One easy way to explain the Celtics road woes in the first two rounds is that they lacked experience playing as a team in the playoffs and needed to get it.
Another way to explain their road woes is to say they simply didn't execute on offense or get stops on defense.
Fine.
Both explanations are polite alternatives to saying they choked or played like pansies who lacked a killer instinct.
I want to see if maybe something else was going on.
In my latest effort, I focus on Kendrick Perkins.
After watching his contributions down the stretch of road games in Detroit, it struck me that I didn't recall seeing him much late in the fourth quarter of earlier series.
So I put my memory to the test.
Road game 1 against Atlanta: Perk didn't play one second--NOT ONE SECOND!--in the fourth quarter.
Road game 2 against Atlanta: Perk entered the game at the four-minute mark and left at the two-minute mark, later returning to play 10 seconds in the waning moments, after the game was out of reach.
Road game 3 against Atlanta: Perk played the last eight minutes, and grabbed two offensive boards, and canned two free throws.
Road game 1 against Cleveland: Perk didn't play in the fourth quarter.
Road game 2 against Cleveland: Perk didn't play in the fourth quarter.
Road game 3 against Cleveland: Perk enters game with four minutes to go in fourth. Grabs an offensive rebound, and dunks the put-back. Leaves game three minutes later.
Road game 1 against Pistons: Perk enters game with 8 minutes to go in fourth and leaves with a little more than three left in game. Cs were up fifteen when he entered the game and up 14 when he left.
Road game 2 against Pistons: Perk enters game with 8 minutes left, Cs down 7, and leaves four minutes later, with Cs down 4. During the four minute stint he scores 2 points, grabs two boards, and assists on one basket.
Road game 3 against Detroit: Perk enters game with 10:45 on clock and converts an important three-point play. With the game tied 70-70, Perk steals the ball from Richard Hamilton. Perk then grabs a defensive rebound and hammers Rasheed to prevent an easy hoop. Perk grabs an offensive rebound, and less than a minute later comes out of seemingly nowhere to reject a Chauncey Billups layup.
What conclusions can we draw from this? Do we see any patterns?
Doc appears to have had a change of heart about using Kendrick Perkins down the stretch on the road. Coach has gone from not using Perk at all to using him on an increasing basis when the game is on the line in hostile territory. It's hard to measure Kendrick's impact via the stat sheet, but his presence does appear to make a difference.
As I noted in earlier posts, both Boston and LA writers observed the severe beat-down Perk administered against the Lakers twice this year.
So along with Rajon Rondo, Perk could be a very big factor over the next two weeks. It's also worth recalling an earlier post in which I pointed out the plus/minus numbers for various five-man combinations. The Celtics owned the top several slots, and Perkins was a member of each combination.
That ought to tell us something. When Perk is in the game, good things happen. At the very least, he provides another deterrent in the paint, and deterrence plays a key role in getting stops.
3 comments:
i think perk and rondo are *huge* factors in this coming series, as they were in the previous series. to me, they represent the swing vote, in a sense. when rondo plays smart and aggressive the c's have a great chance at winning any game. protect the ball, drive the lane, take an open jumper once in a while. he doesn't need a lot of points, or even a ton of assists, but he has to be looking for his game, not just giving the ball up once he passes half court and then running around with the defense ignoring him. when he has the ball in his hands they have to pay some attention to him.
same for perk. when he's clogging up the lanes and grabbing rebounds it makes it so much easier for kg and pierce to work in the post, easier for ray to drive or get open looks. they need his defensive effort and intensity to make life hard for the opposing teams bigs. and if he puts in a few easy buckets then the other team can't afford to leave him open. add in his recent success at creating shots and he's a big plus to the team.
if these two play at their best we have as good a chance of beating l.a. as we can ask for. especially if the lakers defense is as weak as we think it is. cuz we can shut them down to the tune of about 90 ppg, and we are more than capable of scoring 100. can't wait for this to get started.
I think you nailed it on the head. I've been a fan a long time, and I think these two teams are more evenly matched than 84, 85, or 87.
Great analysis, Lex! Perk is defintely a factor and I really hope that Doc continues to give him more minutes, especially in the 4th quarter. I think Perk will especially be effective against the Lakers as his defense in the paint will make a big difference.
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