Yardbarker: Kendrick Perkins

Celtics Look to Keep Winless Nets Winless

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:36:00 -0500

Boston Celtics (6-1) at New Jersey Nets (0-6) Saturday, November 7 7:30 PM ET Game #8 Away Game #4 TV: CSN HD, YES HD, LP 751, 752 Izod Center Referees: Mark Wunderlich, Joe Forte, Eli Roe The Nets are traditional rivals of the Celtics as we think back to the 2002 Eastern Conference Finals where the Nets defeated the Celtics in a hotly contested 6 game series. The Nets have fallen on hard times and this season are just marking time until th...

Comments from the Other Side - Suns 11/6

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:38:00 -0500

These comments are definitely more fun to gather when the Celtics are playing well and especially when they win. Notice in the middle that one poster says that the Suns would win by 7 and that he has a source. There were a lot of questionable calls in this game. Makes you wonder. Also wondering where the Celtics' defense went to. This will be a great test for the Suns, I know they'll show up motivated to play against a potentially NBA Finals team, we'll know where we stan...

Tim Donaghy Out of Jail and Free to Peddle BS

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:26:12 -0500

Tim Donaghy, aka The Gambling Ref, is out of jail after serving nearly 15 months for conspiracy to engage in wire fraud and transmitting betting information through interstate commerce in the tips-for-payoffs scheme. Donaghy plans to live near Sarasota, Florida and is looking to get into sales or marketing. And he still needs a publisher [...] Related posts:Video: Kendrick Perkins Slams Jason Maxiell I gotta jump and bump The Hoop Doctors for hooking...Video: Shaq Dribbles Through Dwight Ho...

Rondo has to cash the check Perk's mouth wrote

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 11:13:00 -0500

Chris Paul is pretty much regarded as the best point guard in the league. Rajon Rondo, however, doesn't seem to be impressed. At least... if you believe SI's Chris Mannix

Kendrick Perkins just told me that Rondo said "Chris Paul has the stats that he has because he has the ball in his hands all game." Yikes

Whoa... since when is Kendrick Perkins the "mouth off to the reporter" guy? And we're tweaking one of the best players in the league? HornetsHype sums it up nicely:

This is terrifyingly like poking a dragon with a stick. OK, the Hornets look like a massive work in progress still, while the Celtics already seem to be clicking the best out of the potential title contenders in these early days of the season. So it’s not like we’re expecting a huge victory Sunday, or anything. But the fact remains that you don’t poke a dragon with a stick. It breathes motherfreakin’ fire. It’s not safe. I’m not saying the Hornets are going to come out and win this game, bulletin board material or not. I’m just saying if they do, the Celtics will know who is to blame

What else can I say but... bingo.

The Celtics defense is good. Damn good. But you don't need to give one of the best any added motivation.

But then again... it's gonna set up one hell of a battle between Rondo and Paul. We might have one of those "neither guy can stop the other" type battles brewing... which will at least make for an exciting game.

Oh, and Chris Mannix? I'd tread lightly the next time you come across Kendrick Perkins... unless you're absolutely sure he was cool with you tweeting that. Yeah, maybe Perk needs a refresher on what "off the record" means... but that sounds so far out of Perk's character, I find it hard to believe he was telling you that in a "go ahead and print it" kind of way.

Perk Nails Ray With Elbow

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 14:35:19 -0500

Via Jess Camerato at WEEI.com:

Ray Allen left Celtics practice on Saturday after getting unintentionally elbowed above the left eye and knocked to the ground by Kendrick Perkins. Allen received stitches above his left eye.

“The sad thing is it was a skeleton offense. There was no defense,” said Doc Rivers. “We run a lot of hand-off stuff as you know and it didn’t go well. It was a hand-off with Perk and Perk had his elbow up while he was supposed to be handing it off to Ray. And those are the ones that hurt because you don’t expect those cuts to come at that time.”

C'mon Perk, save the elbows for Varejao on Tuesday night.

Perk's influences: KG... Eddy Curry... Kwame Brown. Wait, WHAT???

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:52:52 -0500

Celtics.com recently put up their conversation with Kendrick Perkins... and one of the first questions is "who were some of the guys who were big influences in getting you to the NBA?"

