5. Perk is injury Prone
- Its understandable that Shaq and JO are injured this season. They are at the backside of their careers. But for a 26 year old who is supposed to be in his prime, that is very troubling and scary. First its his knee, then back, then dislocated shoulder. He is a walking health risk. There must be something that we don't know if Perkins' left knee was more serious than it is. It looked as if he would get worse and eventually suffer another injury. When was the last time he was ever 100% healthy? Yeah, I don't remember either
4. Perk has no offensive game to speak of
- Perk possesses almost no skill to score in the post. This puts the Celtics at a great disadvantage with teams playing 5 on 4 against them on offense. It forces the Celtics to be a jump shooting team, or if KG plays in the post, the opposing team would double off of Perk.
- There seems to be a common misconception that Defense is the only thing that wins championships. "It doesn't matter that Perk can hardly score, he gives us Defense and toughness. Makes people scared to go up against us". Wrong!! I never knew scowls and yelling was the key to win a ring. Look at the Bill Russell teams in the 60's. Defense was obviously the key, but their offense made them untouchable. Bill was thought of as a defensive genius, but was a key to the offense. He had great hands, can run the fastbreak like a small forward, great passing skills, and had a post game. It made the Celtics run like a well oiled machine
Its not a coincidence that the Big 4 all shot a higher percentage with Shaq on the floor. Who at this age is still a potent low post threat. With Shaq there, no team would dare to double KG in the post or double Ray on the perimeter. Their defense did not dip either. Shaq, Big Baby and even Erden were enough contain Dwight Howard. 33- 10 record without Perk ain't bad either
"Playing with Shaq is like paradise" - KG
3. Perk only has himself to blame for getting traded
- Celtics offered him a contract extension. They had no problem keeping him on board for years to come. But Perk shot it down. He thinks is he's more than what he's actually worth. Overvaluing himself. Perk of all people should know Danny a shrewed GM who is known for not having a bleeding heart. He puts emotion in the backburner for what is right for the team. Danny would never put the Celtics in contractual and financial hell because Perk was "like family". He knew Perk's asking price would be maybe 50 million for 5 years, which is too much to me. Perk asked for all of this, then to get emotional that he's leaving makes no sense to me
2. Lets get real
- Ever since he got traded, so much fans were saying "Oh my gosh, he's the heart and soul of the Celtics. You can kiss Banner 18 goodbye". Oh please, get real! I see it as completely disrespectful to have legends such as Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett and put so much emotion in a role player. The Big 3 were the reason Banner 17 was raised, not Perk! It is them who have an offensive game that complements each other and the ego each one of them silenced to win that ring. Not to mention Rondo, who is a rising star and the orchestrator for this team. Celtics to me have a better chance to win the ring this year with Pierce and KG now able to play less minutes because of Jeff Green.
-The image of Paul Pierce putting his hands on his knees of exhaustion in game 4 of last years ECF against the Magic put fear in my heart. Seeing as he had to play another round in the finals did not look good. Its not a coincidence Posey was on the 2008 team which helped Pierce play against the dominant wing players of the NBA. All the Celtics needed from Perk was defense and rebounding, and they would get that from another serviceable big man.
1. We won the Championship in spite of Perkins!!
- This something that really annoys me when people act as if Perkins was this holy mythic player who brought the Celtics to another level. In the last 4 minutes of the games Celtics play, was Perk ever on the floor? No! It was PJ Brown and KG, or it was KG and Posey at the 5 and the 4 positions. Do you know how easy it would be to defend the Celtics with a center who has to put the ball near his shoelaces before attempting a shot? I watched all of those 2008 finals games. Perk was hardly on the floor in the final minutes. This season also shows that Doc's best lineup is with Big Baby playing the 5, with KG playing the 4. To me the Celtics are more effective that way
You know that 24 point comeback the Celtics had against the Lakers in Game 4 2008 finals? Perk didn't play the entire second half because his shoulder was injured. The Celtics became so versatile with KG playing the 5 and Posey at the 4. Impossible to defend. Game 6 was the same way. He played in only 13 minutes in that game, a non factor in the 39 point blowout of the Lakers.
This the reason Lakers have won the recent championships. Odom coming off the bench playing multiple positions makes the Lakers hard to guard with alot of matchup problems
And I know people hate to bring Rasheed Wallace up, but he was a key to the 2010 finals run. It was Sheed, not Perk, who guarded Gasol the best. Put Gasol in a phone booth with his length and quickness. He may be crazy, but he was unstoppable on the post when he wanted to go down there, something I can't say for Perk
Perk, I will miss you. I loved your grittiness and never back down attitude. But why overvalue yourself? It cost you a chance at another title
Topic: Top 5 reasons you can't blame: Danny Ainge for trading Perkins to the Thunder (Read 21946 times)