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Your Morning Dump... Are the Celtics waiting to flip the switch?

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

“They’ll be all right,” said Perkins. “I don’t think they’re caring about where they place in the seeding. I think they’ll get in the playoffs and do what they’ve got to do. I know a few of them are waiting for the regular season to be over so they can get into the playoffs. They’ll make it.”

If Perkins is right, then that’s a dangerous mentality — to believe everything will be fine once the playoffs start. A similar thought process by the C’s preceded their elimination last season by Miami in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Herald - Rest is best for many Celtics woes

Oh no, not the flip-the-switch mentality. As much as some of us (me) hate the idea of coasting in the regular season, we must accept it happens. Sometimes it works (2010) and sometimes it doesn't (2011).

The key to consistent play is having a consistent rotation:

But things have been far from optimal. Each of the Big Three has missed games, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen because of injuries, Kevin Garnett for personal reasons. And Rajon Rondo has missed 10 games, eight with a sprained right wrist and two with a suspension.

Of the 32 games the Celtics played before the All-Star break, the Big Four started only 16. Coach Doc Rivers is banking that the quartet will remain healthy and well-behaved for the final 34 games. 

 

The Celtics may be healthier in the 2nd half of the season but that won't necessarily translate into more wins. The schedule is road heavy and brutal. 

Best case scenario - the Celtics sneak up to the 6th seed and secure an easier 1st round playoff opponent (i.e. not Miami or Chicago). 

Worst case scenario - the Celtics stay in the 8th spot. They won't fall behind Cleveland or Milwaukee.

On Page 2, Bob Ryan eviscerates Bill Simmons.

Photo Gallery: Celtics vs Thunder

My friends over at Hoop China posted some nice pics from last night's loss to OKC. Some bonus GIFS after the jump..

Perk tears apart LeBron for dunk tweet

Shortly after the dunk, James tweeted, “Dunk of the Year! @blakegriffin just dunked on Kendrick Perkins so hard!!! Wow! I guess I’m No. 2 now. Move over #6.” James was referring to his alley-oop dunk he threw down after jumping over Chicago Bulls guard John Lucas III a day earlier.

“You don’t see Kobe [Bryant] tweeting,” Perkins said. “You don’t see Michael Jordan tweeting. If you’re an elite player, plays like that don’t excite you. At the end of the day, the guys who are playing for the right reasons who are trying to win championships are not worrying about one play.

“They also are not tweeting about themselves talking about going down to No. 2. I just feel [James] is always looking for attention and he wants the world to like him.”

Yahoo! Sports - Perkins rips LeBron James for dunk tweet

Kendrick Perkins absolutely emasculates the Chosen One. This is the verbal equivalent of stuffing James into a locker.

You won't find a guy with a better self-less approach to the game:

“If I was in the same position, in the same rotation, I’m going to jump again and again and again,” Perkins told Yahoo! Sports. “I don’t care. A lot of people are afraid of humiliation or don’t know how to handle embarrassment or would even get embarrassed. I don’t care.

“I’m the same Perk you’re going to see. I’m still going to sign autographs the same way. I ain’t going to change. The people that move out the way and stuff are the people who have insecurity problems.

“That’s my job. How will my teammates look at me if next time I just back out the way and just let him dunk when I’m supposed to be defensive-minded, a shot-blocker? That would be a coward move on me. He’d just have to dunk on me again.”

Even Perkins admits Griffin’s dunk was “nice; a nice finish.” He also remembers the advice his former Boston Celtics teammate,Kevin Garnett, once gave him: To be an effective post defender, you have to risk getting dunked on.

Just another reason to love the Beast.

Your Morning Dump... Where Blake Griffin destroyed Perk last night

 

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump. 

It's the timing.  It's the timing of the play, it's the timing of when I got the pass, the late rotation.  If all that comes together at the right time, those things happen.  It's not like I caught the ball and said "let's go make something happen."  It just came together like that.

ESPN LA: Blake Griffin on Dunk

Well, it happens.  At the end of the day, if you're a shot blocker, you're gonna get dunked on.  It was a great play.  I mean, obviously I wish I wasn't in it, but it was a great play.

ESPN LA:  Video: Kendrick Perkins on Griffin's dunk

This was pretty sick.  But I gotta give Perk credit.  Everyone's comparing it to the dunk on Timofey Mozgov, but Mozgov just stood there.  At least Per tried to challenge the dunk.  He went down fighting.