His answer is absolutely priceless. He drops KG's name immediately... which is understandable. Then he drops this gem:

"Believe it or not... Eddy Curry, Kwame Brown. I seen those guys getting drafted and I played against those guys... so, you know I seen guys like Tyson Chandler being drafted... so I was like 'if they can do it, why not me?' so that was kinda like motivation."

Ha... I love it. "Yeah... I saw those scrubs getting drafted and I thought 'THOSE guys are getting paid? Shoooooot... I gotta get mine!' "

Let me tell ya... I could listen to Perk talk all day. The drawl... the deliberate delivery... the lack of B.S. and a "yeah, I said it" kind of attitude behind everything he says. Pure awesome.

One other tidbit: He came into the league at 323 pounds. He's down to 270. Damn, Perk. You should give Sweetney some tips.

Sorry... couldn't resist one more shot.

Comments from the Other Side - Cavs 10/21

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:01:00 -0500

Boston may not play the key guys tonight. BummerI was hoping they would so we could get a feel of where the Cavs stand before the season starts.. I had a feeling they would do something like that......I mean they did just lose to the Knicks last nighttoo. Who cares though. They can run but they can't hide Who cares who's starting for Bostonlet the starters see what kind of destruction they are in for Tuesday Pierce is a Chucker! Kendrick Perkins is a big man...and...

NBA Changes Its Traveling Rule... Sort Of

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:04:30 -0500

Via ESPN.com:

NBA players will be able to take two steps before they have to stop, pass or shoot this season.

The NBA has put into writing a rule allowing players on the move to gather the ball, after driving or catching it, and then take two steps. Throughout NBA history, the rulebook said players could take one step.

The new rule reads, in part: "A player who receives the ball while he is progressing or upon completion of a dribble, may take two steps in coming to a stop, passing or shooting the ball."

It is believed to be the first time any league, at any level anywhere in the world, has explicitly allowed two steps.

In March, NBA vice president of referee operations Joe Borgia told TrueHoop's Henry Abbott that referees had long been instructed to ignore the rulebook on this point and allow two steps.

So what does this mean? I don't have a clue. I'm guessing traveling will still be a subjective call largely influenced by the caliber of player with the ball. In other words, if LeBron James and Lester Hudson make the same questionable move, Hudson gets whistled for a violation while James is celebrated for a fantastic move.

Speaking of rules, NBA.com has a cool video rulebook feature which gives examples of every foul and infraction. There are four examples of illegal screens, none of which show Kendrick Perkins. Go figure...

Since it's a dry news day, let's celebrate the weekend with some pictures of cheerleaders from our favorite Russian hoop team - Red Army (courtesy of Uncoached).

Kendrick Perkins: What I Did This Summer...and More

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:12:42 -0500

Kendrick Perkins will begin his 7th NBA season in a few weeks. He is, without a doubt, a bona fide veteran. In a few more weeks, he will be all of 25 years young, and a recently married man. We have watched him grow up, literally, on the Celtics. We have also watched his game grow up on the court. Little did we know, but the soft spoken big man with the permanent snarl on court could actually smile. We saw the wedding pictures to prove it. He is coming off a career year in most cate...

Working out some final details

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:20:20 -0500

Opening night is a couple of weeks away... and the starting unit is pretty much comfortable with each other. Sure, there are some tweaks to the way things have been done in the past (like Kendrick Perkins getting some more touches), but overall... these guys don't need much more game time. Meanwhile, there are still some second unit questions... so Doc's giving the starters a good amount of time off the rest of the preseason.

"We change things with the starters, too, so everything is not exactly the same," the coach said following yesterday's two-hour workout. "There are tweaks in everything you do. They have to get the timing of that right and have to get back to the execution of that. That's what they're trying to focus on now.

"For the new guys, they are trying to figure out all the stuff you're running, plus their roles. Then they are trying to impress you. So they have a lot of stuff going on."

Welcome to preseason basketball. Some of these combinations should be interesting. And we don't mind the extra pine time for the starters.

One starter who will enjoy whatever time off he'll get is Paul Pierce, who turns 32 today. Jessica Camerato has an excellent piece on Pierce today... showing how he's staying young. Basically, he taking better care of himself. Just listen to what workout freak Ray Allen is saying about Paul.

