CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: A Few Random Thoughts on a Road Trip Day

The Celtics have just come off a 4 game road trip. They had one game at home and now begin a 3 game road trip. They have won 8 games in a row and are playing at a very high level lately. But, with Marquis Daniels being out for 6-8 weeks, that will change things for the rotation.

The Celtics now have to fill in behind Pierce along with behind Rondo. Tony Allen is one option but he is coming off his latest injury. He is definitely not an option to handle the ball. Seeing Tony dribble more than twice gives Celtics fans nightmares. Tony will be frustrating because he makes one good play and then a dumb play. Maybe while rehabbing from this most recent injury he grew a brain. We can only hope. JR Giddens has been inconsistent and doesn't appear to be the answer.

Eddie can move to point guard as he has been a solid option at that position. But that takes away from Eddie's strengths. My option would be to give Lester more minutes at PG. That allows Eddie to stay at the 2 guard spot. Then bring Walker back from Maine to fill in behind Pierce. I think Walker and Hudson have what it takes to make a contribution this season. Minutes for both now could pay dividends down the stretch.

I have been singing Perk's praises since his rookie year. His work ethic just impressed me so much that I knew this kid was going to be special. He worked too hard not to. I love the fact that finally Perk is getting the attention and praise he deserves. The latest is a great SI article about him by Brit Robson. He presents this quote from Perk:

"I'm a guy who never settles for a face-up jump shot. I'm going to get as deep in the post as possible," he said. "Some guys, even big guys, tend to settle. They spend the whole off season working on their outside game, trying to prove they can make that shot. I'm not one of those guys. Get to the rim: That should make sense to anybody."

You just have to love that attitude. The art of the low post scorer has been dwindling so that there are very few true classic centers left in the league. But, Perk is one of them. Perk is the heart and soul of the Celtics' defense. Here is Doc's take on Perk's defense:

But Boston coach Doc Rivers cherishes Perkins' defense as much for his brains as his brawn. "[Assistant head coach] Tom [Thibodeau] does a terrific job getting our guys to communicate, but at the end of the day, Kevin and Perk are seeing things before they happen; they have such high basketball IQs and adjust to all the wrinkles," Rivers said. "The other thing that has happened to Perk to make him better is his focus. He accepts who he is and knows that his biggest value to the team is being our best defender."

This SI story echoes what I have been saying for years. Perk's value to this team won't be seen in the box score. He won't have gaudy stats, but he is at the heart of everything this team accomplishes. He sets great screens to get his teammates open shots. He boxes out to give his teammates a chance at grabbing rebounds. And, he consistently guards the opponents' best big men. And he does all these things as good as or better than any center in the league. He has been the most consistent Celtic this season. Every other player on the team has been up and down but Perk has been steady throughout the 21 games that the team has played so far. I really do love this kid!

Being a math teacher, I love Mark Murphy's article on Rondo in today's Herald. Here are some excerpts:

“He never used to bring his book to class or take any notes,” said Doug Bibby, Rondo’s freshman geometry teacher and, coincidentally, also his basketball coach for the three years he spent at Eastern High School in Louisville, Ky. “There were quite a few times when I gave out a problem for the class to work on, and he would just blurt out the answer. I would kind of get (ticked) because I thought he was just being an (expletive).”

here are few people now who Bibby holds in such esteem, but he still sounds upset. Rondo, who admittedly has such a mind for numbers that he can do equations off the top of his head, enjoyed studying his older brother William’s math assignments. Rondo was secretly engrossed in subjects like trigonometry and finite math while his classmates were poring over simple algebra and geometry.

“He always wanted to know what X was -- he always tried to figure out what was ahead,” said William Rondo, who is five years older than his 23-year-old brother.

But Rondo’s ambitious course load didn’t prevent Bibby from almost combusting each morning.

“He’d blurt out the answer when I gave a problem to the class, but I wouldn’t do anything -- I’d give the kids another 10 or 15 minutes to work it out and come up with an answer,” he said. “Come to find out, the little jerk was right.

The article goes on to discuss Rondo's intelligence and how sometimes it leads to boredom when he gets the sets on the first walk through but has to stay focused through the entire practice as they repeat the sets over and over for others to get. It's a great read and I recommend that you check it out. Who would have thought that Rondo was a math genius? I had a couple of kids in my classes who were like that and I feel for Doug Bibby because they do drive you crazy! The photo at the head of this piece is from that Herald article. I loved the picture and wanted to use it here also.

Several of the Celtics are nearing or have just passed milestones. On December 8 against Milwaukee, Kevin Garnett passed Hal Greer for 25th All-Time in NBA history in scoring. He is just 190 points away from passing Celtics legend Larry Bird for the 24th spot.

Kevin Garnett became the 22nd player in NBA history to reach 40,000 career minutes when he played against the Orlando Magic on
November 20, 2009…He also became the youngest player in NBA history to reach that milestone at the age of 33 years, 185
days…KG beat the record that was previously established by Oscar Robertson (34 years, 39 days). In the last game against Milwaukee, KG moved into 25th place on the all-time scoring list, passing Hall of Famer Hal Greer.

Ray Allen needs 14 points to reach 20,000. He also needs just 63 points to move up from 33rd on the all time scoring list and bypass Tom Chambers for the 32nd spot. He should reach 20,000 tonight against the Wizards.

Also, Paul Pierce needs just 10 points to become the 46th player in league history to reach 19,000.

The Cavs have lost 2 in a row and look to be in dis-array. LeBron wasn't dancing on the sidelines last night. In fact he looked downright miserable. Teams who mock other teams like the Cavs have with their excessive celebrating in blowouts need to remember that sometimes it comes back to bite you. Their dancing wasn't like Gino or even waving towels, it was mocking and their opponents are remembering and not taking it very graciously. Teams are going to be playing them harder because they don't want to see the Cavs dancing at their expense.

The Lakers have won 10 in a row, but they should have an asterisk next to that in that they have rarely ventured out of their home arena 1/4 of the way into the season. They have played just 4 road games so far and lost one of those.

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