At what point do we bench Perk?

[DannyZ]

Many people are calling for Doc to bench Sam Cassell and go with Eddie House the rest of the way.  It's probably justified.  But somehow, Kendrick Perkins has gotten a free pass despite putting up two of his worst games of the year:

Last two games:

37 minutes.  0-4 from the field.  3-6 from the line.  3 points.  1 block.  2 steals.  3 turnovers.  8 rebounds.  1 assist.

For the whole Cleveland series, he is averaging 4.4 points on 39% shooting, while clanging 50% of his free throws.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/gamelog?playerId=2018

Perk fumbled away about 5 rebounds last night including a missed free throw that came right to him.  He is such a disaster on offense right now that the Cavs are ignoring him.  This frees up one of their bigs to harass Garnett or collapse on Pierce.  Even when Perk catches it 2 feet from the basket, it takes him so long to go up with the shot, that the Cavs can easily challenge or block him. 

There were times in the game last night Perk was so winded that he barely made it to half court on offense.  Perk obviously benefits from playing with the starters, but how much better would our starters play with a big man who can catch the ball (Big Baby, Powe, even Posey)?  Big Baby came in last night and outscored Perk in 14 seconds.  If Perk isn't blocking shots, I'm not sure what value he adds.  Big Baby and Powe are just as good defending the pick and roll.  Baby did a great job on pick and roll defense last night.

[wdleehi]

Because there is nobody on the bench better then him.


Because he is still playing good defense. 

[SShoreFan]

Much like when Ben Wallace is on the floor for Cleveland, the Celtics seem to be on a 4 on 5 offensive scheme.  Cleveland is pretty much ignoring him and making it difficult for the Celts on the offensive end.  However, on the defensive end, there is no one close to Perkin's size to play up against the Cav's big guys (I think this is why Davis got the call last night - size).

[Who]

Because there is nobody on the bench better then him.


Because he is still playing good defense. 

Fully Agree

Perk hasn't been good lately but there's no better option, he still provides some quality (defense, presence around the rim). Let him play through it, enjoy the good games and make good use (win) of his good games.

[wdleehi]

And in the playoffs, his numbers are fine.

In 25 minutes a game, he is providing 6.3 rebounds, 1.42 blocks, 52% shooting, 71%  from the line. 

And good defense.

[Celtic]

I think benching Perk would be a poor decision. The one thing I wish Perk would do is stay on the ground when defending Ilgauskas. Zadrunas can't jump and wont, and has such a high arcing shot he is very difficult to block anyways, body him and play for position and just try to force him into a deeper shot. PJ Brown is doing it and many times he has caught Ilgauskas in a pump fake, after which Zadrunas is trapped.

[DannyZ]

I don't see this good defense.  I see Perk fumbling away rebounds and being slow on rotations.  And he is so inconsistent with his rebounding.  He could go for 20 rebounds or 2 in a game.  You just don't know.  I also see Perk as a weak link on defense, especially in this series.  He's not blocking a lot of shots.  Lebron gets around him easier than most defenders because he's so slow.  He commits a lot of dumb fouls.  Combine that with his sudden inability to finish at the rim and he's become a huge liability.

Perk plays the most consistent minutes of any of our bigs not named KG.  I'd expect more consistent production.  He should be the first substitution of the game from here on out.  Ray, KG, Pierce, Rondo and Powe/Big Baby/Posey gives us such a better offensive team.  We need our other big man to be a threat to score.

[The Walker Wiggle]

I don't see this good defense.  I see Perk fumbling away rebounds and being slow on rotations... I also see Perk as a weak link on defense, especially in this series.  He's not blocking a lot of shots.  Lebron gets around him easier than most defenders because he's so slow.  He commits a lot of dumb fouls.  Combine that with his sudden inability to finish at the rim and he's become a huge liability.

Well for what it's worth, Perkins was +13 in 28 minutes last night, and still +4 during 18 and a half minutes in Monday night's loss. Sure some of this has to be the result of playing alongside the other starters, but it's also statistical evidence of Perk's strong defense.

By comparison, Brown managed to be -10 in only 8 minutes last night. And while Davis was +2 in 11 and a half minutes, and made 3-4 attempts, he was fouling at an even quicker rate than Perk.

Similar story in Monday's loss, most notably Brown was a -5 in 22 minutes. Powe has been seeing such limited time I left him and his negative plus/minus score out of the discussion, but (confoundingly?) he was great playing real minutes in the first two wins, and had the best +/- of the quartet. I'd just as soon not talk about Game 3, other than to say nobody acquitted themselves well.

[Mr October]

Keep starting Perk! Even though his stats are down he is playing hard, and we need his size to help protect the rim. We need him for 20-24 minutes a night.

[EJPLAYA]

We don't because unlike the House/Sam situation there isn't someone arguably better sitting there wanting minutes. Perk brings us a defensive presence that no one else does. He has struggled, yes, but without someone else to put in there he keeps playing but at a lower minute rate.

This is why I thought we should bring on a true center instead of a PG!!!! PJ just isn't big enough to fill that role...

[TrueGreen]

DannyZ:  I don't see this good defense.

The only time you see Perk's defense is when he's guarding Igauskas straight up and forcing him to take a shot out of his comfort zone. To see what Perk does defensively you need to concentrate on his backup defense. Perk is one of the reasons that LeBron is being kept under control, but you need to really focus on Perk. As to rebounds, his backup defense takes him out of the rebounding.

[Fastbreak]

we don't...next topic  

[BASSTHUMPER]

right now perk is way out sized right now...when play detroit he should be able to do what he wants inside....

[Tommy Gun]

Forget benching Perk..I just want to know when he is going to get a freakin up fake and or use the glass...he has gotten blocked from behind trying to Tomahawk dunk by everyone except the ball boy in this series

At least davis seals you and uses his body to get the shot off

[Who]

right now perk is way out sized right now...when play detroit he should be able to do what he wants inside....

Yep I think so too. Very bad matchup for Perk, Big Z has caused him problems just about every time he's ever played against him. Detroit are a lot smaller with Antonio McDyess, and also Dice is less involved offensively. Perk will have some advantages in the paint against Detroit, it's a much better matchup for him.