New Celtic Slogan: "We Lost...Blame Krstic"

[LB3533]

The Clippers abused us on the perimeter, they got to the paint whenever they wanted.

I don't think Perk would have made a difference at all in last night's game...he wouldn't have been able to stop any of the penetration nor would he have blocked a single one of D. Jordan's dunks.

  He might have at least contested a few of those dunks, and he might also have fought a little harder for some of the rebounds than Nenad did.

Perk might have fouled out was what would have happened or Doc would have taken him out and Perk would have played like 9 minutes with foul trouble.

And Nenad battled a lot for rebounds, offensive rebounds.

There were like no defensive rebounds for us to battle for with the Clippers dunking and tipping in shots 60 to 70% of the game.

[Roy H.]

All I know is I can't remember the last time Perk grabbed 6 offensive boards.

December 18, 2009 when he had 8 against the Sixers. 

Krstic's offensive rebounds are definitely something he does well.  Since he's got a knack for rebounding on that end of the floor, it's surprising just how terrible a defensive rebounder he is.  It's obviously a small sample size, but with last night's abysmal effort (3 defensive boards in around 40 minutes), Krstic has dropped below Delonte West in defensive rebounding percentage.  I don't even know how that's possible for a 7-footer.

The offense has been fantastic, though.  Too bad we couldn't genetically engineer a combo of Krstic and Perk.  Nenadrick Krstins or something.  That guy would be like a modern day Patrick Ewing (well, with a bit less athleticism and less refined post moves).

[Roy H.]

The Clippers abused us on the perimeter, they got to the paint whenever they wanted.

I don't think Perk would have made a difference at all in last night's game...he wouldn't have been able to stop any of the penetration nor would he have blocked a single one of D. Jordan's dunks.

  He might have at least contested a few of those dunks, and he might also have fought a little harder for some of the rebounds than Nenad did.

Perk might have fouled out was what would have happened or Doc would have taken him out and Perk would have played like 9 minutes with foul trouble.

And Nenad battled a lot for rebounds, offensive rebounds.

There were like no defensive rebounds for us to battle for with the Clippers dunking and tipping in shots 60 to 70% of the game.

Ah, is *that* the reason Krstic doesn't get defensive boards?  His defense is so bad that there are no rebounds to be had?

Come on, if people are going to stop being unfairly negative about Krstic, then I think it's okay to ask that people stop being unfairly negative toward Perk, too (or unfairly positive toward Krstic, although it's hard to ask people to squelch their [unrealistic] optimism).  Perk is just a much better defender and much better defensive rebounder.  If people don't want backlash toward Krstic, then it's important not to paint him in a false light and to stop telling the world that he's something that he's not.

[BballTim]

The Clippers abused us on the perimeter, they got to the paint whenever they wanted.

I don't think Perk would have made a difference at all in last night's game...he wouldn't have been able to stop any of the penetration nor would he have blocked a single one of D. Jordan's dunks.

  He might have at least contested a few of those dunks, and he might also have fought a little harder for some of the rebounds than Nenad did.

Perk might have fouled out was what would have happened or Doc would have taken him out and Perk would have played like 9 minutes with foul trouble.

And Nenad battled a lot for rebounds, offensive rebounds.

There were like no defensive rebounds for us to battle for with the Clippers dunking and tipping in shots 60 to 70% of the game.

  Those fouls would have come from protecting the rim and contesting shots, something that Krstic doesn't seem to excel in.

[BballTim]

The Clippers abused us on the perimeter, they got to the paint whenever they wanted.

I don't think Perk would have made a difference at all in last night's game...he wouldn't have been able to stop any of the penetration nor would he have blocked a single one of D. Jordan's dunks.

  He might have at least contested a few of those dunks, and he might also have fought a little harder for some of the rebounds than Nenad did.

Perk might have fouled out was what would have happened or Doc would have taken him out and Perk would have played like 9 minutes with foul trouble.

And Nenad battled a lot for rebounds, offensive rebounds.

There were like no defensive rebounds for us to battle for with the Clippers dunking and tipping in shots 60 to 70% of the game.

Ah, is *that* the reason Krstic doesn't get defensive boards?  His defense is so bad that there are no rebounds to be had?

