Tale of Two Default Starters

nice breakdown on rondo & perk…
an informed opinion without relying on stats? where did we find this guy.

I think this drastically oversimplifies the situation for Perk but is about right on Rondo. First off, Matt is missing one key challenge for Perk: Stay on the floor. Not only is he still learning how to play defense consistently (for a coach who knows even less) but also how to stop fouling. That is no small feat.
Plus, he’s one injury away from being labeled “injury prone.” He’s had the shoulder injury and then the foot injury. One more …?

the two most important positions on a basketball team are your pg and c. they don’t have to be the best players, but magic and jabbar didnot hurt la, nor did russ and cous the celts. as you note, the expectations are very high for rondo and that is why he and the c’s need a vet pg to spell and mentor rondo. this is crucial.

Intersting take on the scalabrine signing. Did Danny get Scal locked up longterm knowing he would one day be a glue guy on an Allstar Loaded Team? I read that section twice. What’s the take on this?

I think Jeff is creating a greater difference than these guys will experience. They both have key but limited supporting roles that I think both are up to. It’s important that each comes through because, as Jeff said, they will get great opportunities to do some good things with all the attention that will be paid to three headliners.

Rondo is built to be an offensive catalyst and will not be expected to do too much more than set up his leading men. But he’ll get the chance to do more because of his amazing quickness and the defensive focus on the stars and the resulting room he’ll have to work. Perk’s strengths on offense should serve him well setting picks and passing and finding the openings he’ll have for rebounds and open shots off double-teams. They will both have significant defensive roles to play. Perk showed marked improvement at staying out of foul trouble the last six weeks of last season. Though he still needs to work on this, Garnett’s defensive abilities should help him with this.

The development and play of these two guys should be a very exciting and fun part of the team realizing its potential.

If this is an ‘all in’ year, then the pressure would be on everyone, I would think.

Some say’s Rondo’s job will be easier because of his dream passing options now, some say harder because of having to keep three stars happy. We’ll see which it is.

It will be interesting to see how they try to put this all together.

Sorry Jeff, that’s Matt who sees a bigger difference than I think the players will experience. I do like Matt’s point about how terrificly Scal should fit on this Celtics’ team as well as Danny’s foresight in getting him.

I don’t see how that much pressure is on Rondo. If they do well, he’ll ride the wave of praise. If they play poorly, there are three other guys with HUGE targets on their backs. He’ll be a footnote in any article about the Celtics underperforming. Stars take the brunt of the blame when things go bad. Second-year point guard get a pass. Do you really think, for example, ESPN is going to grill Rondo if the Celtics get of to a slow start, when they could be playing around with insulting headlines about the New Big 3? Sports writers won’t pass up the opportunity to skewer stars.

I don’t see Perkins as a starter. He is what he’s always been: a serviceable NBA backup. Starting five (1-5) should be Rondo, Ray Allen, Pierce, Leon Powe, and Kevin Garnett. Then you can bring Perkins, Davis, and Tony Allen off the bench. (Still have no idea who plays the point after Rondo.)

great point from Big Easy about Perk both staying healthy and staying out of foul trouble. Regarding foul trouble it seems people are hopeful that KG’s superior defensive skills will help Perk stay out of foul trouble to a degree (by not having to cover Al’s lapses).

And to Tenacious T’s point about Rondo having dream options to pass to, definately is valid, and that sort of gets to the heart of the expectations on Rondo. I wonder if he’ll seize the opportunity, playing with 3 allstars, and feel like he’s getting his big break, or will he feel the pressure of making this talent combination work, realizing if it doesn’t many will wonder if the 2nd year PG is in over his head. Almost comes down do what kind of temperment Rondo has. Will be interesting to watch, I hope he’s a cocky worldbeater that grabs the reins and doesn’t look back.

sorry, meant to disclose that i wrote the orginal post on BSMW full court press