If JO plays like he did last night he brings quite a bit of what Perk brings.
mmmm, not to my thinking...I would love to believe it, but he doesn't have the beef or the snarl.
While JO is not the enforcer Perk is, if he is healthy, I think he brings as much, if not more to the table than Perk, despite that. Yes, you are giving up some thuggery (although JO can hold his own, even if it doesn't come across as sincere), but you are getting comparable rebounding, perhaps slightly better shot blocking, a little more mobility, and a significant upgrade offensively once he gets his timing fully back.
Now, Perk is still a significantly better post defender against Howard, but other than that, I would take a healthy JO over Perkins.
That said, we are certainly rolling the dice to expect JO will remain healthy. Right now, he looks very good. He is still getting his timing back offensively, but the quickness and explosiveness are there...but will it remain.
but we need Shaq slamming people around when they drive into the middle (like DRose for instance), so they think twice about it in the future.
This I agree with though. As good as JO can be, Shaq brings a different dimension to this team on both sides of the floor. He brings some of what Perk brought in the defensive post, and brings what this team has been missing the last few years offensively. If we don't have Shaq, I just don't think JO (and maybe not even Perk) would be enough to get us past some of the very impressive teams out there this year.
we also need someone to set big screens up top. Baby does a decent job on the screen front but again much better off the bench...
This has replaced Rondo's big hands as the overdone excuse du jour. Sure, screens are important...but so are guys coming off them crisply. While there might be a little bit to this, I think it is much more people reaching for answers. In reality, I think the guys they have do a perfectly good job setting screens. KG is still one of the best in the business, as is Davis, and Krstic is better than he is given credit for. To me, the difference is, Ray is coming off them more than a step slower than he was earlier in the season, and that is allowing the defenders to avoid the screen a lot easier.
So, Shaq may help on this a little bit, but I think it will be marginal at best. The screens are going to look better when the guys using them start focusing, and turning up their intensity all game.
I don't know, Chris. I think there is a logic to everything you and Bball are saying here. I just don't necessarily see it happening out there.
The thing that seems to have made Danny okay with trading Perk was how they played with Shaq. That much I basically agree with. I'd prefer Perk but the team did perform well.
and when you break down what it was that both Shaq and Perk were contributing I think JO doesn't match it. Like BBall said, you have to win differently with JO. Maybe that's possible but I just don't think we have enough time to figure out what exactly that looks like. We can't be experimenting in the playoffs...not with the starting unit.
Shaq can fill just about everything Perk did (although Perk is probably a better one on one defender with someone like DH). So, for my thinking, we need the Big Shamrock.
You think the "screens" observation is overdone, but I think the "over-the-hill" and "Rondo's lost it" observations are the overdone criticisms...and getting Shaq in there could best dispel those ideas.
Topic: Danny: Shaq ready for the Playoffs (Read 14997 times)