Celtics youth has made serious strides this season, and as such this team is going to make a major request once the voting for All-Star reserves commences among Eastern Conference coaches.
Rajon Rondo [stats]’s merits have become especially apparent. Should Ray Allen once again slip in as a last-minute addition to join his “Big Three” mates Paul Pierce [stats] and Kevin Garnett, the Celtics [team stats] could match a feat last posted by Detroit in the 2006 game, when four Pistons (Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups and Ben Wallace) made the cut.
But the talk on Causeway Street exceeds even this. Kendrick Perkins [stats], who has arguably made strides on a par with Rondo, is also All-Star worthy. And that’s not just a parochial sentiment.
“Perkins is certainly deserving,” Nets president Rod Thorn said. “He’s become one of the best, if not the best, defensive one-on-one centers in the league.”
Only Perkins’ timing is bad.
Not so long ago the Eastern Conference was considered a wasteland for quality pivot men. Then Dwight Howard appeared, and won the pole position almost by default.
The Orlando Superman probably isn’t going to be challenged any time soon, but gone is the time when a player like Perkins can have a breakout year and count on an All-Star call-up.
The field has filled out so well this year, Cleveland’s Shaquille O’Neal isn’t even part of the center discussion. Shaq’s only shot at his 13th All-Star berth is if extreme sentimentality takes over in the voting ranks.
There’s simply too much else to choose from, starting with Thorn’s own young star. Brook Lopez is third among league centers with an 18.8 scoring average, while also averaging 9.8 boards and 2.06 blocks per game.
These would have been resounding numbers two years ago.
But double-double and near-double-double averages have become the norm, as evidenced by players like the Knicks’ undersized David Lee (18.9 points per game, 11.0 rebounds per game), Chicago’s Joakim Noah (10.3 ppg, 12.2 rpg), Atlanta’s Al Horford (13.7 ppg, 9.8 rpg) and Milwaukee’s Andrew Bogut (15.0 ppg, 9.7 rpg).
Brendan Haywood, a player absolutely no one is talking about, is putting together a career season with averages of 9.6 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.33 blocks. Toronto’s Andrea Bargnani, a center with very few inside skills, is fourth in the All-Star balloting with a 146,595 votes.
So as convincing as Perkins’ numbers (11.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.97 blocks per game and a .643 shooting percentage) may seem, his intangibles as a defender are still his greatest asset. And intangibles generally don’t translate into an All-Star weekend invitation.
But according to Thorn, Perkins does have one major advantage. He plays for one of the best teams in the land. On the other hand, Thorn took a look at his own team’s three-win season and didn’t hold out much hope for Lopez.
“He’s improved this year, and he’s going to end up as a 20-10 guy, which is pretty good,” Thorn said. “Very few can do that, but because of our record it’s going to be very difficult for anyone on our team to get recognition.
“Back when I worked in the league office, Matt Winick (then the league’s media relations director) and I counted (All-Star) votes, and the coaches almost always voted for players on winning teams. As far as stats go, Lopez should be on the team, but that’s probably not enough.
“If we had even won 10 games, I think (Lopez) would be a lock, but because we’ve only won three it’s a lot harder. There’s at least three other guys. David Lee is having a great year for the Knicks. Who puts up double-doubles like that guy? There’s Joakim Noah. I honestly don’t know who is going to make it.”
Darko taking out trash
No matter where he goes these days, Darko Milicic seems to be getting a lot of mileage out of trashing the NBA.
The 7-foot Serb, who was supposed to revolutionize the league as the second pick (by Detroit) of the 2003 draft, has announced he will return to Europe next season and gladly not look back.cw-2cw-2
Basically a Knick in uniform only (he sits near the end of Euro-friendly Mike D’Antoni’s rotation), Milicic is on his fourth team.cw0cw0
He failed to earn minutes on some great teams in Detroit, a not-so-great one in Memphis, a decent one in Orlando, and now the Knicks, who could use the help if Milicic was truly able to make a contribution.
Milicic has covered the spectrum in this league. But as he’ll tell anyone who will listen, halfway through his seventh season, no one has given him a chance.
Perhaps the most instructive number is his 17.0 career minutes average, which drops a little further each day, if the 8.9 minutes he’s averaging for D’Antoni is any indication.
But consider what Milicic told a Detroit reporter prior to a recent game against his old team when asked if he believed that the Pistons lied to him about his prospects.
“Yes they did,” he said. “They lie to everybody. It’s the NBA. The NBA, all around the league, same (thing). ‘Your chance is going to come’ (they say). All that kind of (garbage). (Forget) that. I’ve got enough of that kind of stuff, so I decided I’m going to Europe.
“I’ve got to be real. There is no team in the league that is going to give me the chance that I am looking for. My only chance is back in Europe. I’m going to do that. I want to be happy. I want to play.”
Milicic then gave what is probably the best indication of why he hasn’t made the grade in any of these places.
“The kind of player I am, I’m all-in or all-out,” he said. “I play with my heart. If I see things are not working well and I see people are lying to me, I’m all out. That’s it.”
And once the season ends, Milicic gets to quit again.
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