Although the Celtics’ short-term ambitions include winning the Atlantic Division, every realistic fan realizes that this is only because of the low quality of the other teams in the division. Fact is, the Celtics are rebuilding and don’t expect to compete for a title for at least a few years. In order to get to that point, the Celtics must first rebuild the bodies of their young talent to enable them to thrive in the tough and physical NBA. Toward that point, we present Exhibit A, Kendrick Perkins. Perkins came into the league last year weighing in at 310 pounds and was immediately put to work by the Celtics’ Strength and Conditioning Coaches, Bryan Doo and Walter Norton Jr. From the looks of him today, Perkins must only be allowed outside the gym during practices and games. At the start of training camp, Perkins was down to 275 pounds and, according to Norton Jr., lost “literally 50 pounds of fat from his body. He put some muscle on but he took 50 pounds off.”
If Perkins constitutes the “After” results of hard work, then Exhibit B, Al Jefferson, the first of the Celtics four draft picks, is most definitely in the “Before” stages. If you ask Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, Jefferson has never lifted a weight in his life. Any observers of the rookie would tend to agree; his arms are not much thicker than the guns being used to type these words. That is something Doo and Norton Jr. are trying to change.
“Al Jefferson doesn’t have to lose 50 pounds of fat,” Norton Jr. says. “He doesn’t have to reduce his total frame. In most cases we’re trying to expand it. He should look at the end of this year a hell of a lot more muscular, a lot more confident in terms of how his body moves.
“Everything he’s accomplished thus far has been because he’s so naturally talented. He was born with certain gifts that most people don’t have, so in his case, it’s almost more repetitive training, teaching him how to use his body correctly.”
Although the two players are less than two months apart in age (Perkins just turned 20; Jefferson will be 20 in January), the road they travel to get in basketball shape will be very different. For one thing, Perkins was always a hard worker, a trait that must be instilled in Jefferson if he is to succeed at the professional level. Norton Jr. believes that this work must not only extend to Jefferson when he is playing basketball or lifting weights, but to his home life as well.
“What we’re trying to do is develop habits, particularly, you look at Al, you’ve got to get him to eat breakfast everyday, you’ve got to get him to eat lunch, you’ve got to get him to eat enough so he can support, energy wise, the work he’s doing. In addition we got to get him a normal sleep pattern.”
It sounds exhausting when even the way you sleep is considered part of your work habits. One of the things that will help Jefferson is that Perkins, having gone through it all last year, is around to guide the rookie through it.
“Kendrick’s been great for Al in terms of saying `hey, fight through it, let’s go, this is going to make us better, together we’re going to do this,'” Doo says. “It’s kind of like they’re their own partners fighting through it together.”
The young Perkins should be a great role model for the even younger Jefferson. Both Doo and Norton Jr. marvel over the way Perkins has transformed his own body in a year’s time.
“He lost 50 pounds of fat,” Norton Jr. reiterates. “Humans don’t do that in a year unless they’re incredibly diligent, unless they’re remarkably hard working.” Adds Doo, “He’s probably one of the hardest workers we’ve seen in here.”
And if Perkins needs anyone to look up to (figuratively speaking), he does not have to search too hard, either. ”Paul Pierce is great for us to work with and makes our job very easy,” says Norton Jr. of the Celtics’ lone superstar. “He’s, in most cases, the guy who’s first in on an off day, the guy who wants to work out everyday before practice, the guy who wants to spend extra time on the treadmill.” Norton Jr. and Doo both believe that the fact that the team’s best player is also the hardest worker is no coincidence and will serve as a valuable lesson.
Another aspect of training the conditioning coaches stress is working out as a means to injury prevention. ”Someone with that much explosiveness has a real high chance of injury,” according to Doo. “What we’re trying to do is teach [Jefferson] how to control his movements and push off the right way instead of getting through and just pushing off any way to get somewhere, that way we can prevent that injury from happening.”
Of course there is a fundamental difference in the year that Perkins had last season and the one that Jefferson is currently experiencing: playing time. It was understood last season that Perkins would not play. Jefferson is a different story. Already the kid from Prentiss, Mississippi has been one of the first guys off the bench for the C’s and has not missed a single game. Perkins played a total of 35 minutes all of last season. So does the fact that Jefferson is always on call for the Celtics change the way they work him?
“It’s not going to change one bit,” Norton Jr. declared. “He’s a rookie. We’re not looking at this as an experiment that will last until he plays a little bit. This is an experiment that is going to last hopefully the next 14 or 15 years.”
An experiment that Doo says has the boss’ blessing. “We’re very fortunate that Doc is behind us 100%, saying, `if he can’t play 20 minutes, that’s fine, we need him to get in shape for the long haul.'”