Anyone else think Perks starting job is in jeopardy?

[SLCceltic]

O'Bryant is so much longer and light years ahead of Perk atheletically
He looked great with the 1st unit
Perk, in the past, was at his best when starting; Im not sure if that is still the case
but

O'Bryant will most likely take over if he continues what he's been doing.

[MVP16]

Not even close. O'Bryant hasn't even beat out Big Baby for the backup spot, much less Perk for the starting spot.

[BillessuR6]

Dear God. Perk is probably the most underrated player in the NBA. I would understand if a non-celtics fan would say something like this but coming from someone who probably follows this team closely it is just mind-boggling...

[Dave_From_NB]

POB had a good start while Perkins was recovering from injury and while Davis was, well, I don't know what Davis was doing the first few pre-season games, but thankfully he stopped doing it. I'm afraid at this point POB is going to be behind Davis at Center, and I really hate Davis at Center.

In spite of length and athleticism, POB is a long way from replacing Perk in the starting lineup IMO.

[humblebum]

Perk is still our best and most important defensive player, as good defensive centers usually are. People are overemphasizing offense and fluidity here. Perk might not be pretty but his defense is downright filthy and quite effective.

Off the bench, I much prefer pairings of Powe-POB and Davis-POB to the overutilized frontcourt of Powe-Davis. I think it serves Leon's, Glen's, as well as the teams best interests to play true 5's more often.

[cloverleaf]

This board's loving its bench! POB about to replace Perk, Pruitt better than Rondo.

How about using Pierce as a sixth man this year? It would give some leadership and scoring to that second unit, how much harm could a young Bill Walker do starting with four veterans? and might prolong his career if it helps to keep his minutes down. Now that I think of it, the same goes for KG and RA. Maybe Big Baby and TA should take those last two starter spots. We'd have the best bench ever!

[campybatman]

No, not unless he'll be out for the season.

[bballcool34]

No- as already mentioned, Perk is way too important defensively to have him come off the bench. He's not our best defensive player as some have mentioned- that would be Garnett- but his presence is partly what allows Garnett to roam, so in that sense, he's integral. Aside from the power forward position, statistically, we defend the center position the best, and that's largely due to Perkins.

Offensively- I've never found him to be anything special, but last year, especially towards the end, he started knocking down the baby hook with consistency.

[Bad-Thoma]

Eghads man!! First Pruitt>Rondo and now this? The lack of respect Perk gets from some of this board is mind-boggling to me. Sure, if you just check the box score Perk doesn't look all that great, or if you just watch sportscenter's top 10 you won't see him there, but I guarantee you the bigs around the NBA know who the hell he is. I like what I've seen from O'B, he could (just could mind you) be a real steal, but Perk is a defensive beast on a team that just won a championship... because of defense.

[JMillott]

I figured we would start to hear this type of talk sooner or later because Perk isn't a sexy player, but its still nonsensical and laughable because Perk is a down right dream mm match next to KG. I do actually really like what we've seen from O'Bryant as a better match next to Powe then big baby and an escape from our overblown love of smallball from the past few years.

[Dogen]

PRESEASON!

[Ed Pinkney]

Unless he starts to show some consistency, I personally think Perkins starting job will always be under threat from a more talented player. Not necessarily from O'Bryant but he does have the natural size, athleticism and ability to be a better player than Perkins down the track. Any young player with some ability is going to look better playing with KG, Paul and Ray so you can't read too much into that. Put Perkins or O'Bryant on a young bottom of the league team and see what happens.

It is preseason as people have stated though so lets not go crazy. Perkins is frustrating though, mainly due to the handful of games a season where he looks like a dominant centre, getting close to 20/20 games, blocking 5 or 6 shots etc. But in the past as he often only plays 20 mins because of foul trouble, gets stripped or blocked around the basket because he is needs to bring the ball right down to try and dunk it, only gets five points and four rebounds etc etc, I think he could be expendable if a better player comes along.

That being said, he is the starting centre and important part of a championship team so that should not be forgotten.

[JMillott]

I have to ask if people are just plain clueless about Perkins? I mean we're talking about the same player here right guys? The guy who we just won a title with as a 23 year old starting center and who was perhaps the second or third most important piece of the best defense in the NBA last year and who showed tremendous improvements offensively, this is the guy we're talking about right?

The guy whose turnovers dropped like a rock after the allstar break, who shot 65% and who was really just starting to figure it out? This can't be the guy some of you are talking about right? The one who has shown flashes that he could become far more then just an enforcer with some breakout performances against some highly reguarded centers in big moments for this team?

[canman1971]

Click below to see what I think of this:

http://dorkon.com/OnA/booooo.mp3

[mrautobahn]

This makes it two very dumb threads in 1 day... is that a record?

I seriously don't know why some folks seem to think that 2 young players who were starters on a championship team are all of a sudden replaceable by bench players..

[sully00]

Absolutely not a record.

I thought Perk came back with a vengance and POB gratiously decided to have a couple of subpar games.

He is not a great offensive player or athletic freak at the same time the guy is perhaps the best low post defender in the NBA. He takes on everyone from SFs to Shaq and does it about as well as anyone in the game. This was the best defensive team in the league and maybe in sometime because of the tandem of Perk and KG.

POB has the talent to beat out Perk but it isn't going to happen this season or likely ever because it takes more than just talent to win.

The one real positive of Miles leaving is that it may well be a sign that they believe in Leon as the big 3. If that is the case then there will be plenty of mins for Powe, Baby, and POB. In the end Haslem, Murphy, Lee, and Horford are starting centers in the east going into the season.

[Tenbomber]

O'Bryant will most likely take over if he continues what he's been doing.

I don't see that happening anytime soon...not on a veteran club who just won a championship... you just dont mess with success!

What I do see is that POB is improving over his past performances with Golden State!....I hope his development continues but there is still lots of room for improvement IMO....

I think he will be a very important addition to this team's future success if he can just contribute in a reserve role....I'm also thinking that Doc will make him earn his minutes!....whatever happens, happens...But POB will have to earn it!

[AlCelticFan]

Yes POB looks nice offensively, but defensively he just ain't the same as Perk. Perk compliments KG way better. I like POB for certain though, and wonder what he can develop into.

[DieselCeltic]

This discussion isn't that bad after all. At least we have confidence in our bench guys. The problem with Perk is, one night he can have double double, the next night he can foul out, with 5 points and 1 rebound. That's why players with consistency get PAID a lot more. Look @ Kobe, LeBron, KG, Duncan all of these all-stars. They get PAID to get the job done in each game - and most of the nights they do.

I'm not a HUGE fan of Perk. I like his passing, his foot work has improved tremendously thanks to our coaching staff and probably KG.

One thing for sure I can't stand about the guy is his interviews. I mean, use proper grammar not that ghetto BS you hear on the streets.

[lojowo]

Clifford Ray must be the world'a best coach.

He turned a guy who couldn't get off the bench for a non playoff team who was dying for a center to an starter of a NBA champion in one off season.

I like O'Bryant's potential, he did look good with the first unit in pre-season, but he has alot to learn and maybe one day he'll be a 30 plus minute ( which you hope to get from your center, even if Perkins didnt do it last year ) a ball game center, but currently if we get 18-24 solid NBA center minutes out of him a night, that would be a quantum leap in his play from last year.

O'Braynt still needs to deny the spot on the block better because you cant block every shot. Patrick needs to finish stronger around the hole and not settle for flip shots.