When Danny Ainge pulled the trigger on the Kendrick Perkins deal at the NBA trade deadline, I appreciated his willingness to upset the chemistry that his team had in order to give them what he believed was a better opportunity to win the 2011 championship. By adding athletic forward Jeff Green, the Celtics improved their bench and gave themselves an athletic weapon to use against LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and the Miami Heat
At the time, Ainge believed that a healthy Shaquille O'Neal would replace Perkins in the middle and that Jermaine O'Neal and Nenad Krstic (acquired in the Perkins trade) would provide depth at the center position. He was on target with Jermaine O'Neal and Krstic but the team is still patiently awaiting the return of Shaq.
The reason that I agreed with the trade was that I believed Perkins' value was overrated. Sure, Perk was a defensive presence and busted his tail on the glass but I believed that could be replaced. What they have not replaced is Perkins' toughness and his embracing of the role of the villain, which allowed Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo to play with confidence because Perk would always have their back.
After watching the Celtics get pushed around by the Heat - who will never be confused with the Bad Boys Pistons - through the first two games of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series it is clear that this team can not win playing the style of basketball that Kendrick Perkins allowed them to because of his toughness. Jermaine O'Neal and Nenad Krstic are not enforcers and if Shaq does in fact return for Game 3, he is not going to morph into a bully.
What Doc Rivers needs to do is embrace the roster that he has. He needs to go against his instincts and trust Jeff Green to become a difference maker in this series. Through two games the Heat are attacking the Celtics interior defense (Miami has taken 68 free throws through the two games compared to 40 for Boston) and the Green have not had a response. While I'm not pushing Doc to try and match the Heat in the open court - that would be suicide - the Celtics do need to abandon their half court offense and look to attack the rim more, especially in transition.
This will require Doc to make drastic changes to his rotation. Green needs an expanded role. He can replace Pierce at small forward but he also needs to start getting minutes at power forward. The Heat are not a power team - their best big man, Chris Bosh, relies on elbow jump shots - so Green would not have to worry about being exposed defensively in the paint. To find more minutes for Green, Glen Davis (who has a plus/minus of -35 through the two games) needs to stay glued to the bench. Davis is being killed by Anthony on hustle plays and is giving the Celtics nothing on offense or defense. When he is right, Big Baby is a helluva player but he is far from right at the moment and he has to sit to give the C's a chance in this series.
If Shaq is back - and that is a BIG if - then he should start along with Garnett, Pierce, Allen, and Rondo. The bench should be limited to Green, Jermaine O'Neal (or Krstic if Jermaine has to start in Shaq's absence), Delonte West, and Von Wafer. The crunch time rotation would be Garnett-Green-Pierce-Allen-Rondo, similar to the 2008 title run when James Posey played the role of undersized power forward.
That's right, Von Wafer. I am not delusional enough to believe Wafer can instantly transform himself into John Starks and come out of nowhere to become an impact player on a contender but he can shoot the ball and use his athleticism to help defend Wade or James for short periods of time. Hey, it's getting close to panic time so Doc needs to roll the dice and try something new because the old way just ain't cutting it right now.
With that nine-man rotation in place, the Celtics are better equipped to run the floor and get easy baskets in transition. Scoring easy buckets is the only way to slow down the Heat and make Wade (33 points per game in the series) and James (28.5 ppg) commit to defense.
This series is not over yet but if the Celtics continue to try and use Big Baby Davis and Jermaine O'Neal in the role of Kendrick Perkins, than the Heat are going to continue to score at will and the Celtics will be playing golf before Memorial Day. It's time to show why the team dealt for Jeff Green and start being the aggressor in the series.
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