March 26--The guy who plays "Eastern Conference basketball" had five dunks Sunday night. Strangely enough, that was good news for the Thunder against the Miami Heat.
Kendrick Perkins, who now plays on a greyhound team but remains the brute he was in Boston, turned his aggression to offense as well as defense, kept catching passes for easy baskets, mostly from Kevin Durant, and the Thunder rolled 103-87 in a game that restored its reputation for quality play.
The Thunder got 10 dunks, only two on breakaways. The Boomers moved the ball with precision and found not just the open man, but even better. An open big man, close to the basket.
"If we're getting dunks, it's a function of good offensive play," said Nick Collison. "It's a good sign for our team."
This was a heck of a sign for a team that has played just so-so since the all-star break. But the Thunder played superbly Sunday night.
The Heat, defensive demons who like to double-team off screens, paid the price for such tactics. Durant, especially, but James Harden and Russell Westbrook, too, made Miami pay. The Thunder trio combined for 20 assists.
"Our bigs were doing a great job separating," Scotty Brooks said. "Taking big steps. Our bigs were open.
"We played as physical as we could possibly play."
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said the Thunder played not just aggressively, but with the "details of playing with force."
Serge Ibaka had 19 points and 10 rebounds. But Ibaka, you expect to get 19 points on occasion. You never plan on Perkins getting 16.
"He brought his game that we are familiar with," Spoelstra said. "It is Eastern Conference basketball. It wasn't just him. But to a man on that team, they got us on our heels on both ends of the court."
Perkins always is good for clogging the paint, and he was again Sunday, not allowing Dwyane Wade and LeBron James easy access to the basket. But Gran Torino also played with a mean streak on offense, setting hard screens, then heading for the basket with purpose.
"I always take pride in setting good picks to get Kevin open," Perk said. "He was just hitting me with the pass. I had it in my mind, set a good pick, and I'll get the ball. It's a good thing to know you will get the ball."
It wasn't just Durant passing to Perkins, though five of his eight baskets came off Durant feeds. But Westbrook fed Durant, Collison and Perkins for dunks. Perkins fed Ibaka. Ibaka fed Perkins.
I'll have to follow up on the origins of this nickname. Should be interesting
5 comments:
Perkins' value is hard to quantify, because he doesn't produce absolute numbers. Perkins' value is in the shadows. Gran Torino pushes Andrew Bynum three feet further from the basket than the Laker center likes to be. What difference does that make? Give the ball to Bynum four feet from the hoop, and he's an all-star. Give the ball to Bynum seven feet from the hoop, and he's just a guy. That's how basketball games are won and lost.
Victory over LA validates Perk deal
Berry Tramel
On the first Laker possession, 7-foot-something, 285-pound all-star Andrew Bynum bulled toward the basket and launched a shot.
Kendrick Perkins blocked it.
On the Lakers' second possession, Kobe Bryant drove the lane and tried to lay the ball in the basket. Perk blocked it again.
On the Lakers' third possession, Bynum backed in, then whirled for a turnaround jumper. Perkins stayed right on him, body to body. The ball bounced off.
Exactly one year ago, Thunder mastermind Sam Presti pulled off a blockbuster trade with one primary design.
Beat the Lakers.
Thursday night, the Thunder did just that, 100-85 in a game that launches your heroes into the All-Star break with an NBA-best record of 27-7.
go thunder
Perkins said he'll always be a "Celtic at heart," and you know what? I have no problem with that. I like it that Perk admits that people and a place were important to him. I think that speaks well of Perk as a person. I think in whatever organization we're in -- work, school, friendships, church, doesn't matter -- it's important to surround yourself with people with those kinds of values. It can only pay off.
I like to call Perkins "Gran Torino," for his Clint Eastwood persona in protecting the paint and doing his job. But in the macho world of professional sports, it's heartening to hear an athlete admit that a place, and people, meant much to him.
In a TNT interview with David Aldridge, Perkins said that Sunday, "I was calling people, asking them, if I cry, should I let it out or what. At the end of the day, it's just a bond I have with the city of Boston. Not only the whole organization, when you win a championship and grow from an 18-year-old boy to a 26-year-old man, it's just something that you can't cut with scissors and say it's not there no more."
popovich refused to bite, but he did give a tutorial on what makes Gran Torino so valuable.
"He knows his role," Pop said. "He's a tough, mean dude when you put him on the floor. He knows his business. And he demands from everybody else to do the same thing or he won't like it very much. He's got an edge. He's got a real edge to him."
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