Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

Comparing Perk to Varejao, it's important to note that Dwight Howard has tremendous difficulty with Perk but flat out destroys Andy. You trade Andy for Perk straight up and the 09 Cavs advance to the Finals IMO

Yep I came in here actually to specifically add that Perkins can guard the true center probably better than Andy can.

[Moses Shuttlesworth]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

When his team made it to the championship and all bball fan eyes were on him... that's how it works. With that said, yes, tall guys (tall for NBA) that have proven worthy of starting are generally paid pretty well. I don't see much wrong with what he got (other than he still hasn't played for them as far as I know... how hurt is he?) and also don't see much wrong with Boston moving him.

Maybe because he's the best interior post defender in the league?

[BATMON]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

Have u dudes seen how Perk eliminates the opposing Centers when he was w. Boston?

His job was to shut down centers and he did it well. He didnt have to score or get 15 rebounds a game. A valuable role player on a team that was stright 1 thru 4.

[OSUFan_88]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

Andy and Perk are two totally different defenders.

Perk is probably the best interior post defender in the NBA whereas Andy is probably the best rotating big in the NBA.

Both are excellent defenders. Just vastly different.

[The 24th Letter]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

I'd actually go the other way (assuming both are 100% of course)... not destroys but I think Varejao could play a bigger role than Perkins considering all else is created equal.

Nothing concrete to pin the thoughts on though. I think he's more of an offensive threat while still good on defense and rebounding (Perkins is a better one on one defender, good rebounder and lesser factor on offense). I think we have to see both of them required to do more over a longer period of time to really say though.

I agree with this...I would like see how they would fair as well

Perks gritty physical play vs Andys scrappy play....

both useful in different situations

[jeebs9]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

Comparing Perk to Varejao, it's important to note that Dwight Howard has tremendous difficulty with Perk but flat out destroys Andy. You trade Andy for Perk straight up and the 09 Cavs advance to the Finals IMO

Shaking my head...

[wwharton]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

Comparing Perk to Varejao, it's important to note that Dwight Howard has tremendous difficulty with Perk but flat out destroys Andy. You trade Andy for Perk straight up and the 09 Cavs advance to the Finals IMO

I think I mentioned earlier, Howard destroys most centers in the NBA so his play against Varejao isn't a big knock on Varejao imo. It is an important "plus" for Perkins, but how does Varejao's style fair against all the other centers in the league? It's not like he's a bad defender. Then he gets edge in hustle and on the offensive end. On the Celtics, it seems Perkins weaknesses were masked by the talents around him... it was the perfect situation for him (as we all know). The same may have been true for Varejao with Lebron in Cleveland.

Based on the little that we know of them outside of those comfortable situations at this point, I'd take Varejao... you guys can have Perk against the Magic. I'm looking for the guy that can contribute in many ways against all the teams on the schedule.

Maybe because he's the best interior post defender in the league?

I have absolutely no idea how this is a response to my post you quoted... maybe it was more meant for the post I responded to. I'll try to respond as if it's related and say, how many people would think he's "the best in the league" if the Celtics weren't good enough to get out of the first round? We're not going to pretend that the other 4 starters and Doc's coaching the defense didn't have a MUCH larger role in the team's success than Perk's defense (I really hope not), so who would even know he was a good defender without the team success? I think he's very good... maybe among the best in the league. But I'm also very open to the possibility (probability imo) that there are others we just haven't watched close enough that could do as good a job as him in that situation.

And the main point of my post that you replied to is that many players in all sports get overrated when their team has great success through the playoffs/championships. That's why Ariza tried to get out and cash in.

Andy and Perk are two totally different defenders.

Perk is probably the best interior post defender in the NBA whereas Andy is probably the best rotating big in the NBA.

Both are excellent defenders. Just vastly different.

Yep I agree

[Moses Shuttlesworth]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

I'll try to respond as if it's related and say, how many people would think he's "the best in the league" if the Celtics weren't good enough to get out of the first round? We're not going to pretend that the other 4 starters and Doc's coaching the defense didn't have a MUCH larger role in the team's success than Perk's defense (I really hope not), so who would even know he was a good defender without the team success?

Dwight Howard would beg to differ.

Perk wasn't regarded as a top post-interior defender in the beginning stages of the big 3, (in 08 their defense was at it's peak) so I don't see how that can hold true.

[wwharton]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

Dwight Howard would beg to differ.

Perk wasn't regarded as a top post-interior defender in the beginning stages of the big 3, (in 08 their defense was at it's peak) so I don't see how that can hold true.

