If last night's game was played last year, Kendrick Perkins would have finished with about 15 points instead of 25. The reason, as mentioned once in the broadcast, is that he's getting away from some bad habits. Most notably, he's not bringing the ball down between his knees every time.
Yes, he still goes into a deep crouch… which is usually followed by a dunk attempt. But he's not trying to dunk EVERYTHING anymore. I can think of probably 2 or 3 plays last night where Ray Allen or Rajon Rondo drove, found Perk, and he quickly put it up off the board for 2. Last year, he would have tried to dunk all of those. He might have made one… but history tells us he more likely would have been stripped, blocked, or fouled before he could make the basket.
Perk's efforts since joining the Celtics his rookie year are well documented. He's gone from pudgy to muscular. He's gone from slow to quick with the ball. He is making good passes out of the post. He's setting better picks (although he still moves a little too much). Today's piece on Perk in the Globe is a nice look at how hard Perk works.
I love Kendrick Perkins. His role on this team is well-defined. Be a beast along side KG and defend the basket at all costs. On offense, set picks, get guys open, and crash the boards. He's doing all that better than he ever has. And he's even calmed down on the techs, which is nice. I think we're going to be seeing a lot more double-doubles out of Perk as the season moves on.
On the seventh day of Christmas, The Celtics gave to me…
7 C's in double figures
A 6 year deal for Rajon Rondo
Fiiiiiive minutes for Scaaaaaaaaal…….
4 monster blocks from Perk
3 point bombs from Ray and Eddie
2 straight Finals losses by the Lakers
and a ring for Tony Allen’s pinky!
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