While we are lamenting the loss of Kendrick Perkins in Game 7, ESPN.com's John Hollinger says there's a silver lining to Perkins knee injury:
However, if Boston's bigs can avoid the whistles early, we're
unlikely to find ourselves discussing Perkins' absence as much of a
factor. As important as he's been to Boston's suffocating defense the
past three seasons and as crucial as he was in the conference finals win
over Orlando in particular, he hasn't had as much of an impact in this
series, and Bynum's knee injury renders Perkins' biggest strength a
nonfactor.
As a result, the Celtics might find themselves
better off in his absence than they were in his presence. No other
Celtic offers Perkins' physical presence, but between the shooting and
Gasol-stopping of Wallace, the production of Davis, and the tantalizing
possibility of wrong-footing L.A. by unleashing Tony Allen on Kobe and
playing small, Boston has landed in a peculiar one-game scenario in
which it might be better off without Perkins than with him.
This entire theory hinges on Rasheed Wallace's ability to stay out of foul trouble. Or… how tight will the referees be calling this game.
