Source
r/Thunder•
RevButtface

Thoughts on how Perkins has gotten basically 0 playing time on the extremely short-handed Cavs vs. how regularly he was in the rotation on OKC?

I'm a pretty new NBA fan, only been really following it for about 2 years, but I watched all the OKC games this year, and quite a few of them last year. To me it kind of strikes me as an example of how badly coached OKC was this year if the Cav's who are so desperately in need of some subs and some rest for their players basically refuse to play big Perk, who we saw so regularly. Anybody else a bit confused by it or am I just missing something?

Posted Jun 12, 2015, 4:35 PM UTC

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dbthelinguaphile•

Part of it is also that the Warriors are an extremely bad matchup for Perk.

This year we saw a fair bit of him just due to the sheer amount of injuries. He was our second-string center.

Yes, Scotty played him too much, but the bigger issue this postseason with the Cavs (and probably an issue with him going forward) is that they haven't played against anybody who has players he can guard (with the possible exception of Lee—we could see him get time on him if they keep Lee out there).

He's a hard screener and an elite post defender—he's the basketball equivalent of the grapefruit knife in your kitchen drawer, only good for one purpose. And there are only a handful of guys any more that he's good against.

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chexmixho•

Just like Miami was an extremely bad matchup for Perk yet Brooks played him all series and I still believe we ended up losing partly because of that. The other part being that Miami team, mainly Lebron, was really good.

5
joegrizzyII•

Nah, it was mostly because Harden shit the bed. Twice.

Perk played a lot of minutes in Game 1. We won by double digits.

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kezchez•

Yeah and Miami made adjustments to abuse the fact that Brooks was playing Perkins so much. It pains me so much to see the Warriors make the exact same change Brook should have in the 2012 finals and for it to change the tide of the series. I honestly believe that series deserved to go to 7 games, the talent was even but the coaching wasn't.

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professor_murder•

Yeah. Perk should not have played that series. It was a joke. If I recall correctly, a few Miami players slipped up recently about how they couldnt believe Brooks wasnt making adjustments and how he basically giftwrapped them a title.

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soonerzen14•

This isn't just a Cavs thing, he didn't play much against GSW when he was on the Thunder either. In his first game against them he played 16 minutes, but after that it was 8 and 7. The 8 and 7 minutes were about half of his usual output and neither occurred because of an injury or something else. While I'm not as Anti Perkins as most everyone else on this subreddit, he just is not suited to play against the GSW. Why put him in there when he's just going to be a liability (please spare me the comments that he is always a liability on the court)?

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joegrizzyII•

But if the Warriors play David Lee more and start abusing the pick and roll, Perk could be utilized.

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RevButtfaceOP•

I think most ppl in this chain are missing my point, I'm not just saying he hasn't been played against GSW while on the Cavs, I'm saying he's been on the court like 2 times since he was traded to them.

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soonerzen14•

Oh. Well that one is easy. The Thunder have 2 centers on their team, he and Adams. The Cavs have 4, and therefore much more flexibility to play him when the matchups work out rather than because they need to because otherwise Adams would be out there the entire game. It's not bad coaching, it's working with what is available to them.

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Silasco•

You're right but he was a FA. Jazz cut him

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SillyRabbit2121•

Because Scott Brooks isn't a good coach. Perkins had no business playing anywhere near as much as he did in the 2012 Finals.

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datcrazybok•

For one, he's just not that good. For two, the Warriors play a lot of "small ball" with a much smaller lineup on the floor. This hurts Perk because his best strength is as a low post defender. The Warriors very rarely use a low post game, and much more often they like to run in transition. Perk can't keep up with the transition game as well as some of their other players can. Finally, he's just not a very reliable offensive option, and with Kyrie and Love out, the Cavs need some offensive options besides LeBron and a streaky JR Smith.

It's a combination of Perk's skills being on the decline, him never really having much in the way of offensive skills, plus matchups and the style of play of the Warriors.

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DaBear405•

Its weird because he was the starting center on a 60 win team, but he does not matchup against GS well.

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AFCgunner95•

He is a good post defender in a league witch doesnt post up that much anymore

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ok_who•

Did you see the cleanup crew feed the Perk? That was awesome!

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RevButtfaceOP•

No I don't know what cleanup crew is. Hook me up with a link?

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ok_who•

Garbage crew, last two minutes of won game. Last night every time down they feed Perk down low.

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RevButtfaceOP•

Which game? Last time I saw them play him was when they were down 20 in the 4th to GSW

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ok_who•

No it was months ago. I'm just bring it up now because it's somehow relevant. Forget I ever mentioned it.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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firescottbrooks•

Perkins lost all his talent ever since he got injured in the 2010 NBA Finals.

You can see his block stats just dwindle. He had the worst PER in NBA history in the 2013 season. There's nothing he does well.

"He's a great post defender" is extremely flawed logic. NBA now runs P&R to exploit big men. He doesn't have any lateral quickness. Serge Ibaka boosted Perkins paint protection stats like crazy.

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