Come on, if people are going to stop being unfairly negative about Krstic, then I think it's okay to ask that people stop being unfairly negative toward Perk, too (or unfairly positive toward Krstic, although it's hard to ask people to squelch their [unrealistic] optimism).  Perk is just a much better defender and much better defensive rebounder.  If people don't want backlash toward Krstic, then it's important not to paint him in a false light and to stop telling the world that he's something that he's not.

  You've got to admit, though "Nenad battled a lot for rebounds, offensive rebounds" is a good summation.

[LB3533]

If KG isn't or has never been an elite shot blocker, than Perk clearly was not even a very good shot blocker ever.

/end sarcasm

Perk's a really good defender and shot blocker.

A healthy Perk is infinitely a better defender than Nenad.

If Perk never messed up his knee, Nenad never messed up his knee....Nenad is the better overall player (he was on the brink of all-star on the East), Perk has never been on the brink of AS, even with the weak Center position.

KG is the best defender and shot blocker the C's have ever had since McHale.

If JO was healthy, he's probably a better shot blocker than McHale/Parish.

[LB3533]

The Clippers abused us on the perimeter, they got to the paint whenever they wanted.

I don't think Perk would have made a difference at all in last night's game...he wouldn't have been able to stop any of the penetration nor would he have blocked a single one of D. Jordan's dunks.

  He might have at least contested a few of those dunks, and he might also have fought a little harder for some of the rebounds than Nenad did.

Perk might have fouled out was what would have happened or Doc would have taken him out and Perk would have played like 9 minutes with foul trouble.

And Nenad battled a lot for rebounds, offensive rebounds.

There were like no defensive rebounds for us to battle for with the Clippers dunking and tipping in shots 60 to 70% of the game.

  Those fouls would have come from protecting the rim and contesting shots, something that Krstic doesn't seem to excel in.

Dude, Nenad and KG both did their best rotating to stop penetration...that left for easy passes to wide open big men down low for easy dunks or offensive put backs.

You gotta put more emphasis of blame on our perimeter defenders.

I saw no reason why Nenad had to leave D. Jordan after Mo Williams consistently beat both Rondo, and KG into the painted area.

But, guess what, Nenad did leave D. Jordan....and we saw what happened there.

Why did we need to have 3 guys try to stop one weak azz point guard from getting to he painted area?

Why?

[KJ33]

Here are my two cents as somebody who hated the trade.

1) It would be silly to blame losses on anybody in particular when the effort is as as poor as it was last night. The entire team failed, and that's not on Krstic.

2) That said, when if we lose in the eastern conference finals/finals I most certainly WILL point back to the trade as the moment things went downhill. Say what you want, but the trade made us worse in my opinion.

2a) Our starters are worse because what we gained in offense we lost in defense, rebounding, and shot blocking. Just wait until Krstic's offense regresses to his mean of .53 TS%. Why would you ever even give the ball to someone with a .53 TS% when you have four all-stars on the court? You shouldn't. You should just depend on that person for putbacks, rebounding, shot-blocking and defense, all of which Perkins does better than Krstic.

2b) Our bench isn't any better off either. Troy Murphy has been the biggest non-factor ever, and I don't know why anybody expected anything different from somebody averaging 3 points per game FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON. Some people are insane with their optimism. Next, without Semih and Perk we don't have shot-blockers on our bench unit, which spells disaster for any NBA lineup. Pavlovic doesn't do much that Wafer doesn't do. Arroyo is a decent pickup, but Delonte was coming back soon enough anyway, and he's a better option (which also would have made Nate redundant). We got Green, so it's not all bad, but ultimately I don't think our bench will change in overall performance due to talent; it will just get worse until chemistry is developed and players understand our defensive schemes, which might take more time than we actually have.

3) Bringing this back to Krstic, he's key because we're going to have to rely on him, big time. I'm not gonna blame him for every silly little loss but time will tell if he can get it done when it counts. And I have my trepidations.

edit: last word. I actually hate Jermaine O'Neal (and I've never actually "hated" a Celtic player before) but I pray that he comes back in time for the playoffs because I'd rather deal with his putrid offense than let the other team go to the rim at-will and out rebound the hell out of us

Perk is not wearing any uniform right now, neither Thunder nor Celtic.  Therefore, no comparisons can be made as if to any game would have gone differently "if we didn't trade Perk."  If we didn't trade Perk, Kristic would not have been playing last night either, so we would not have had either of them, just an injured, inexperienced Semih to deal with Jordan. 

