ESPN - BROUSSARD ON WEEI: C'S LACK 'TOUGHNESS'

ESPN columnist Chris Broussard joined the Mut & Merloni show Monday afternoon to talk about the Celtics and topics of interest around the NBA.

The C's play the Knicks Monday night in New York. Broussard said despite the initial excitement over the addition of Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks aren't a threat to knock off one of the East's elite. And that was before the reported locker room discord that is swirling around the team during its recent struggles (five losses in the last seven games).

"They clearly have talent and should be dangerous," Broussard said. "They don't look that way right now. Even when they were looking good, I would never have picked them to win their first-round series over those top teams. But I did think they had maybe a puncher's chance and could make it interesting. I still will say they could make it interesting if they get it together, but right now they don't look like they're any major threat to beat any of these top teams."

The Celtics have their own problems, having lost four of their last seven games. Broussard speculated that much of the reason for the malaise falls on the trade of Kendrick Perkins, noting that Perkins and the struggling Rajon Rondo "were very tight." He also said the Celtics still have a hole to fill with Perkins off the roster, and Shaquille O'Neal's absence exposes it that much more.

"I didn't like [the trade] in the first place," Broussard said. "With this kind of mystery involving Shaq, I like it even less."

Added Broussard: "My biggest concern if I was a Celtics fan would be the lack of bulk and toughness that they now have without Kendrick Perkins. They only needed Perk for a few teams: Miami — that gave them a big advantage over the Heat — Orlando and the Lakers. You may be better matching up with Chicago without Perk. But if Shaquille O'Neal can't come back and give you really quality minutes, and significant minutes, then I think a huge advantage that the Celtics had over everyone in the league is gone."

Asked which team is the best in the East, Broussard said: "Boston, you'd have to give them their due respect. They've been great all year. I'm not going to hold this couple of weeks where they've struggled against them."

Added Broussard: "I think if Miami plays the right way, they can win the East. And I feel a lot more comfortable about picking them in the preseason. But for most of this year, I have felt like it was Boston that's the best team in the East. I like Chicago, but I still think at the end of the day it comes down to the Celtics and the Heat."


112288

Good point. They do lack it sans Perk, or at least the league perceives it to be that way driving semis through our lane as of late. Waiting on O'Neal.

I am supposed to believe this guy who lives to spout his pearly wisdom on ESPN, the home of the Miami Heat?

Sorry, anyone from that channel offers nothing worthwhile to me. I am tired of everyone making this trade the ruination of the Celtics. I am willing to wait it out and see what happens.

dbrown4 wrote:Good point. They do lack it sans Perk, or at least the league perceives it to be that way driving semis through our lane as of late. Waiting on O'Neal.

You could drive a semi through the lane between Broussard's ears.

bob

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The Celtics are allowing fewer points per game than before The Trade, and half the team hasn't really learned the defense yet. As for the media, it's been obvious to me for 60 years that the media (at least the media other than Boston's) judges the Celtics based on the way they judge all the other teams. They just don't get what makes the Celtics tick. Never have. Never will. That's why they're so frequently wrong when they try to make predictions involving the Celtics.

Sam

Another case of a talking head spouting off about that which he does not know.

They get paid to talk and fill air time, so they've got to put some kind of hot topic out there. Real or assumed.

I was just commenting on another thread that opponent's announcers are pointing out that they think our defense is as good as before the roster changes or in the case of Walt Frazier, improved.

No-one with any real insight has mentioned anything about us turning into a bunch of wimps. Perhaps Broussard would like to discuss this with KG, that big sissy power forward we have. I'm sure the response would be unprintable.

It is true that, since the trade, the Celtics haven't faced either of the centers people seem frightened of—Howard and Bynum. I'd guess some of these media nitwits still have those two in mind in passing off what they think WILL be a Celtics vulnerability for what is actually transpiring.

I'd have to say that the Celtics proved to me, in the second half of the Knicks game, that their swarming defense is as good as ever—and maybe even better. They'll just have to duplicate that effort more continuously in the playoffs. As to what will happen vs. Howard and/or Bynum (if they, indeed, face either of them in playoffs), we'll just have to wait and see which Celtics are available and what defensive schemes the Celtics devise to deal with them.

In the meantime, many of these media bozos will undoubtedly continue to spew proof that their strong suit is terminal rectosis.

Sam