How underrated is Perk?

[LarBrd33]

We got the big 3... the big 3 + Rondo... the Big 4?  no wait... Rondo and the big 3? 

Uhh... yeah

House was terrific.  Rondo got a triple-double.   Lost in all of this is the guy who (in my opinion) won the game for us.  Perk.

Yeah, Perk.

Where's the love?

Boston didn't win the title last year due to offense.  In fact, we weren't really that great of an offensive team.  What we were was an incredible defensive team that ranked right up there with the greatest defenses of all time.   We win when we play defense.   As much as I LOVED Eddie and Rondo... what Perk did was more impressive to me. 

Dwight Howard is a force of nature.  A beast.  And he's going to get his 25 points on 60% shooting against the majority of teams in the league.  And as far as I can tell... Orlando seems to just surround their beast with 4 fantastic shooters.   The beast demands extra attention... meaning that one of those 4 fantastic shooters will likely be open.   If a team can play Dwight straight-up... that puts pressure on their shooters and Orlando is going to struggle.

I really don't want to jinx it, because Dwight could go off for 40 and 20 in the next 3 games, but he's really been slightly limited in all his games against Boston this year:

12/1 = 14 points 5-12
1/22 = 11 points 4-10
3/8 = 18 points 6-13
3/25 = 24 points 11-13

Game 1:  16 points on 6-12
Game 2:  12 points on 5-13

Maybe time to give Perk some credit?     Dwight was limited to 12 points on 5-13 shooting last night... he also had 5 turnovers.  He got a couple dunks, but the few times I saw him attempt to post up Perk... Perk wasn't moving.  On the other hand, I actually saw Perk (a player just as limited offensively, but without the athleticism and explosiveness to make up for it) successfully back down Dwight a couple times. 

Dwight is listed as 6-11 265.   Perk is listed as 6-10 280.   Even Glen Davis seems to match up slightly effectively at like 6-9 295....   The point is, Dwight might find that he's not able to dominate offensively using his strength.  Again, I don't want to jinx it... but Perk sure limited superman last night and that threw off Orlando's entire team.

During the summer Cliff Ray was doing a basketball camp and asked the kids who they thought the best defender on the Celtics was.  Most of the kids shouted out "KG!!", but Cliff told them it was actually Perk.   You gotta figure Cliff was just showing some love to his apprentice, but Perk really deserves a lot of appreciation for what he does on the court.  He's averaging 13 points 12 rebounds and 3 blocks in these playoffs.  He and Glen also do an effective job using their size to box out... which leaves guys like Rondo and Pierce to grab a lot of boards.  His offense has been slightly improved, but it's his defense that has stayed consistently solid... and might be the only reason we stand a chance of actually winning this series.

He doesn't miss a lot of games so we don't get a chance to really see what life would be like without him.  He seems pretty darn underrated to me.  Again, Dwight might go off in the next 3 games, but Perk still deserves appreciation for what he did last night.   He temporarily contained Superman. 

Game 2 MVP in my opinion.

[fairweatherfan]

Agree, TP.  Perk has been my favorite player these playoffs because he's consistently come to play hard and has been offensively and defensively efficient.  Only thing he's struggled with is foul trouble, and he's gotten much better at that over the last few games as well.  Having one of the league's few true centers is the most underrated asset this squad has.

[Chris]

I loved the way Van Gundy and Jackson were talking about Perkins in one of the games in the first round.  They basically both agreed that he is a great example of a guy who shows up and does his job everyday.

Perkins doesn't need the spotlight or the recognition, he just does what he is supposed to do, regardless of who he is playing against.

[Redz]

Yeh, I said it somewhere else today...The C's have had an awful lot of guys step up here and there, but Perk has easily been their most consistently GOOD player.

He has really taken on a huge burden without KG and he's proven his broad shoulder can handle the weight.

[FLCeltsFan]

Perk is one of the most underrated players in the league.  He does so much for the team that will never show up in a box score.    Just go back to the Finals last season.   In games 1-4 and 6, Odom and Gasol were largely ineffective.  In game 5 they looked invincible.  The difference was Perk's presence in the paint.  He doesn't need to do anything other than be there to intimidate and he changes a game. 

Perk will never get all the credit he deserves because his biggest value can't be quantified by a box score. 

[KungPoweChicken]

It's Rondo and the big three. But to answer your question, I think Howard is overrated. Perkins gets the respect he deserves for the most part. He's a good defensive player with a limited offensive game. If Perk were to see double teams consistently, he would really struggle out there. But that's okay because we don't need offense from Perk. He's basically a defensive specialist in the paint, and I think people respect him for that. The reason he isn't glorified by the media is because offense sells, and Perk has a boring offensive game. As for Howard, this guy possibly has a more limited game than Perk. He can dunk, jam, and slam it home, but he looks lost outside five feet from the goal. He has no touch around the basket. The comparisons to O'Neal are laughable. Howard is a good defensive player and a physical specimen, but he's not a great basketball player. Perk has done a great job at opening up Howard's weaknesses.

[RAcker]

It's funny how even on defense, Perk is the one on the offensvie and Howard is like he's on the defensive.  Says a lot about Perk's fundamentals and his toughness.

BEAST!

[LarBrd33]

He might put up Ben Wallace-type numbers if he ever averages enough minutes.   Perk is only 24 and his minutes have gradually increased every season.

