With 10 games in the books, the Celtics have shown a remarkable capacity for playing high level defense without Kendrick Perkins.  But their offense still hovers around league average.

Perk's return will likely bolster our already sterling defense, but his stone hands and plodding offensive maneuvers could also drag on our more vulnerable offense.

In Utah, it's a different story altogether, with Millsap emerging as 20+ per night guy and Al Jefferson eager for any shots available behind him, and neither of them much use on the defensive end.  Okur's return bolsters their already impressive offensive firepower at the big spots but it does little to staunch their porous interior defense.

Thus it makes sense for the two teams to trade injured offensive big for injured defensive big.

Okur would provide a tremendous offensive boost for the Celtics. As a 38% (40% over his last 4 seasons) shooter from deep, he provides unmatched floor-spacing at the 5 spot, with a nice pick and roll/pop game to boot. Unlike Sheed, he does a decent job on the boards as well.  While opposing defenses are usually willing to concede 20 footers to KG and Big Baby to deny Rondo access to the rim, open 3s for Okur would be another matter entirely.  The C's offense would be an order of magnitude greater

For Utah, Perk is a defensive anchor along the lines of Greg Ostertag (who started almost 300 hundred games for Jerry Sloan) and surely a breath of fresh air for a team that has never had an answer for the Lakers' size.  That he's buds with Al Jefferson can't hurt.  Throw in Nate, who represents a huge offensive upgrade over Ronnie Price and I think Utah would be tempted mightily.

What do you think?