“Just yesterday in the weight room I told him he was starting to look skinny,” Allen said. “You know, Paul has always had like a heavy look, a heavy body. Now you see in his legs he’s slimming down, his upper body is slimming down. I think it’s the natural evolution when you get into your 30s and your metabolism starts to slow down and you start thinking about eating better, getting more sleep, and then your body starts to show it. And then as for us, this schedule is so demanding you really have no choice, your body will tell you you need more rest.”

Steve Bulpett took the opportunity to ask Paul and Doc about his contract, which Pierce COULD opt out of... if he's crazy and decides to pass on more than $20 mil.

“Yeah, I think he’ll take the money,” Rivers said with a laugh.

The only realistic issue would be if the situation here changes and Pierce is lured by a long-term deal that allows him to recoup anything lost next year down the line. Either that or a sudden loss of sense.

“I might get hit in the head,” Pierce said. “You never know.

“I don’t know yet,” he continued. “Maybe I might leave my options open. Hey, what if they trade Kevin (Garnett) and Ray (Allen) and Rasheed (Wallace) away? What if they trade everybody? You want me to be here on a 15-win team? I already did that.”

Pierce stopped laughing in time to add, “Truthfully, I’ll evaluate everything at the end of the year. I’ll talk to Danny (Ainge, general manager). But, you know, I’ve always said I want to end my career as a Celtic.”

I'd be shocked if Pierce goes somewhere else to finish his career. That would be a sad day.

Tomorrow, I take off for Vegas for Blogs with Balls 2.0... where I will take part in a panel on blogger access (and our lack thereof) to pro sports franchises. If you're going to be in the area... or if you just really want to go, check out the website for details. ESPN has knocked the ticket price down to $100... there will be a big afterparty at the ESPN Zone, and a big charity poker tournament to cap the event off.

Herald: KG jumps at invite to wing it | Globe: Garnett expecting to take wing | Daniels put in his time | Middletown (CT) press: Return of a champion | Enterprise: Pierce feeling fit at 32

The blogger NBA previews continue. Here's the full list of the Southwest Division previews.

Dallas Mavericks

Mavs Moneyball | The Two Man Game | NBA Mate

Houston Rockets

The Dream Shake | Ballerblogger

Memphis Grizzlies

3 Shades of Blue

New Orleans Hornets

At The Hive | Hornets Hype

San Antonio Spurs

Pounding The Rock | Project Spurs

Bonus Links

See full schedule here

Slim Perk is more nimble

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:13:15 -0500

The Celtics stormed out of the gates last night and made it clear in the first 8 minutes of the game that they're going to be pretty good this year.

KG looked like hie same old self, minus a little bit of his explosion.
Pierce and Ray made some familiar looking strong plays on offense.
Rondo calmly set the offense and made a couple of plays on defense.
And Kendrick Perkins was moving a little more quickly than I remember.

Slim Perk was one of many hot topics in last night's live blog. And I've gotta say, I like what I see. He started the game riding a player from the elbow to the baseline without allowing him to get past him... and Perk ultimately forced the turnover. It was a kind of lateral movement that I didn't expect, and can be directly attributed to the lighter load.

Perk then made a block that even the guys on the broadcast thought might not have been possible last year. A player beat Garnett baseline and went under the hoop. Perk's momentum was going towards KG to help on a trap. But when the player showed up on the other side of the hoop, Perk quickly recovered, switch direction, and got his left hand over to make the block. It was a quick change of direction that I found impressive.

There are legitimate questions about whether Perk's lower body weight will cost him against stronger centers like Dwight Howard and Shaquille O'Neil. I think that diminishes Perk's defensive ability. Perk didn't handle Dwight because he had 15 pounds that he doesn't have now. Perk handed Dwight because he had good position, kept a good base, and used Dwight's momentum against him to force him further away from the basket.

Sure, you need mass to handle someone else with mass. But it's not like Perkins lost a ton of muscle and is coming back looking like Mikki Moore. He's a 7 footer. Dropping some bodyfat is going to add up for a guy like that.

Perk still has plenty of muscle. And he's still got plenty of defensive ability. He's got enough to body up the big boys. And now he's got enough to keep up with the smaller boys that might invade his painted area.