3.5
9.1
19.6
21.9
24.5
29.6

This season, he averaged 8.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2 blocks

Ben Wallace in his prime (age 27-29) averaged roughly 38 minutes, 7-9 points, 13-15 rebounds  and 3-3.5 blocks ...

If you project Perk's numbers this year to 38 minutes he's got:  11 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks  (which by the way is pretty close to what he's averaging in the playoffs.  37 minutes, 13 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks)

Maybe if he was averaging a double-double in the regular season people would pay more attention.

[Hoyo de Monterrey]

I've gushed over Perk in other threads, but I love everything I've seen from him on and off the court this playoffs. He just keeps impressing me.

[Drucci]

Agreed. I was impressed by Perk's defense on Howard all year long, and especially in the playoffs. He stays right in front of him, doesn't foul too much, and Howard is rushing his shots (his bricks?) many times against Perk. Dwight has an horrible shooting percentage (considering who he is, how tall and powerful he is, and the fact that he is a center).

It's true that Perk is underrated but personnally I don't feel bad about it because the team knows how important he is and Perk doesn't care about being recognized as a great big man,  he just does his job and you've got to love him even more for that.

I truly realized how important he was for our team in game 5 of the Finals last year, and since it's been a joy to watch him improve his game, especially offensively.

Plus, if you look back to the Chicago series, Perkins was as important as he is right now. He was troubled by Miller's shooting ability from long distance but otherwise, the Celtics couldn't get a stop when Perk was on the bench because of his foul trouble. His presence changed everything, and I can't count the number of clutch blocks he had against the Bulls!

Without a doubt, Perkins is a beast and the most consistent player of our team in these playoffs. Hopefully he'll continue to play so well, especially against Howard! TP for Perk.

[LarBrd33]

Perk vs Dwight is like a dead man's (is there a level below poor, homeless and disabled?) Russell vs Wilt.   I know that's crazy (and i'm not nutty enough to compare Perk to Russ, but stick with me)... Wilt got his points, but Russell played him tough.  At the end of the day the Celtics were victorious regardless of Wilt's dominant statistics.  

That's basically all we need from Perk.  Play Dwight tough.  You can't necessarily stop the guy, but do your best to limit him.  At the end of the day maybe the Celtics will win.  

[PosImpos]

I think Celtics fans understand how valuable he is, but he is underrated by those outside Celtics nation, especially on the defensive end.  He's not a great offensive option, and that's probably what keeps people from recognizing how good he is, but he's great defensively, and gets a ton of blocks.

[LarBrd33]

I think Celtics fans understand how valuable he is, but he is underrated by those outside Celtics nation, especially on the defensive end.  He's not a great offensive option, and that's probably what keeps people from recognizing how good he is, but he's great defensively, and gets a ton of blocks.

Absolutely.  People outside Celtic nation don't care at all.  I tried explaining to my NBA-obsessed friend in Seattle why Perk was the key to last night's game and his response was simply... "haha... iunno man... Eddie won that game for you.  He's not going to shoot like that every game"... and I continued to explain why Perk might be a tough matchup for Dwight, because Dwight isn't use to going against solid defensive guys that can match up with him in size and strength... and his response was simply "Dwight's gonna get to his average eventually ... a down game means an up game soon".    Sure, he might be right... but the point is... few outside Boston will tip their hat to Perk's impact.  They are still trying to wrap their mind around the idea that Rondo isn't just the beneficiary of the big 3...

[PosImpos]

I think Celtics fans understand how valuable he is, but he is underrated by those outside Celtics nation, especially on the defensive end.  He's not a great offensive option, and that's probably what keeps people from recognizing how good he is, but he's great defensively, and gets a ton of blocks.

Absolutely.  People outside Celtic nation don't care at all.  I tried explaining to my NBA-obsessed friend in Seattle why Perk was the key to last night's game and his response was simply... "haha... iunno man... Eddie won that game for you.  He's not going to shoot like that every game"... and I continued to explain why Perk might be a tough matchup for Dwight, because Dwight isn't use to going against solid defensive guys that can match up with him in size and strength... and his response was simply "Dwight's gonna get to his average eventually ... a down game means an up game soon".    Sure, he might be right... but the point is... few outside Boston will tip their hat to Perk's impact.  They are still trying to wrap their mind around the idea that Rondo isn't just the beneficiary of the big 3...

People love to think in terms of box score, and the leading scorer or the guy who throws up a triple double always seems like the MVP.  A guy who makes his living on the defensive end and by being physical in the right ways doesn't get much recognition.  That's why guys like Shane Battier aren't known as stars throughout the league but they are extremely valuable, just like Perkins is.

[Redz]

He might put up Ben Wallace-type numbers if he ever averages enough minutes.   Perk is only 24 and his minutes have gradually increased every season.

3.5
9.1
19.6
21.9
24.5
29.6

This season, he averaged 8.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2 blocks

Ben Wallace in his prime (age 27-29) averaged roughly 38 minutes, 7-9 points, 13-15 rebounds  and 3-3.5 blocks ...

If you project Perk's numbers this year to 38 minutes he's got:  11 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks  (which by the way is pretty close to what he's averaging in the playoffs.  37 minutes, 13 points, 11 rebounds, 3 blocks)

Maybe if he was averaging a double-double in the regular season people would pay more attention.

Ben Wallace in his prime had a lot more quickness and athleticism than Perk will ever have.  That's not to say the numbers might not get there, but they are different beasts.