What Happened To Perk?!?

[Bahku]

First of all, I'm not a Perk "hater", or even a Perk "disliker", but by applying the same standards to him as we do when analyzing Doc, Sam, and the rest of the boys, I think it's fair to say that he had a pretty lousy game tonight.

He played just under 21 minutes, had absolutely no points, and only four rebounds. He was 0/2 at the line, 0/2 field-goals, had no offensive rebounds, four personal fouls, and three turnovers!

Sorry, but that's just terrible for a starting player, and with all the negative press that Ray gets when he's in a slump, or the crap Rage takes when he's struggling, I can't for the life of me figure out how Perk barely gets a mention when playing so poorly. (?)

OK ... I've been on Perk's side for the majority of this season, and despite his reluctance to run with the offense at times, and his never-ending propensity to put the ball on the floor before going up with it, (and very often losing it as a result), and his reluctance to EVER take a charge, or even stay in the lane when an opponent's attacking, he has still had some huge plays and great contributions ... at times.

But for some reason he seems to be given a heckuva lot more latitude than we give to any of the rest of the starters. I like Perk, I really do, and I'm pulling for him ... but honestly I don't see why he gets off the hook so much more easily than Ray, Rage, KG, or Pierce. He's our number one "Big Guy", and yet it's often his subs who we end up praising after these wins.

I just think that if these numbers had been put up, (or not, as it were), by any other starting player, that most of us and the media would be making a huge point of it. Well, I'm making a point of it, and while it will no doubt upset many, it's a question that just seemed to be begging to be asked:

What DID happen to Perk tonight, and why doesn't anyone seem upset about it?!?

[Greeny]

He got whacked in the nose again.

[phantom]

Because it's not even worth mentioning.  Perk has been overachieving since early on in the season.  I said all of this in the other Perk thread already, but he has been doing almost everything right and he's been the unnoticed glue guy of the team, silently playing his role nearly perfectly helping us rack up win after win.  So why are we gonna get on the guy, after a blowout win, after he got blasted in the face, after he's given us a stellar effort and nothing but hard work?
Also keep in mind, he had to chase around Ilgauskas, who came out of the gates shooting lights out.  He wasn't about to block many shots, and if he follows Z to the perimeter, no boards either.  I wonder what opposing center's stats are like playing against a guy like Ilgauskas..
edit- The Celtics outrebounded the Cavaliers 45 to 39, 12 offensive rebounds, so it's not like the Celtics were dying for Perk to get a board.  KG had 12, Powe, Pierce, Rondo and Posey all had 5 or more..

I'm with you about Ray as well - I have nothing but the utmost trust in Ray and I would encourage him to keep shooting if I were Doc.  Anyone who's paid attention to the game long enough knows that the only way a shooter can get out of a slump is to keep shooting.

Sam, on the other hand...  uggh is another situation entirely that I won't tread on right now.

[Taklamar]

Guessing mostly because it was a blowout win, things get overlooked pretty easily.  Also overshadowed by the Defense (they deserve a capital 'D'), Pierce and Allen's struggles and Sam's general presence.

Looking over the +/- for the night though, eesh!  Perk at -9, worst on the team and Powe at +20, best on the team.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Not going to give Perk a lot of grieve since he has been doing quite good in the playoffs.  A couple of lousy games against Atlanta, but overall quite a force for the Celtics during the playoffs.  I thought he got a bit lazy on his defensive rotations, and was simply out hustled out there.  I'll blame the shot on the nose, and hope he plays better next time. Brown and Powe came up big instead, all is good.

[TrueGreen]

Defense is what Perk does and defense is what Perk did last nite. Count the times he backed up an initial defender and prevented a score. Count the time he went from under the basket to contest a three, by Wally I think, and made him miss the shot. Offensively count the screens near the basket to open things up for a driver. When refs officiate a good game you don't even realize they are on the floor. I'd say the same about Perk. I think the only people who really understand what he means to the team are his teammates and LeBron who commented about Perk's backup defense affecting his own game.

[wdleehi]

The starters started bad. 


Perkins was the only one that never got a good chance to redeem himself because of fouls.


Plus, I thing at least 5 of those -9 came during garbage time.



He had an off game.  Others stepped up.  Celtics win.

[vjcsmoke]

Maybe because we won by 16 points?  Perk had a bad game because he got into foul trouble early.  It happens.  But when you're winning others pick up the slack.  You claim you're not bashing, but bringing that up after a 16 point win is exactly that, bashing.  Perkins isn't the best 5 in the league, in fact he's fairly mediocre but he does provide some defensive toughness and some occassional points near the basket.  I'm not going to jump all over him, when he didn't factor into a game that we won easily.  The C's are deep enough where OTHER players step up regularly, even those outside the big 3.

First of all, I'm not a Perk "hater", or even a Perk "disliker", but by applying the same standards to him as we do when analyzing Doc, Sam, and the rest of the boys, I think it's fair to say that he had a pretty lousy game tonight.

He played just under 21 minutes, had absolutely no points, and only four rebounds. He was 0/2 at the line, 0/2 field-goals, had no offensive rebounds, four personal fouls, and three turnovers!

Sorry, but that's just terrible for a starting player, and with all the negative press that Ray gets when he's in a slump, or the crap Rage takes when he's struggling, I can't for the life of me figure out how Perk barely gets a mention when playing so poorly. (?)

OK ... I've been on Perk's side for the majority of this season, and despite his reluctance to run with the offense at times, and his never-ending propensity to put the ball on the floor before going up with it, (and very often losing it as a result), and his reluctance to EVER take a charge, or even stay in the lane when an opponent's attacking, he has still had some huge plays and great contributions ... at times.

But for some reason he seems to be given a heckuva lot more latitude than we give to any of the rest of the starters. I like Perk, I really do, and I'm pulling for him ... but honestly I don't see why he gets off the hook so much more easily than Ray, Rage, KG, or Pierce. He's our number one "Big Guy", and yet it's often his subs who we end up praising after these wins.

I just think that if these numbers had been put up, (or not, as it were), by any other starting player, that most of us and the media would be making a huge point of it. Well, I'm making a point of it, and while it will no doubt upset many, it's a question that just seemed to be begging to be asked:

What DID happen to Perk tonight, and why doesn't anyone seem upset about it?!?