back and read it now so, excuse me if this has been said but I think Jermaine O'Neal will be the Celtics starting center all of next year for a couple reasons.

1.) I have no trust in the Celtics doctors timelines for recovery and so I am just going to say that although Perk might be back by say February that he will in no way be able to resume starting duties for this team at the effectiveness he has been able to provide at all next year. So expect Perk coming off the bench while he recovers and rehabs and gets himself in shape again. Don't expect Perk to be Perk until after the lockout.

2.) I think given the quality of players that O'Neal will be playing with(he hasn't played with a group this good since Indy's late 90's early 00's heyday) and the fact he is going to be offensive option 4B, that he will be a much more efficient offensive player while being a force on defense. I really don't think that Perk's high FG% is a result of Perk's awesome offensive repetoire but because he is forgotten on offense because of the other 4 players he is on the team with. Watch. Expect JO to have a career high FG% next year and be tremendously efficient.

[rqk]

I expect that JO will be good for the Celtics if he can remain healthy.

He held his own against Dwight Howard last year.