Perk is quicker out there, and I think it's a very nice, unexpected development that's really going to help the Celtics this year.

Thanks to everyone for last night's live blog. We had a huge turnout. In fact, we had twice as many people for this live blog than we did for game one of the Magic series. We really appreciate the interest and the participation. It was a great time.

Photo courtesy Getty Images

Player Projections: Kendrick Perkins

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 07:35:04 -0500

Last year's stats: 8.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.0 bpg, FG% 57.7, FT% 60

Projected Stats:

John: 10.1 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 2.5 bpg, FG% 58.5, FT% 61.1
Chuck: 8.3 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.2 bpg, FG% 56.5, FT% 60.6

What will help him the most?

John: The addition of Rasheed Wallace. It's one more guy that other teams will have to pay attention to if Perk is on the floor with him. And it's one more guy who can pass out of the double team and get Perk the ball in the lane. The Celtics have more than enough weapons to spread the floor, leaving Perk and his muscle to do serious damage under the basket.

Chuck: Another year of experience. Perk turns 25 this season, his 7th in the NBA. He's progressed steadily the past two years and this year shouldn't be any different. Perk isn't one to hurt for confidence, but his defensive performance against Dwight Howard in the playoffs last year is likely to boost the ego even further.

What will hurt him the most?

John: His constant shoulder troubles. That shoulder pops on him at least twice a season now. I don't know if it will ever not be a problem for him... so it's something that's going to potentially hinder his progress. It's going to get whacked... and pulled... and pushed... and I'm worried that it might force him to miss games.

Chuck: His off-season marriage, because everyone knows your life changes the moment the honeymoon ends. Just kidding. Aside from the shoulder troubles, I think the acquisition of Rasheed Wallace could hinder his personal development because Perkins is likely to see less court time this season. As John already pointed out, Wallace will help when they are both on the court, but depending on matchup, Doc might have 'Sheed on the court in crunch time.

Can he become an All Star?

John: Maybe. Dwight Howard is the obvious lock as the starter... but who is the second best center in the conference? Shaq? Will he REALLY put up All-Star numbers? Tyson Chandler? Go through the rosters... and the answer could very well be Kendrick Perkins. Perk averaged 13.3 ppg and 11.6 rpg in the playoffs... which shows he can get the job done and put up decent numbers. I think if things fall a certain way... Perk very well COULD make the All Star team.

Chuck: I agree with John, he's got a chance. The defense Perkins played in the playoffs last year caught the attention of the national media and that can only help his cause.

Burning Question: Will Perk finally avoid the foul troubles that have plagued him his entire career?

John: Nope. Perk is what he is. He's bruiser. He punishes people in the block. His aggressiveness makes him what he is, and makes him good at his role. But it also means he's going to get fouls. It's possible the addition of Sheed will allow him to avoid certain fouling situations... but I still think he's going to draw his fair share. If for nothing else... he's got a reputation for it. And until he becomes a bit more productive and regarded as a good low-post defender, refs won't give him the benefit of the doubt.

Chuck: I don't mind the hard fouls in the post, it's the offensive fouls on screens that drive me crazy. Does any player in the league get called for more illegal screens or offensive fouls on picks? I'm praying Perk spent time working on screen-setting this off-season.

Player Profiles: Kendrick Perkins #43

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:01:00 -0500

It is no secret that I really love this kid. His attitude and work ethic won me over right from his first year as a Celtic. And I am an even bigger fan of his now than when he first joined the team. The tough times he has been through in his life have made him tougher and more determined to succeed.Kendrick Perkins was born on November 10, 1984 in Nederland, Texas. His mother was killed in a shooting incident at the beauty salon where she worked when Perk was only 5 years old. His dad, forme...

Congrats To Mr. and Mrs. Perkins

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:48:24 -0500

Congrats Perk! View full size photo uploaded July 27, 2009 Kendrick Perkins got married this past weekend. All the best to him and his family. LOY's place has more pictures.

Kendrick Perkins instantly in contention for worst nip slip ever

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:35:52 -0500

This is the most abstract version of a nipple we've ever seen. Quite an artist, that Kendrick Perkins.