I will repeat this in every thread like this I see until Perk is actually back and playing.  Until then, it is impossible speculation about how Perk would have done compared to Kristic, because Perk remains on the shelf.

[Roy H.]

If KG isn't or has never been an elite shot blocker, than Perk clearly was not even a very good shot blocker ever.

/end sarcasm

. . . KG is the best defender and shot blocker the C's have ever had since McHale.

Defender, yes.  Shot blocker, no.

Blocks per game:

2008:  Perk: 1.5, KG: 1.3
2009:  Perk: 2.0 (6th in NBA), KG: 1.2
2010:  Perk: 1.7 (10th in NBA), KG:  0.8

Block percentage:

2008:  Perk: 4.9% (10th in NBA), KG: 3.1
2009:  Perk: 5.3% (5th in NBA), KG:  3.1
2010:  Perk: 4.8% (8th in NBA), KG:  2.2

Perk is a significantly better shot blocker than KG has been with the Celts.  He's consistently been in the top-10 in both blocks per game and block percentage, while KG hasn't been.  KG is the better overall defender, but Perk trumps him in terms of rejections.

[BballTim]

The Clippers abused us on the perimeter, they got to the paint whenever they wanted.

I don't think Perk would have made a difference at all in last night's game...he wouldn't have been able to stop any of the penetration nor would he have blocked a single one of D. Jordan's dunks.

  He might have at least contested a few of those dunks, and he might also have fought a little harder for some of the rebounds than Nenad did.

Perk might have fouled out was what would have happened or Doc would have taken him out and Perk would have played like 9 minutes with foul trouble.

And Nenad battled a lot for rebounds, offensive rebounds.

There were like no defensive rebounds for us to battle for with the Clippers dunking and tipping in shots 60 to 70% of the game.

  Those fouls would have come from protecting the rim and contesting shots, something that Krstic doesn't seem to excel in.

Dude, Nenad and KG both did their best rotating to stop penetration...that left for easy passes to wide open big men down low for easy dunks or offensive put backs.

You gotta put more emphasis of blame on our perimeter defenders.

I saw no reason why Nenad had to leave D. Jordan after Mo Williams consistently beat both Rondo, and KG into the painted area.

But, guess what, Nenad did leave D. Jordan....and we saw what happened there.

Why did we need to have 3 guys try to stop one weak azz point guard from getting to he painted area?

Why?

  I dunno, but I'm also curious about why Rondo had to keep leaving his man to double whoever Krstic was guarding in the 4th quarter. Were you wondering about that as well?

[Marcus13]

The Clippers abused us on the perimeter, they got to the paint whenever they wanted.

as has every team that we've played since the trade

[RAcker]

Rondo getting shipped out? He's a top three point guard in the league and we signed him to a bargained extension. I dont think there is anything we could get in return that would give us the value he provides this team.

I would say top 5...but I agree.  It would take an incredible offer to even consider trading him.

Co-sign that. 

It would take a close to equal PG and some sort of sweet deal that sets us up for the future on top of that.  Just can't see it.

[RAcker]

I thought the slogan was "We Lost, Blame Rondo".  

Krstic isn't to blame, he's just overrated and can't carry Perk's jock.

New slogan..."Dribble out that shot clock, Rondo"

[BballTim]

If KG isn't or has never been an elite shot blocker, than Perk clearly was not even a very good shot blocker ever.

/end sarcasm

. . . KG is the best defender and shot blocker the C's have ever had since McHale.

Defender, yes.  Shot blocker, no.

Blocks per game:

2008:  Perk: 1.5, KG: 1.3
2009:  Perk: 2.0 (6th in NBA), KG: 1.2
2010:  Perk: 1.7 (10th in NBA), KG:  0.8

Block percentage:

2008:  Perk: 4.9% (10th in NBA), KG: 3.1
2009:  Perk: 5.3% (5th in NBA), KG:  3.1
2010:  Perk: 4.8% (8th in NBA), KG:  2.2

Perk is a significantly better shot blocker than KG has been with the Celts.  He's consistently been in the top-10 in both blocks per game and block percentage, while KG hasn't been.  KG is the better overall defender, but Perk trumps him in terms of rejections.

  Not to beat a dead horse, but KG's best ever block% (4.4) is well lower than any of those three years for Perk.

[Tai]

These Perkins vs Krstic debates are becoming more heated than the Davis/Powe ones, and it's only been two weeks.

Who needs soap operas?