Happy with production at the 5 spot vs Philly

[footey]

All the attention has been on Jermaine O'Neal this morning. He had a decent outing, but so did Krstic.  While I still think we need Shaq to beat the Lakers, I also think we can get by without Shaq with these two guys in the middle splitting time (and Baby of course) until the NBA finals. Playing Krstic off the bench will take the pressure off him. Did you guys notice how much energy he showed last night? And this with a still sore knee, first game back since the injury.  Way to go, Nenad!!

[CelticG1]

All the attention has been on Jermaine O'Neal this morning. He had a decent outing, but so did Krstic.  While I still think we need Shaq to beat the Lakers, I also think we can get by without Shaq with these two guys in the middle splitting time (and Baby of course) until the NBA finals. Playing Krstic off the bench will take the pressure off him. Did you guys notice how much energy he showed last night? And this with a still sore knee, first game back since the injury.  Way to go, Nenad!!

I thought they both played great. Krstic looked more comfortable with the other guys out there

[cman88]

I think they can get by the first round with this lineup of bigs..

but against miami(Whom has a lack of bigs) you need Shaq and JO to play on their weakness and cut off the driving lanes of lebron/wade

Shaq will massacre their centers offensively...and give hard fouls to lebron/wade

[indeedproceed]

If our center rotation looked like:

C: JO (20), Krstic (18), BBD (7), Murphy (3)

I'd be happy...against every team but Orlando and Los Angeles.

Against those teams we'd get kilt.

[moiso]

The 5 spot was very productive against Philly, but lets not forget how pathetic  Philly is at that position.  Spencer Hawes was their main guy at that position.

[Roy H.]

I think a lot of people concentrate too much on one-on-one matchups, and forget the other aspects of center defense.  Yes, Krstic is a poor matchup against LA and Orlando, due to their size and skill at the center position.

However, I also think he's a bad matchup against Chicago; he can't keep up with Noah's speed, and he'd get killed on the boards.  Against Miami, I worry about Krstic's poor rotations and his inability to cut off penetration.  Even teams without elite centers can exploit Krstic's softness and poor defense / defensive rebounding.

Krstic played pretty well last night, but I want his minutes in the playoffs to be limited.  We'll be fine so long as Shaq and JO manage 35 combined minutes per night.  When we start talking about Krstic (or BBD) filling in much more than that, I get worried.

We need Shaq.

[GreenFaith1819]

All the attention has been on Jermaine O'Neal this morning. He had a decent outing, but so did Krstic.  While I still think we need Shaq to beat the Lakers, I also think we can get by without Shaq with these two guys in the middle splitting time (and Baby of course) until the NBA finals. Playing Krstic off the bench will take the pressure off him. Did you guys notice how much energy he showed last night? And this with a still sore knee, first game back since the injury.  Way to go, Nenad!!

Agreed.

Krstic played well, and JO is getting his wind back. I'd still love Shaq playing, but yes your post was pretty much spot on.

[Who]

Do people view Orlando as a threat to beat Boston if they are without Shaq (and Perk)?

I would be comfortable heading into a series against the Magicw without Shaquille in the middle. I don't think the Magic have enough overall quality to beat the Celtics after their mid-season trades.

I would be quite happy with 26-28mpg from Jermaine, another 12-14mpg from Glen Davis (at center against Dwight) and some spot minutes from Krstic now and then. I think that center rotation gives the team more than enough to see off Orlando's challenge.

[GreenFaith1819]

Do people view Orlando as a threat to beat Boston if they are without Shaq (and Perk)?

I would be comfortable heading into a series against the Magicw without Shaquille in the middle. I don't think the Magic have enough overall quality to beat the Celtics after their mid-season trades.

I would be quite happy with 26-28mpg from Jermaine, another 12-14mpg from Glen Davis (at center against Dwight) and some spot minutes from Krstic now and then. I think that center rotation gives the team more than enough to see off Orlando's challenge.

This, too.

As long as JO continues to round into form, I can go with this as well.

[Vermont Green]

I think a lot of people concentrate too much on one-on-one matchups, and forget the other aspects of center defense. 

I agree with this but I look at it a little differently.  I don't think there is any center that can score us to death in today's NBA, including Howard and Bynum.  What could kill us is too many ORebs by the other team or too many easy buckets in the paint, center or otherwise.

I think that because we have KG patrolling on defense, and he is so active, that it allows for a little slack to our center.  I am not worried about us being soft in that way with JO/Krstic and I think our play since the trade proves this.

Rebounding does seem to continue to be a problem.  It was last year when we had Perk and a gimpy KG, and it has been this year, with and without Perk.  Long athletic teams (and even not-so-long ones) seem to be able to get a lot of ORebs against us.  The more bigs and the bigger the bigs the better but I don't see Shaq (or Perk) as the singular problem or solution to this. 

[ManUp]

Krstic playing limited minutes behind Shaq, and JO is the ideal. If all three are healthy by the play-offs I love our depth and chances of going all the way. Keeping both O'neals at or below 25 minutes with Krstic contributing a solid 5-10 minutes should keep wear and tear from becoming an issue at the 5 spot.

Edit:And Hobbs is absolutely right the quality of our defense is compromised with Krstic playing big minutes.

[Interceptor]

We are not, as a team, bad at getting defensive rebounds.  Celtics are getting just about 75% of all available DRs, and this is good for 8th in the league.  Hell, we're doing better than the Lakers, who are 23rd right now.

Where the C's suck is getting their own offensive rebounds, but that's because they stress getting back on defense quickly.  And for what it's worth, going for offensive rebounds is something that Krstic actually DOES.

[Fafnir]

Do people view Orlando as a threat to beat Boston if they are without Shaq (and Perk)?

I would be comfortable heading into a series against the Magicw without Shaquille in the middle. I don't think the Magic have enough overall quality to beat the Celtics after their mid-season trades.

I would be quite happy with 26-28mpg from Jermaine, another 12-14mpg from Glen Davis (at center against Dwight) and some spot minutes from Krstic now and then. I think that center rotation gives the team more than enough to see off Orlando's challenge.

Orlando really shot themselves in the foot with their two trades.

I don't see how they hang onto Dwight now short of a franchise tag or a magical run.

[fairweatherfan]

Orlando really shot themselves in the foot with their two trades.

I don't know - I think they were on the decline whether they made the deals or not.  Arenas has definitely sucked, but it's not like Lewis was setting the world on fire before or after the deal. 

J-Rich and to an extent Turk have been better for them but not having Gortat to back up Howard puts a lot of pressure on their interior.  Losing Vince was probably a net positive even if they only got back a 2nd rounder for him.

Ultimately I think what we're seeing was inevitable for a team with their makeup.  It reminds me of the early '00s Celtics except with a dominant big to make everyone look better for awhile.

[Marcus13]

yay we got through the tough frontcourt of Spencer Hawes and Elton Brand.


smh