My initial thoughts on POB were less than enthusiastic.
Now that my perspective has had time to ripen, I think I can provide a more upbeat appraisal.
Statistically speaking, I still say he won't be much better than William Bedford. This no longer means much to me.
Kendrick Perkins, in my humble opinion, is one of the more feared defenders in the league. His last three years go something like this: 4 points, 5 rebounds; 5 points, five rebounds; six points, six rebounds.
The first two years were Befordesque numbers-wise, even though we now know the Celtics had a beast in the making. Even 6 and 6 isn't really Kareem from 1971.
Where I'm headed with this post is here:
All POB has to do is play defense. He has more than enough guns around him (just like Perk). Yeah, a few rebounds would be nice. A blocked shot and a couple of intimidations would be even better. A jam now and again would be icing. But the bottom line is defense.
Can he do it?
He's got the length. The rest of it depends on commitment, conditioning, and the proper attitude. D-E-S-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-R-E, as Bono might say. Ok, some footwork and athletic ability wouldn't hurt, either.
Here's my main selling point:
If Jim O'Brien and Dick Harter can make a solid defender and regular contributor out of the big oaf, hands of stone, depressed head case known as Mark Blount, I'm thinking POB has a pretty good chance of regularly contributing (8-12 minutes per game) by mid-year, especially with the help of Clifford Ray, KG, and Doc.
Again, if Mark Blount can do it, albeit in a contract year, POB can too.
What if Kendrick goes down with an injury that keeps him on the shelf for an extended period of time?
Well, I might have to rethink my rethinking...
2 comments:
IMHO the kid, if committed to defense and hard work, can help and it came at a very cheap price. I guess that if Ainge was able to get PJ back we probably never know about POB, but with a more experienced Perkins probably is less important to have a veteran big from the bench: Perk IS THE VETERAN, and he's starting!
And then I'm sure that if needed Danny will hire an insurance policy for the All Star break (like PJ).
Going a bit off-topic I know it dont make much sense but I'd love to have Shaun Livingston signed: if he could play he's lots better than Pruitt or Giddens... or Tony Allen or Eddie too!
I'm kind of excited about our bench wings--GP, TA, JR, and Bill.
Not sure why I'm excited. Probably just out of habit.
You know, like when we stunk, I'd get excited about guys like John Bagley, AC Earl, and Eric Montross...
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