Random Thoughts (April 6, 2009)

It's been a long and boring day. The rain washed out Opening Day at Fenway and my shift on the bar at The Baseball Tavern. I have officially searched every site on the Internet. I think that I might have applied for an assistant basketball coaching position at DePaul University. The national championship game can't start fast enough... Considering the job he has done with Kevin Garnett sidelined, it is worth mentioning Kendrick Perkins as a possible member of the NBA's All-Defensive team. When the C's acquired Perk on draft night in 2003 (along with the immortal Marcus Banks), no one thought that the pride of Clifton J. Ozen High School would amount to much. (Well, I actually did. Perkins was drafted the same weekend as my 22nd birthday. As I stumbled out of Fenway Park that Sunday, a news camera was shoved in my face, looking for a reaction to Danny Ainge's first draft. I gave him an "A ... for Auerbach" for acquiring Perkins and Banks. I may have inflated that grade just a little -- everyone of my students just nodded in approval -- but the big guy was a solid acquisition.) Perkins has become an enforcer for the Celtics. He rebounds and blocks shots, which allows Rajon Rondo to gamble at will on the perimeter. If the C's didn't have Perk, they would not have defeated the Lakers last year. He brings intensity to the paint, a trait all championship teams need... Anyone remember who Ainge sent to Memphis for the draft rights to Perkins and Banks? Answer below... So, Blake Griffin, your reward for leading Oklahoma to the Elite Eight and winning every "Player of the Year" award you possibly could has given you the right to be the top pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. Here's hoping Griffin lands with his hometown Oklahoma City Thunder. A nucleus of Kevin Durant, Griffin, Jeff Green, and Russell Westbrook is something to be excited about. Here's hoping he avoids Sacramento or the second Los Angeles team. The Kings and Clippers are so helpless that even a talent like Griffin couldn't make too much of an impact... I can't wait for Tyler Hansbrough to prove all of his (many) doubters wrong when he becomes a professional. The 6-9, 250 forward will never be an MVP or All-NBA caliber of player but he will definitely make contributions to championship teams. He has too much talent and intensity not to be a rotation guy on a good team. I'd love to see him wearing the Green someday. No opponent would dare venture into the paint at the Garden with KG, Perkins, and Psycho T holding down the fort. No one really likes going in there now, with Big Baby Davis and Leon Powe being major reasons for that decision... You are correct if you said that Danny Ainge dealt the rights to Troy Bell of BC and Dahntay Jones of Duke to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the rights to Perkins and Banks. Troy Bell is long since out of the NBA, while Banks and Jones are both on the fringes of NBA employment... How about a hand for the CC Sabathia era... I like the idea of the NBA Development League for their playoff seedings. The team with the best record gets to choose their opponent from the bottom half of the playoff qualifiers. Second place gets next choice, followed by third and fourth place. I would love to see David Stern adopt this notion. It would add intrigue to the early rounds of the playoffs and give some extra rewards to the teams with the best record in each conference... Enjoy Clark Kellogg tonight...