Brotherly love
Al Jefferson doesn’t like vacation because he says he spends too much money. He’s not particularly happy about the season being over, either.
“The only good thing about this season being over is counting down the days until training camp,” said Jefferson. “Nobody wants to go home this time of year. We want to make the playoffs.”
“I can speak for the whole team that we’re really excited about next season. We know we deserve to be in the playoffs.”
Jefferson will be a key cog if the Celtics make a playoff run next season. But many other parts of the Celtics’ engine are likely to change this offseason. That doesn’t worry the emerging frontcourt star.
“Of course I’ m going to watch [the NBA lottery] because everybody watches it,” said Jefferson. “It’s not going to be something I’m waiting to see. I feel like Danny and them will do a good job with whatever they decide to do. I’m going to let them do their job. I feel real good about this team if we don’t make any changes.”
“He’s like a big brother to me,” said Jefferson. “Sometimes you have a disagreement — he yelled at me today — but we understand each other. He’s like my quarterback on defense. There’s sometimes that I’ll just be blank, don’t know where to go, and I can hear his voice, ‘Al, Al.’”
“Sometimes?” Perkins chimed in. “All the time.”
“That helps me,” said Jefferson. “I feel like my defense is so much better when he’s on the court with me.”
Jefferson said Perkins taught him an important lesson this year.
“[I learned that] a shot blocker gets dunked on,” said Jefferson. “I’ve seen Perk block a lot of shots. I’ve seen Perk block more shots than he’s gotten dunked on. And when he does get dunked on I pick at him. But he’s always told me that good shot blockers get dunked on, and I’ve experienced that since I’ve become a good shot blocker. That’s one of the lessons he taught me. When you get dunked on, keep going out there.”
That’s a wrap from the Garden this season, but the real fun is just starting for the Celtics. Check back often for updates throughout the offseason.
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