Anger over Ainge
Any casual basketball fan that watched the NBA Finals last year between the Lakers and the Celtics know in their heart of hearts what would have been the outcome if Perkins was not injured and did not miss that final game.
Sure, the Lakers pulled it out at home, but they played horribly and it is no leap of imagination to project that the Celtics should have won.
And now, Shaq is hurt again. After missing 8 weeks of action with an Achilles’ inflammation, Shaq came back the other night with zero practice and injured his calf and the visual was not pretty. He looked like somebody shot his leg with a 20-odd six.
Jermaine O’Neal did play in April 3 game but only got 17 minutes of work and was obviously rusty as the three turnovers suggest.
The players the Celtics now have do not really fit into the classic Boston mode. Nenad Krstic is a soft 7-footer who only scored double digits once since mid-March and in his two games before injuring his knee recently could only muster 3 rebounds and 7 points in 2 games.
He will be pushed around big time by any elite big man in the league.
As far as Jeff Green is concerned, his shot selection leaves much to be desired.
Green is not a bad player, but he is very much more average than elite. He only plays defense on occasion and that is against every Boston rule for decades.
As a team, Boston and Chicago has shown they play the best defense in the league but that dynamic has changed since Green came to Boston.
So far, when Green has been on the floor for the Celts, Boston defends about as well as the Nets or the Rockets, who rank 20th and 21st in points allowed per possession this season.
For a guy named Green you would figure he would be an ideal fit for Boston but the truth of the matter is you are who you are and Mr. Green is streaky and sometimes passive.
This trade could very well come back to haunt the Celtics for years.
