Rondo vs. Westbrook; Green vs. Perkins

[quidinqui33]

First, during the season, the only team that I watch closely on a game in and game out basis is the Celts, of course.  One thing watching the finals has done has made me really appreciate how hard our guys play and how precise they are.  Watching the thunder, I see so many easy plays and passes that the Celts make without thinking twice about and with the Thunder, the ball just sticks and I am yelling for them to make that extra pass.  Watching westbrook go nuts for 40 plus is nice, but I am happy to have Rondo running our show.

Second, I can't help but wonder if Thunder fans wish they had Green in their line up instead of Perk.  Perk is a non-factor for them, and Green would give them an athletic big body to put on Lebron and another scoring option.  Perhaps this is a case where both players were better for their original teams.  Hopefully Green resigns with us and plays well, and that pick we got in the trade turns into something nice.  Ainge could still come out looking pretty good on that trade as crazy as that may sound.

Third, we could have won this dang thing if we could have just closed the heat out!!!  Next year baby!

[BballTim]

First, during the season, the only team that I watch closely on a game in and game out basis is the Celts, of course.  One thing watching the finals has done has made me really appreciate how hard our guys play and how precise they are.  Watching the thunder, I see so many easy plays and passes that the Celts make without thinking twice about and with the Thunder, the ball just sticks and I am yelling for them to make that extra pass.  Watching westbrook go nuts for 40 plus is nice, but I am happy to have Rondo running our show.

  One thing I noticed a lot in the playoffs, and you see this in the regular season as well, is that Rondo will get caught in a mismatch so he's down on the blocks guarding a much bigger player (Smith, Johnson, Iggy, Brand, LeBron, Haslem and the like) and whoever on the other team that has the ball will ignore the situation and end up taking a contested jumper. Doesn't happen every time, but often enough that you question the BBIQ of some players.

[18isGREATERthan72]

The Celtics are so far gone athletically compared to some teams, the only way they can compete is by executing things perfectly.  We hate on them, being fans, cause we will always notice things they could have done differently for better outcomes, but truthfully when you watch other teams, you can see they make up for execution with sheer athleticism.  I've seen the Thunder make a LOT of passes where whoever has the ball at the top of the key attacks, gets doubled, then tosses it to the wing for a shot... Only the thing is, the person at the wing is actually in the corner, so they have to jump to the side to catch the ball.  They pull it off, but it just looks sloppy.

This is why I'm excited to see Rondo with a few more athletic guys, cause he can make exceptional passes, and that will never change.

[Celtics18]

I love this thread.  Watching these finals sure does make me appreciate the Boston Celtics.  I like to complain about the Heat playing an unattractive, no ball movement, all one on one style of basketball.  They are Princeton compared to the Thunder, though.  Yuck!!

[Celtic#9]

Yep I can't stand the Thunder offense. I just don't understand what can possibly going through Westbrook's mind when he is taking more shots than an efficient scoring champion in Durant. Especially when he is shooting under 40 % at times! I don't see how they can go up the court on 5 possesions and Durant won't touch the ball.

If Rondo ran the show in OKC... look out.

[Fafnir]

Against this Miami Heat team Green would be better as they wouldn't have to play Derek Fisher/Thabo as much. Or play Harden at the SF position at all. They could use Green to check Miller/Battier/LBJ as they want.

Against teams that don't go small essentially 100% of the time they're better off with Perkins. Because Green shouldn't be playing ahead of Durant or Ibaka at the 3 or 4. So he'd be getting limited backup minutes.