The problem is our 'Bigs"

[CoachBo]

Not necessarily. Could be preventative if the doctors believe there's a chronic problem there.

[clover]

I think the reality is that the C's season is going to come down to the health of JO.  He's actually the better bet to stay on the court at this point--and they're going to need him.

[winsomme]

True. As I've said in other threads, the one place you can count on Rondo being engaged is in the playoffs. Despite the requiste attempts here to blame his lousy play on hangnails, et al, he's clearly healthy enough to play well - when he wants to, as most of last night showed until his brain vapor-locked at the end of the game.

He'll be engaged by the playoffs. Derrick Rose will see to that in a couple of weeks.

As for the trade, the reality of the NBA is that some fans dote on their favorite players and rationality takes a back seat. We did quite well without Perkins this year, and we'll manage to put a team on the floor without him. Krstic will be handy as a situational 5 in the playoffs, as crazy as that will drive the folks here rushing to write him off. He comes to us from a subpar defensive team.

we have not done well without a defensive center (either Shaq or Perk). Perk happened to be a tremendous fit for the team in terms of skill set and personality and that's why people "dote" on him (much like Posey and even to a degree Powe)....

but I would agree that he is not irreplaceable. the plan, however, to replace him with an injured 39 year old with an achilles problem is really where the trade comes into question...not simply a blind attachment to Perk.

[slamtheking]

We might as well have signed Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, and Dikembe Mutombo. At least they would have been able to walk on to the court.

But I do agree with the original poster. The world has been falling since we traded Perk to many people here. The loss of Perk hasn't been the problem - the loss of Shaq/JO has, at least this season. Now, if neither of those two can come back healthy, then those other people have a point.

I think it's actually the loss of a healthy, beefy, defensive center with height.  Perk, Shaq and JO all qualify for that description.  Even Erden to an extent

[slamtheking]

True. As I've said in other threads, the one place you can count on Rondo being engaged is in the playoffs. Despite the requiste attempts here to blame his lousy play on hangnails, et al, he's clearly healthy enough to play well - when he wants to, as most of last night showed until his brain vapor-locked at the end of the game.

He'll be engaged by the playoffs. Derrick Rose will see to that in a couple of weeks.

As for the trade, the reality of the NBA is that some fans dote on their favorite players and rationality takes a back seat. We did quite well without Perkins this year, and we'll manage to put a team on the floor without him. Krstic will be handy as a situational 5 in the playoffs, as crazy as that will drive the folks here rushing to write him off. He comes to us from a subpar defensive team.

we have not done well without a defensive center (either Shaq or Perk). Perk happened to be a tremendous fit for the team in terms of skill set and personality and that's why people "dote" on him (much like Posey and even to a degree Powe)....

but I would agree that he is not irreplaceable. the plan, however, to replace him with an injured 39 year old with an achilles problem is really where the trade comes into question...not simply a blind attachment to Perk.

I think you hit it right on the head with that statement.  that's certainly in line with how I've reacted to the trade as well as a number of other people here who didn't articulate their points as well as you just did.  TP for you.

[pearljammer10]

I'd say this is pretty obvious to take note of. We have three Centers on the team and two of them have been hurt for quite some time, of course we are hurting inside then.

[Dunn]

No no no no...In my Blame the Bigs not Rondo Post I included Baby with Krstic and fans had issues. You ain't just gonna omit Baby as an actually big and call it a day? That's looking past an obvious problem the way Doc and Danny have since it first showed up in 08-09 season.

Not having these big guys to hammer other team's bigs is taking a toll on KG, Pierce and Big baby.

So if Baby don't have these bigs? You are making more the point about his own worth as a big himself, just like Krstic. It hasn't looked good for either of them, Krstic and Baby equals deficits to climb out of and pressure on big four. You are letting him off the hook.

[ScoobyDoo]

Great point re "Big Baby" Dunn, Tommy Point for you. Right now I'm actually only furious with two people on this team; Doc Rivers and Big Baby, here's why:

We have the following big men still standing -

Krstic - soft defensive guy, with decent 2nd / 3rd team  offensive skills.

KG - great defensive power forward. Tenacious but is really not a "banger". He is a tough, athletic finesse and skill defender

Troy Murphy - See Nenad Krstic

Glen "Big Softy" Baby - Bbay is "the" only big we stil have standing who actually has the strength, weight and girth to really lay some smack on people coming down the lane. I can guarantee you no one in the league would look forward to getting hit by Davis as they come down the lane.

But unfortunately Glen Davis is a gentle giant who plays like a ballerina.

I would make the argument that if put Leon Powe's head on Glen Davis' body - none of us would be complaining as much as we are right now because that Powe / Davis guy would give us enough toughness in the paint to "get us by" right now until Shaq and Jo return.

If I'm Doc I tell Davis "if I don't start seeing guys coming down the lane put on the floor by you from now on, you're getting exactly "zero" minutes on my team. You need to lay some major smack on anyone coming down the lane from now on if you expect to get on the court.

If inside of 10 days, we are going to give up HCA to Chicago, the Lakers and very possibly Miami...I want to see some blood, I want a street fight. What I don't want is the current lackadaisical BS indifferent physical effort I am currently seeing.

So, because Doc always says, whenever our players are getting hammered "well...we don't play that way..." That is a problem for me. Someone hits my guys, I want them on the floor next time down court. So I see it as Doc's fault.

I also see it as baby's fault because he is really the only guy who can currently bring this for us. And he needs to play like a pit bull not a chihuahua for us right now.

And I am not talking about flagrants. I'm talking about hard rakes across the arms, body to body mid air hits, etc. There are so many ways you can send a clear message and physcial intimidation without getting T'd up. Laying someone out on a pick, etc.

I need six hard fouls a night from baby on the right people from each team.

But...Doc doesn't demand it and Baby has never been willing to do it of his own accord, much like Posey, Powe, TAllen and Perk always did.

Shaq will - he's one of the best at it
JO will - because he's always been a cheap shot artist.

Shaq and Jo will give us more length as well but Big Baby could provide  / play the enforcer role right now for us. But he is a ballerina. He's never been, in the right way, mean enough to be that guy. Perk, TA, Pose, Powe, PJ Brown - Baby does have it and Doc doesn't demand it from him because Doc doesn't believe in "playing" that way.   

     

[LooseCannon]

Not being in Boston or subscribing to Leaguepass, I've only seen a few games, but it's felt like KG and BBD have been playing since the trade as if they are under orders to avoid fouls so Doc doesn't have to do much outside of a three-man big rotation.

I don't think Baby is the guy you want as your enforcer.  For one, it goes against his attempts to draw charges.  If I wanted Glen Davis to hit people, I'd give him the ball, tell him to drive on someone and try to draw some sort of flagrant offensive foul as a human bowling bowl.  What you really want is a guy with shotblocking ability who can occasionally bring his arm down on a guy's head or face.  Outside of the O'Neals's, I think it's going to fall on KG to provide the necessary thuggishness, even if he risks technicals, ejections, and suspensions by doing so.

[vinnie]

The wait for Shaq continues. Doc is now saying he will likely return April 5th, which will get him what, 5 games before the playoffs begin?

[u2larkin04]

I think our big problem with the "bigs" is that they think they can take game winning three's...