Shaq vs. Perk

[Roy H.]

The two should split minutes, either 24/24 or 26/22.  I'd start Perk, since his defense fits better with the first unit, and Shaq can be the focal point of a fairly weak (thus far) offensive second unit.

[Bankshot]

I think Perk really hurts the offense at times. Shaq is a much better fit with the starters, imo.  They need to get off to good starts and Shaq insures that. 

[Fafnir]

I think Perk really hurts the offense at times. Shaq is a much better fit with the starters, imo.  They need to get off to good starts and Shaq insures that. 

If Perkins hurts the offense with the starters what will he do to our bench offense?

[Megatron]

I think Perk really hurts the offense at times. Shaq is a much better fit with the starters, imo.  They need to get off to good starts and Shaq insures that.  

If Perkins hurts the offense with the starters what will he do to our bench offense?

The only reason out bench offense is hurting right now is because half of our bench is injured.

No Perk.
No Jermaine.
No West.

Instead of JO were putting in Semih who is terrible at offense, defense, and rebouding.

Because of the lack of Perk, BBD has to play 30+ minutes a game.

Instead of West, we have to insert Wafer(who does nothing) or overplay Rondo and use Nate as the back-up point guard.

Once we get healthy, the bench production will pick up greatly.

Perkins is a non-factor on offense both with the starters or the bench, the guy cant score at all, and on offense with our starters he makes it 4v5, beacause they dont even look his way.

[More Banners]

The two should split minutes, either 24/24 or 26/22.  I'd start Perk, since his defense fits better with the first unit, and Shaq can be the focal point of a fairly weak (thus far) offensive second unit.

Shaq does have an ability to settle things down on the offensive end.  When things start getting frazzled, he can usually settle it down with a bucket or get to the line.  Even if he boofs the FT's, the team has time to talk and get it straight without using a timeout.

That would also put him on the floor for the star of the 2nd and 4th quarters, to hopefully get the C's to the FT line earlier.

Yet I still like him as a starter better than Perk.  Go figure.

[Neurotic Guy]

If Shaq is still healthy when the time Perk gets back, I believe he is going to need some rest.   I think the best method for resting Shaq will be to give him games off rather than by reducing his minutes.   If this is correct, then it's Perk who should get the starting role as they'll want consistency in the starting line-up.  As has been pointed out, the other big question is, who finishes?  Perhaps that remains Davis' gig.

[Fafnir]

Perkins is a non-factor on offense both with the starters or the bench, the guy cant score at all, and on offense with our starters he makes it 4v5, beacause they dont even look his way.

You're completely ignoring my point. If he's such a non-factor on offense, playing him with weaker offensive line ups will only hurt the team even more. Having Jermaine/West will help things, but neither is a huge difference maker. Perkins fits in best with the starters.

But lets not make him out to be Ben Wallace guys, he's bad but not historically so. I think either fits with the starters, I just think Shaq will probably function better with the bench.

[LooseCannon]

The starters play better with Shaq than Perkins.  The bench will probably play better with Shaq than Perkins.  For the 20 minutes or so that Shaq can play, Shaq is just a better player than a healthy Perk and certainly better than a recovering Perk.

I like sticking with Shaq to start quarters and hopefully draw fouls, allowing for Pierce to operate at the end of quarters with opposing teams in the penalty. I'd let Perkins finish games if you need defense, but Big Baby or Jermaine O'Neal if you need offense.  I would also consider a scheme where Shaq starts the first and third quarters and Perkins starts off the second and third quarters.

Shaq won't turn the bench into an offensive juggernaught, so I'd rather shore up the bench defense.  If Perk thinks he is such a defensive lynch-pin, let him be a KG-like quarterback of the defense with the second unit.

If Perkins ego needs massaging, I'd try to run offensive plays for him against bench centers and tell him that this is his chance to show he can play a bigger role in the offense when he is fully recovered.

[Eja117]

I'd be a little curious to see if Perk could score more against backups.

But I want him playing a Lot of minutes against D Howard. 

[kozlodoev]

The two should split minutes, either 24/24 or 26/22.  I'd start Perk, since his defense fits better with the first unit, and Shaq can be the focal point of a fairly weak (thus far) offensive second unit.

The problem here is that Shaq has been made exponentially better by Rondo. You'll lose some of his firepower when the ball is in Nate's hands.

[ballin]

The two should split minutes, either 24/24 or 26/22.  I'd start Perk, since his defense fits better with the first unit, and Shaq can be the focal point of a fairly weak (thus far) offensive second unit.

The problem here is that Shaq has been made exponentially better by Rondo. You'll lose some of his firepower when the ball is in Nate's hands.

Agreed.

Here are my sentiments (I might be repeating a few people who posted before me but made great points):

-Perk will NOT be coming back 100%
-Perk could easily be convinced that him coming off the bench is a temporary measure while he recovers. Benching Shaq, however, could cause problems.
-Our chemistry with Shaq in the starting lineup is fantastic. We shouldn't jeopardize that.
-We should be getting our our bench offense from Baby, Nate, and West. We don't need to worry about who's playing center, since Nate won't really be producing easy buckets for that player anyway.


Bottom line: Shaq is just a WAY better fit in the starting lineup, and it really doesn't matter offensively speaking who you stick in as our bench center since Rondo isn't feeding that player.

[Fafnir]

The two should split minutes, either 24/24 or 26/22.  I'd start Perk, since his defense fits better with the first unit, and Shaq can be the focal point of a fairly weak (thus far) offensive second unit.

The problem here is that Shaq has been made exponentially better by Rondo. You'll lose some of his firepower when the ball is in Nate's hands.

Rondo plays in the high 30s of minutes in a game, playing with Rondo does not require playing with all of the starters.

Plus I think Rondo makes all of the other players he plays with better, preserving the Rondo/Shaq unit isn't a priority in my eyes.

[LilRip]

i would definitely start Shaq. i think our bench is terrible because it's weak defensively and it can't secure rebounds. honestly, i can live with Baby's open jumpshots and Nate's freelancing on offense. if it's a question of injured Perk vs. Semih, i have more confidence in Perk.

not bashing Semih, but he's honestly not that good. (other than passing, which he seems to be terrific in).

I like Shaq in with the starters because 1) he gets them off to fast starts, 2) he's a much better offensive player than Perk. and i'm not just talking about not-bringing-the-ball-down-before-dunking kind of stuff. Shaq is in the right place at the right time. That's why he's such an easy target to hit for all the other starters (who are honestly all playmakers). Plus, he finishes extremely well.

[Spicoli]

I'd continue starting Shaq, and I don't think it's even that hard of a decision.

Same here. This is a no brainer in my opinion. Shaq is simply a better basketball player than Perk. Perk is a decent defender, but let us not forget how Bogut, and Lopez toyed with him last season. Perk cannot defend bigs who can shoot, and neither can Shaq. Perk defends the pick and roll well, but at this point in the season it has not been a big problem, so i really don't see any incentive to starting Perk in the place of Shaq.

[Bahku]

By the time Perk comes back, I'd stay with the starting chemistry that Shaq is developing with the other starters right now. Perk will want to ease back into it anyway, so I wouldn't expect there to be any problems with hurt feelings or stepping on toes. Perk and Shaq have already become good friends anyway, and whatever happens, I think they're both mature enough and unselfish enough to go whatever way the team decides to.