There’s one thing that you can’t accuse Celtics GM Danny Ainge of, and that one thing is that he is afraid to roll the dice.
Trading away the Celtics starting center Kendrick Perkins for OKC Thunder’s Jeff Green is a big gamble. Not that Perkins was the most important member of the Celtics starting five – he was the least important member of that starting five – but he was an essential part of it. Plus the Celtics’ defensive schemes have depended on Perkins guarding the opposing center without any help from his team mates. And as the Cavaliers showed against Dwight Howard’s Magic last season, that’s a game plan for losing if your center cannot handle the job against a very good opposing center. And Perkins was one of the best in the NBA at handling that job on the defensive end.
Also, basketball is such a tactical game that shifting a starter out changes the dynamics of the team. You have to tweak the game plan for the replacement as he brings a different set of strengths and weaknesses onto the court. The replacement has to learn the play book, which for some players and teams can take up to a period of one year, depending on how intricate that play book is. It’s not like football where a new guy can fit in and make adjustments along the way. When a play is called during a basketball game, if one guy runs to the wrong spot, the play breaks down for the entire team. And since basketball has a shot clock, there is little time to make adjustments when a play break down.
Coupled with the fact that Celtics coach Doc Rivers has constantly claimed that “this starting five (of Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Rondo and Perkins) has never lost a playoff series while healthy”.
It’s true. They’ve had 3 years together : won an NBA championship, lost in the Eastern Conference Finals and came within 5 minutes of another NBA championship. The past 2 years, one of the starters was injured when they lost that playoff series. I guess Doc Rivers can retire that claim now. That starting five has never lost a playoff series while healthy – and they won’t get another chance to.
Having said that, I won’t say that this is necessarily a bad trade. Ainge has earned the right to roll the dice based on his track record. Coupled with the fact that the Celtics desperately needed a backup small forward since Marquis Daniels got injured last month – and Jeff Green is a higher quality small forward than anybody expected the Celtics to get …….. it’s just that nobody in the NBA saw this coming. Which is pretty much a typical Ainge maneuver.
That trade, coupled with another 2 trades, has opened up 3 roster spots for Ainge to fill. So the full shebang will only be known when Ainge has filled those 3 spots. A few names have already been floated as buyout candidates / free agents that Ainge would be interested in. Plus there’s one retired guy whom I suspect the Big Three will be calling to suit up ….. (Sheed!)
In the meantime, Boston - the quintessential American Irish city – will be calling upon the O’Neal brothers – the quintessential Irish name – to hold the fort.
Jermaine O'Neal and Shaquille O'Neal (clue : it ain't the guy in the middle)
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