Saturday Notebook: Perk Lives, Doc’s Trickery, a New Practice Schedule?
Posted by Zach Lowe on Mar 13, 2010
• The most interesting tidbit (to me) in today’s news is the idea that Doc might hold the vets out of some games so they can practice more. Here’s his explanation, via A. Sherrod Blakely at NECN:
“One of the things we talked about with him [Pierce] and Kevin and a couple of the other guys is we’re going to do more conditioning with them,” Rivers said. “Even if it means that they can’t play in a game, or play less in a game.”
And discussing the fact that a super-competitive player might not like this idea:
“I’m not going to worry about that, because at the end of the day, the key for us is [Garnett] and Kevin to be at their peak when the playoffs start,” Rivers said. “So if, you know, doing that makes them miss a game here and there, then that’s what we’re going to have to do.”
Lots of talk from Doc lately about “change,” huh? Doc obviously wouldn’t be the first coach to hold key players out of games to keep them fresh for the playoffs; Gregg Popovich did it last season in San Antonio.
But Doc might be the first coach to frame the idea as an opportunity to allow those players to practice more—and harder.
It’s an interesting thought, and you have to give Doc some credit for thinking out of the box and focusing on the playoffs. Of course, we’ve heard Doc talk a lot about various changes, including line-up shuffles and playing the kids more. Now the kids play for the Knicks. In other words: Stay tuned.
Oh, and KG doesn’t like the idea anyway, Blakely reports:
“I’m not really feeling that idea. But, hey, this is the Doc Rivers show and we are just guests in it.”
• You know things have been bad for the Beast lately when a 10-7 performance merits a full feature in the Herald and bullet points in other columns. First, here’s Doc on what is perhaps the most divisive of Perk’s skills among hard core C’s fans (via Blakely):
“Perk doesn’t get a lot of credit [Friday] night,” Rivers said. “I thought this was one of his best games in a long time because of the picks. He was a human pick-machine tonight, just flying around, got guys open, and they got the points and Perk got a pick. You don’t get an assist for a pick, but if you did, he probably would’ve led the team in assists [Friday] night.”
Ah, the Perk picks. One of our most active commenters recently deemed almost all of Perk’s picks illegal, and Perk is annually near the top of the league in illegal screen calls. I have two counters, neither of which does much to dent the argument that, yes, Perk’s screens often move outside the rules.
But:
1) By the letter of the rule, a lot of picks in the NBA are illegal. Watch Dwight Howard or KG or Reggie Evans set screens. They’re usually moving or subtly sticking out their outside hip.
2) The occasional illegal screen call on Perk—and, for the most part, we’re talking a max of once a game—is the price of doing business for Perk, and I’ve come to accept it. Perk’s screens blur the lines of legality, but their effectiveness has a larger value for the team. I’m much more troubled by his traveling violations, sometimes shaky passing and his habit of making some easy buckets a bit more complicated than they need be.
But that’s just my take.
• Perk talks about his game today in the Herald and reminds us why we all like him so much—the selflessness, the toughness and the team-first-all-the-time mindset. Here’s Perk on whether a decline in minutes over the last two months may be behind his drop in production:
“I don’t really want to get caught up in how many minutes I’m playing or stuff like that. I just feel like I’ve got to be productive when I’m out there.
“I know sometimes when we’re having trouble scoring, we might need more shooting on the court. So sometimes a better shooter might be out there besides me. I just take it as it comes, and when I’m out there I try to do my role to the fullest.”
By “better shooter,” by the way, he’s talking about the guy shooting 28.7 percent on 4.2 three-point attempts per game.
And on the possibility that the C’s may have to double-team Andrew Bogut next time—an ego blow to any prideful defensive big:
“I know the Milwaukee game Bogut got the best of me,” he said. “I think of myself as one of the better defenders in this league, but sometimes we might have to trap. There’s nothing wrong with that. But I just think we’ve all got to do our job, and I take that as it starts with me.”
Oh, Perk. We can’t stay mad at you.
• Doc resorted to some Michael Scott-esque psychological ploys in a Friday team meeting to discuss the Grizzlies loss and the state of the team. Via Chris Forsberg at ESPNBoston.com:
When the Celtics convened Friday morning in Waltham to watch film from their grisly loss to Memphis on Wednesday, coach Doc Rivers pulled out a recent newspaper article and recited it to his team.
“It talked about how [the team] lost focus, how there’s no sense of urgency, and how there’s no way you can return to the Finals the way [they're] playing,” said Rivers, setting up the big reveal. “Then I told them it was the L.A. Times and it was Phil Jackson, Lamar Odom, [and] Kobe Bryant, their comments.
“And they all laughed because they all thought it was them. I even asked them, ‘Do you remember saying that?’ And guys were saying, ‘Yeah, I said that.’ And it was somebody else.”
Forsberg goes onto note the obvious here: There’s a huge difference between the LA press raising concerns about a 48-18 team hitting a three-game bump on their way to an easy No. 1 seed and the Boston press wondering about a team that is .500 since Christmas and coming off home losses to New Jersey and Memphis (the latter by 20 points).
But perhaps the trick served its purpose. Here’s Perk:
“I thought he was talking about us at first, but he was talking about the Lakers. I said, ‘Shoot, we’re not the only team getting murdered, I guess.’”
Between Ubuntu, the empty place for the 18th banner, “he who angers you owns you”, and now this, Doc has pulled out some cheesy obvious effective motivational tools in the last few years.
One thing to note: Doc pulled off the newspaper trick without going down the predictable road of blaming the media and trying to play the “It’s us against the world!” game. He’s smart enough to know that the team hasn’t played well, and that the media’s criticism has been fair and rarely (if ever) over the top. He also understands that a veteran team is not going to respond to such an insular and negative tactic; they’re too smart for it, and they’ve probably seen lesser coaches use it before.
• The Providence Journal is clearly unsatisfied with Rajon Rondo’s reluctance to deal politely with the media, and if their transcript of his pre-game interview yesterday is accurate, I can’t really blame them. Then again, even the most media-friendly players have boundaries, and some guys just don’t like talking to a scrum of reporters before a game.
• Everybody is excited about Nate Robinson’s three-point barrage against the Pacers last night. The team wants him to shoot whenever he’s open, Doc says (via the Herald):
“We’ve just got to keep him aggressive,” said coach Doc Rivers. “He tends to not be at times, and that was one of the things that the coaches in New York said that you’d be surprised. You look at him and you think he’s this ball of energy, and he pulls himself back for whatever reason.
“They hadn’t figured it out. I haven’t either, yet. I hope I can. That would be nice.”
Hey, I’d be a bit hesitant if my coach benched me for a month, then restored my role, and then benched me again. Nate Robinson was not tentative—ever—in 2008-09. I’m still waiting for him to get comfortable driving to the rim, though it’s hard for me to complain when he’s shooting 51 percent (18-of-35) from three in Boston.
But what happens when the threes stop falling—and they will?
• Loscy has the cure for any lingering C’s-related depression.
That’s it for now. More later. Enjoy your Saturday, and I hope it’s not raining and windy where you are like it is here.
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