Is there a reason that everyone pointing to him being the best post defender in the league only uses Dwight Howard as their example? More specifically, I'm sure they're all just talking about a specific playoff series against Dwight Howard too. This alone proves my point... if the Celtics never played Orlando in the playoffs who would be talking about Perkins like this?

On to Howard... an incredible player and the best center in the league right now, but everyone knows his dominance lies in his athletic ability MUCH more than actual basketball skills. A smart defensive coach (Doc is) would realize that the success of the Magic offense is based on ball movement generated by Dwight getting double teamed and being able to put so many shooters on the floor around him. If you have a guy that can come close to Dwight in height and weight, you don't double team him... force him to make some kind of move to beat you (which is what double teams are geared to stop). Perkins deserves credit for the job he did but it's more difficult to shut down a "skilled" big man than a physically dominant big man if the defender in question is strong enough. Strong enough does not equal "best post defender in the league". And I'm not selling Perkins short by saying he's just a big body... he's better than that, but he's not automatically the best in the league just bc he played on a great defensive team with a defensive minded coach, and excelled in a situation better suited for his skills in the spotlight of the playoffs.

Your last point also pretty much proves my point. In the beginning stages of the big 3, Perkins didn't have this specific role. It's not just his role, it's a defensive gameplan in which this is his personal role. For example, if Garnett, Pierce and Rondo weren't all great at their roles then he'd be asked to rotate or help more which I don't think he's very good at. We even look at Ray Allen and say he's a better defender now. Well is he? Or is it just easier for him to focus on his responsibilities in this defense with the scheme and players around him?

I'm willing to concede that Perkins is one of the better defensive centers (and deserves the contract he just got) but even with that said, I would LOVE for another example of his dominance besides Dwight Howard... in a series where I could've given you the defensive strategy before the tip of game 1.

[wwharton]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

So I'm bored, and wanted to put some stats out there to look at while we're constantly reminded of how great of a post defender Perkins is. First I started with the NBA Finals. I won't list Bynum's numbers since he was hurt and played limited minutes, but we also remember the talk of how Gasol should be MVP instead of Kobe so surely the best one on one post defender would've held him down... right? Here are Gasol's points/rebounds each game:

Game 1- 23/14
Game 2- 25/8
Game 3- 13/10
Game 4- 21/6
Game 5- 12/12
Game 6- 17/13
Game 7- 19/18

Perkins was hurt I believe in game 6 and sat out game 7... numbers seem pretty consistent across all games.

I also decided to go back to the infamous series against the Magic... here I'm going to start with Perkins rebounds/minutes played/fouls in each game:

Game 1- 2/26/5
Game 2- 5/15/6
Game 3- 6/23/5
Game 4- 4/27/3
Game 5- 4/16/3
Game 6- 7/33/3

This tells me that a)Perkins wasn't exactly a rebounding force, b)only played enough in one game (game 6) to be given anywhere close to the amount of credit he's getting for guarding Howard, and c)at least in the first 3 games, either tried to put Howard on the line or couldn't stop him from getting there. Now here are Dwight's stats (pts/rbds, ftm/fta):

Game 1- 13/12, 7/12
Game 2- 30/8, 12/17
Game 3- 7/7, 1/4
Game 4- 32/16, 6/14
Game 5- 21/10, 7/12
Game 6- 28/12, 6/12

I don't remember what happened in Game 3 but that seems clearly the exception on this list (and Perkins only played 23 mins in that game). It doesn't appear Howard had any trouble scoring points, getting rebounds or getting to the foul line.

Basically, the Celtics defensive strategy worked... and Perkins played his role in that. But he did not shut down Dwight Howard... if we go by stats I couldn't even say he slowed him down. He just did his job, and that job included only playing about 23 minutes a game.

[The 24th Letter]

Good post man...

LOL @ this pic

[wwharton]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

Good post man...

LOL @ this pic

Thanks... and that is pretty funny.

Does anyone know what the deal is with Perkins playing right now? I was thinking he was milking the injury bc he was sulking but now that he's got this new contract and has a quote out that makes it seem as if he's ready to move on... why is he still not playing? Is he more hurt than anyone knew? They can't be saving him for the playoffs since he needs to at least try to get some chemistry with his new team, right?

[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

I heard a few days ago that he would be out the next few weeks with that knee injury.

[Beantown]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

I think the day after the trade it was reported he would be out at least 2-3 weeks.

[ex carrabba fan]

Re: Kendrick Perkins Traded to OKC

Yeah initially they thought it was just a bone bruise... but now they're thinking he strained his MCL.

He should just take his time, a handful of games trying to build chemistry isn't worth it if it doesn't heal completely or right for the playoffs.