Daily Links 4/8 Happy Easter

Kudos to Doc! I love what he has to say in Mike Fine’s fine article on Perk.

I don’t think Perk gave up one point to O’Neil last nite. He continually forced him into shots he probably didn’t want to take. We keep dreaming about Oden, but Perk is here and under contract. It’s an insult to him for Celtic fans dreaming about an unproven player who we MIGHT get.

“It’s an insult to him for Celtic fans dreaming about an unproven player who we MIGHT get.”

Why is it an insult to him that we are dreaming about an athletic 7 footer with the potential to be a top 5 player in this league for the next 15 years?

I think its more of an insult to Perk that some people are dismissing him as a servicable player in this league based on one season in which he played through a lot of nagging injuries. I still think Perk has the potential as an excellent backup or starter on some teams. He is a terrific rebounder on both ends, a very good defender and shotblocker (as long as he controls him emotions), and his offensive game is coming around…both with the hookshot and that little turnaround jumper.

The kid’s a 22yo big man who had limited coaching as a kid. Playing as a complement to Al, I think his potential on a winning team is high indeed. Because we seem destined to have Doc here next year, I’m thrilled that he fully values Perk.

ucn33, you said a 7 footer with “potential”. A lot of people who contribute here have been negative about “potential”. I don’t think Perk has the “potential” to be an “excellent backup or starter on some teams”. I think he’s an excellent starter for OUR team. I only think it’s an insult to Perk to be dreaming about Oden because we seem to be dismissing what Perk has accomplished. I hope I didn’t give the wrong impression, but I’ve been a big Perk fan from day 1. He’s had a rough road because of physical problems and it’s held back his development, but we’re beginning to see his true worth to THIS team.

I think Perk is the starting center of the second worst team in the NBA.

But I definately think he shows the promise and potential to become the starting center of the ninth worst team in the NBA.

perk is ok and more, especially in the true grit and mean categories, but oden will be better.

Again, I see nothing insulting towards Perk to be excited about the possibility of landing a player who could be a top 5 player in the NBA for 15 years…as long as we keep in mind how hard Perk has improved and played through pain to get to the point where he is now.

Just as it’s no insult to Al or Paul to dream about Durant. To dismiss Perk’s contribution and importance would be unfortunate however. It now sounds ridiculous to call him a stiff or a bust, as used to be argued—but I think he still is undervalued on this board. To be fair, he sometimes wasn’t looking good in the grip of his injuries. It’s great to see him feeling and doing better.

Also, if he and Rondo can both improve a bit on the shooting, we can well afford their defense and passing to anchor the team. Even if only one of them improves substantially, we’ll be OK—as their defense is so critical.

Once again Peter May does a bang up job getting his facts wrong, or just writes poorly:

May: “That could mean their chances of landing the No. 1 overall pick would fall from 19.9 percent to 15.6 percent, and their chances of getting the second pick would drop from around 38 percent to nearly 31 percent.”

No Peter, the 38 to 31 percent drop (if they went from 2d to 3rd) is not the odds of getting the second pick, but the odds of getting one of the top 2 picks. As about the only relevant factor in the Cs season right now, you would think May could master these couple facts, or how to phrase them correctly.

His mention of the show Lost is an odd coincidence from the game story Petula and I wrote the other day. Probably just a coincidence, but you wonder if May ever visits and reads some of the critiques about his work.