Ball or Nuthin' » Kendrick Perkins

With Loss to Magic, Pressure Falls Back on the Celtics

T Lamont — Thu, 27 May 2010 04:10:41 +0000

What a difference a couple of days can make.

After Orlando eeked out an overtime victory in Game 4 to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics, surely the veteran-laden squad was going to come out an take care of business tonight.

But the Magic rode their hot-shooting start to an impressive 113-92 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. With this win, there are some new developments in the series:

- With two consecutive wins, the Magic have now become the team with the momentum. Most of their players have begun to play with the confidence that they displayed throughout the regular season, and in their first two playoff series.

- The Magic played their game, and they played it well. Orlando was able to get some good three-point looks and they knocked them down – hitting 13-25 (52%) from downtown. They were able to spread the wealth, with Jameer Nelson, Matt Barnes, Mickael Pietrus and J.J. Redick converting multiple treys.

- Dwight Howard controlled the paint on both ends of the floor. With 21 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots, Howard put together his first set of good back-to-back performances in this series.

- Yes, there was a Rashard Lewis sighting. He showed some aggression late in tonight’s game. Lewis started swishing mid range jumpers in the fourth quarter, and ended with 14 points.

- While Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard controlled the game’s tempo, the Magic received big contributions from J.J. Redick (14 points), Matt Barnes (three triples), Rashard Lewis (14 points). Getting their teammates involved was critical, and was what they needed to do to stand a chance at winning the next game in the TD Garden.

Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard have stood tall in the face of possible playoff elimination.

The Celtics lost some key players in the midst of their loss. Glen “Big Baby” Davis got caught by an inadvertent Dwight Howard elbow, and suffered a concussion. Davis staying on the floor for a while – and when he attempted to get up and run up the court, he was stumbling and had to be held by referee Joe Crawford (to prevent him from falling). If Crawford wouldn’t have executed his timely save, Florida would have probably experienced its first earthquake ever.

Reserve guard/forward Marquis Daniels entered the game briefly. On a drive to the basket, he banged into a defender and also suffered a concussion. He exited the game immediately after the play. He plays so infrequently that he got hurt the first time he had the ball in his hands. Just plain sad.

Rasheed Wallace, who played great for Boston with 21 points, looked to tweak his back late in the contest.

But Boston’s biggest loss was that of center Kendrick Perkins. Perkins, the Celtics’ best defender of Dwight Howard, was hit with two questionable technical fouls – which caused him to be ejected from the game. The first technical was called when play continued after a stoppage, and Perkins gave an unintentional elbow to Marcin Gortat. The second, and most talked-about, technical foul was given as Perkins expressed disapproval of a foul called against him – and was walking away from the official. Also, since Perkins has accumulated seven technicals in the postseason, the league has the option of suspending him for a game. The nature of the fouls almost assuredly ensures that they will be reviewed and may be rescinded. If not, his loss will place Boston at a huge disadvantage in Game 6.

So, given the newfound effectiveness of Orlando’s offense, Doc Rivers and his staff have some work to do.

Most importantly, Boston’s trainers will have to earn their paychecks if the Celtics expect to appear in their second NBA Finals in three years.

That, or have everyone in the TD Garden complaining of the neverending smell of Ben Gay.

Celtics Favorites Due to Ugly Frontcourt

T Lamont — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:14:50 +0000

In the 2009 NBA Playoffs, the Boston Celtics were probably one injury away from competing for the NBA championship.

The lack of depth in the Green Guys’ frontcourt ultimately led to their demise. The biggest loss being the super-versatile Kevin Garnett. But the C’s also missed out on significant production when Leon Powe went down (he was recently signed by the Cavs).

In the past few weeks, Boston has taken some steps to keep them from coming up short on big guys. I now present to you…the ugliest frontcourt in the NBA:

Rasheed Wallace – Now, Wallace is not truly an ugly guy. But he’s not easy to look at either. And that patch in his head…what’s the story on that? Nobody really seems to know. I think ‘Sheed should have a press conference just to let the world know.

OK...I'll admit...I'm scared...

Kendrick Perkins – Big. Black. Tough. And ugly. He picks up fouls simply because his face looks foul.

Glen “Big Baby” Davis – The only reason – that I can think of – for him having a nickname of “Big Baby” is this incident. He’s probably the best lookin’ one in this group – that is if you don’t count his “cryin’ face”.

Shelden Williams – In an attempt to keep women and children away from their games, the 2007-2008 NBA champs signed him on. I don’t know how a guy so aesthetically challenged gets so many breaks. (In case you hadn’t heard, he’s married to Candace Parker – a mismatch of epic proportions)

Brian Scalabrine- What he lacks in face ugliness, he makes up for with his unathletic build. He looks like a mix between the Pillsbury Dough Boy and Carrot Top.

Well, there you have it. With a healthy squad on the floor, the Celtics are once again right up at the top of the list of contenders. But even if this team is unsuccessful in its quest this year, we all have to agree on one thing – - it can’t possibly get any uglier than this.

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Best “Teams” Win Game 7s

T Lamont — Mon, 04 May 2009 02:37:14 +0000

Well, we’re officially done with what had to be one of the most exciting first rounds in recent memory.

And while we all realize the importance of seeding and home court, it couldn’t have been more valuable in securing victories for the Celtics and Hawks in their respective game sevens.

The Celtics ousted the Bulls on Saturday in Boston, 109-99. As always, the home court seems to bring out the best in role players and bench players. Eddie House was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including 4-for-4 from 3-point land for 16 points. Brian Scalabrine contributed 8 points, and Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins continued their improved play to spark the C’s to victory. In the end game, the more experienced team was playing at home with two All-Stars on their roster. It would have been EXTREMELY difficult for Chicago to upend Boston given this scenario.

Moving on to Phillips Arena on Sunday, Atlanta flew past Miami by the final score of 91-78. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith were the main culprits, but the Hawks also had key contributions from Flip Murray and Mike Bibby. In the end, D-Wade just didn’t have quite enough help for the Heat to pull out this series.

The Hawks are a dangerous team at home (as we saw in last year’s first round series against the Celtics)…capable of running good teams out of their building. Atlanta defended Miami very well – they make things tough for Wade (10-25 shooting), while simultaneously limiting open looks for Miami’s shooters (4-19 from 3-point land, including 2-9 from D-Wade). As a bonus, the Hawks went 11-23 from distance. They also limited their turnovers (9 for the game), which often makes the difference for such a young, developing team.

So, now it’s time for some great second round matchups:

Houston / Los Angeles
Dallas / Denver
Atlanta / Cleveland
Orlando / Boston

Stay tuned to www.ballornuthin.com for continued insight into these series…

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