But make no mistake about it... Perk got destroyed by Blake last night.  That was... wow.

On Page 2: Rondo, O'Neal travel to Cleveland

The Celtics tribute video for Perk

ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg recorded the Celtics video tribute to Kendrick Perkins. It hit the jumbotron during the game's first timeout.

Your Morning Dump... Where Perk is coming back home

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Perkins admits coming back to Boston is bittersweet. He's happy in Oklahoma City ("Our locker room is locked in," Perkins said) but admits a part of him believes those Celtics teams had unfinished business.

"There's always going to be a 'what if' in me," Perkins said. "We never lost a playoff series. You wish you could have had a chance to redeem yourself with the team but it's a business, and it has been good be able to come to another great situation. But the 'what if' is always in the back of your mind."

Perkins says he has thought a lot about how he will be received by the Boston crowd.

"I'm kind of nervous," Perkins said. "I don't know what to expect. It's not like I have been around the league. I came there as an 18-year-old out of high school and was a Celtic for eight years. We went through the good times, the bad times, and the city really embraced me. I got close to a lot of people in that city and it was really hard to leave.

"Going back for the first time, I don't know what to expect. My approach is I want to win the game, but at the same time it is kind of hard with so many friends on the other side. Can I really be Perk out there? Can I really play my style? [Kevin Garnett] is my mentor. Ray [Allen] and Paul [Pierce] are my friends. Doc, we have a father-son relationship. [Rajon] Rondo, we talk every day. It's going to be hard."

SI.com - New and improved Perkins nervously awaits return to Boston

The ovation will be thunderous. Perk's return to the Garden is going to be a cool moment.

But...

I'll never truly understand the post-trade affinity for Kendrick Perkins. While Celtics fans certainly appreciated his work, defense and toughness, I believe he was more maligned than loved during his time here. The criticisms were plenty; the illegal screens, the technical fouls, and the inability to get off a shot quickly in the post. Even when he played his best game, Perk largely went unnoticed. 

The Perkins trade is more a symbol of the Celtics demise than a direct cause. While I won't rehash the pros/cons of the deal, I recommend reading Chris Mannix' entire article. Hell, even Perk understands the logic behind the move. There's no denying the results were disasterous. The Celtics have yet to fill Perk's shoes and Jeff Green has been MIA (for poor play and health-related reasons).

Perk's in a great situation now. He's a key contributor on a great team who will likely win another NBA championship in the coming years.  Good luck, Perk.

Related links: Globe - Tender moments for Perk | CSNNE - Perkins set to return to Garden | Herald - Celtics stars fondly recall Perk | ESPN Boston - The curse of Perk | 

On Page 2, Paul Pierce is a step faster than he was last week.

VIDEO: Doc: "Perk's a Celtic, I don't give a CRAP what uniform he has on"

After the Celtics lost tough game to the Indiana Pacers, Doc addressed to the media there that things would only get tougher with Oklahoma City coming to Boston on Monday night.  When asked about Perk, well, Doc had the following to say (watch the video below):

 

Fan Friday

Hello Celtics Fans. Thank you all for the great response to "Fan Friday". It will return next week, as I'm still currently connecting with fans and preparing future installments.

In the meantime, I'd like to share some "bonus-footage" from a fan I featured last season. His name is Drew, aka "The Kid with the Kicks". I met Drew at the Garden a couple of years back and he's a devoted fan of not only the Boston Celtics, but basketball as a whole. He's at pretty-much every Celtics home game, and also takes the show on the road to other cities like D.C. and NYC.

Here are some more pictures from his great collection of NBA players' jerseys, kicks and more. Thank you for reading, and be sure to visit Red'sArmy next week for a brand-new "Fan Friday". GO CELTICS!!!

Marquis Daniels is glad to be back in Boston

In this interview from today's media day at Waltham, Marquis explains just how much last year's neck/spinal injury affected him. He also gives his reason for choosing to wear #4 this year, and tells a great story about a hospital visit he received while recovering from surgery.

 

Big Baby and Perk: The Slim Fast twins

A lean Glen Davis fulfilling his media duties for the Orlando Magic. I guess Glen didn't gorge himself during the lockout as some of us feared. (image courtesy @joshrobbins)

Speaking of weight loss, check out the picture of Kendrick Perkins after the jump. He dropped 32 pounds.