Your Morning Dump... Where Perk played a great point-center

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here…
highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as
satisfying as a good morning dump.

Ray Allen had 25 points and was on fire from 3-point range. Glen
Davis stepped in for the suspended Kevin Garnett and had 23 points and
eight rebounds.

But if you ask Doc
Rivers about the identity of the best player in Tuesday’s
106-77 win over the Heat in Game 2, the Celtics [team
stats] coach would point to Kendrick
Perkins [stats].

Perkins filled the stat sheet, with 13 points, nine rebounds, four
assists and two blocks. But his impact couldn’t be reflected solely in
the box score.

“I thought his passing is what got everybody shots,” Rivers said of
Perkins after yesterday’s practice. “I thought most of (Big) Baby’s
layups came off of a Perk pass, a couple of the Ray shots . . . He
played a great floor game. He was our point-center (Tuesday). He was
terrific.”

Rivers again credited Perkins with finding Michael Finley for an open
3-pointer early in the second quarter. Finley’s shot began a critical
21-0 Celtics run that was highlighted by sharp ball movement.“

Doc kept saying we just had to keep making the extra pass,” Perkins
said. “Baby was open a lot on the duck-ins, so I kept hitting him. If he
wasn’t open, then the guards from (3-point range) were open.

“The thing about the Heat is they’re a great help team, but I don’t
think they make the second effort to help. They’re going to help on the
first pass, but it’s the next pass that the guy is going to be open.”

Herald:
Celtics Perk up

When Perk is playing well, you can usually forget it if you're the other team.

You know, we keep talking about what a few extra days of rest helps the older players on the team… but we haven't really gotten into how much the 2 days off will help Perk and his knee. The best thing for tendinitis is rest. A couple of days off before playing in a game could be a big help to Perk.

Miami doesn't have much it can throw at Perkins. If he takes advantage of his matchup, forces double teams, and finds open guys out of that… then Miami won't be coming back to Boston until the winter.

On Page 2: What drives Ray Allen

The young ballplayer made his way over the to gym with his father and
brother, the same trip they had taken every weekend for nearly a year.
They arrived before 10 a.m. to secure a spot on the sign-up sheet. It
was ideal to face the first two or three teams — guys got tired out by
the sixth or seventh game — and this was the best pick up basketball
around.

At 6-foot-1, the youngster looked physically ready to compete. But at
only 12 years old, he was a year shy of the age limit. The staff had
previously let him in under his father’s guidance. But on this
particular day, there was a new person on the duty who wasn’t budging.
In spite of the fact that his father and several other men in the gym
argued for his admittance, he was denied access.

It was the first time Ray
Allen was told he couldn’t play
basketball — and, as he sat outside on the curb waiting in
frustration for the games to end, he promised himself it would be the
last.

“I always remember that, people trying to keep me out of the gym,” Allen
said. “That made me want to fight to be in the gym because I knew, even
at that age, people believed in me. They wanted me to play and wanted
me to be good.”

Jess Camerato/WEEI: Ray Allen won't be denied

That's just the beginning of Jess Camerato's story about Ray Allen and what drives him. The story of being denied as a 12 year old drives him today as he approaches life as a 35 year old free agent.

Worth checking out.

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Your Morning Dump… Where Perk played a great point-center

Alan Draper

Alan Draper

Alan Draper