CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: Time for a Rant

January 16, 2007

Last night we once again saw some growth in our young players and once again had the same end result. I still don't know why Powe sits on the bench. He played 8 minutes last night. Perk admits that he is in a lot of pain playing out there and so hasn't been very effective. So why not give Powe some minutes? He does good things every time he is on the floor. He didn't get any rebounds or points last night in his short 8 minute stint, but he did take a charge to prevent an easy 2 points. And he made them change at least 2 shots in the paint and was playing some good defense. I just don't get it. Pro Fantasy Sports has this to say about Powe:

One more – the Boston Celtics and burly SF/PF Leon Powe. The Celtics need some healthy big guys and Powe fits the banger bill very nicely. He’s hauled down 19 rebounds in 27 minutes of PT over the last two games. I’m not really sure, even if the Celtics start to get healthy, if they’re going to be able to keep Powe out of the lineup. When he plays, he boards, pure and simple. He’s kind of my super sleeper for the second half. I love his upside and his opportunity.

This kid does nothing but good and Doc keeps him on the bench. Is there maybe some truth to the tanking theories floating around?

I have been reading a lot of posts on boards and blogs putting Perk down. Today's Herald states what I have been thinking for the last few games:

To say the Celtics have had nine healthy bodies the past few games isn’t entirely truthful. Kendrick Perkins still is bothered by the left foot plantar fasciitis that cost him 10 games in December.
That was rather evident yesterday, when he was scoreless with two rebounds in 12 minutes of a 100-96 loss to the Hawks. Perkins was visibly laboring in his movements.
“Oh, it hurts like hell,” he said. “But I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it now except get rest when I can. I’m just trying to ride it out to the end of the season.”

Perk has been playing in considerable pain. But, he is tough, and he has been playing. This explains the limited minutes he has been getting and it explains why he has been less than effective out there in those limited minutes. Watching him closely, you can see him limp at times and he is very obviously laboring to run up and down the court and he doesn't have the lateral quickness to get blocks and rebounds like he used to. The team may be hurting right now, but playing Perk in pain is doing him a disservice. He is giving it his all out there, but just can't do enough with limited mobility. I know Perk wants to play but there is a time that you just have to sit him and let his foot heal. This is the kind of injury that can end a career if not taken care of. We aren't going anywhere this season. Sit him and let him get healthy. We saw the same thing last season with Jefferson. He tried to play in pain and wasn't effective and everyone was calling him a bust. He got surgery, was allowed to heal and this season we are seeing what a healthy Al Jefferson is capable of. Give Perk a chance to get healthy before burying him.

It always drives me crazy how Doc has the bigs stand around the arc as they pass the ball across a couple of times. You should have your bigs go to the basket and be ready for a pass inside and be ready for a rebound. Too often Al gets the ball too far out from the basket for his shot. The bigs should be playing with their backs to the basket, not out on the arc. I watched last night's game closely for this and every time they run down and set up around the arc with the center at the top of the arc. Then they pass around the arc. We are so predictable. No wonder teams can pick off our passes so easily and we turn the ball over so much. In the Globe today, Cousy gives some opinions on the team's turnover problems.

Before filling in for Tommy Heinsohn as color analyst on the TV broadcast yesterday, Bob Cousy offered his thoughts on the Celtics' turnover problems (they committed 20 for 32 points yesterday). "Most coaches don't want to open it up and turn it loose because they're worried they're going to screw it up," said Cousy. "The Celtics average 17 turnovers a game now and in their mind they think, 'It'll be schoolyard and we'll be throwing it all over the place.' I don't agree with that. Frankly, I think we turn it over because with any halfcourt set we use, it means five guys handling the ball. I would much prefer to run transition, where I keep the ball in the hands of my best ballhandler at all times. And with two passes, we hopefully effect the same quality shot that we're looking for in the halfcourt using six or seven exchanges."

Doc should listen to this guy. It is Doc's system that slows this team down. It is Doc's system that accounts for a lot of our turnovers. It is Doc's system that causes us to take outside shots so much and not feed into the post. I still say with a different coach, we would be winning a lot of these close games that we have lost this season. From not letting players use their strengths to micromanaging the plays, I feel that he is holding this team back.

We are now in the position for the 3rd worst record in the league. We could get a very nice pick in a very strong draft. Our young players like Green and Al are getting some good experience because Doc has no choice but to play them. Powe still isn't getting minutes and that is a mystery to me but for the most part, young guys are playing hard and getting experience. Staying with Doc and his inept coaching is probably the best thing for this season. Teams that build in the draft have to have terrible seasons to get those top picks. We have been mediocre and never really sunk to that level before. Danny has done a great job in finding gems in the middle of the first round but to do so, he had to take young players that needed time to develop. They are now starting to get to that next level. With a top 3 pick this season, we could take that next step next year. But to take that next step, I believe that we need a new coach.

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