Kendrick Perkins - Canton's Enforcer

PedroFlu said:

Can Perkins really defend the rim at this point? Honest question.

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At what point? He is 17th in the league defending the rim and he is 30 years old, not 36.

OK. Because the bit I saw him playing last season for OKC, he looked horrible also on defense. I'm really surprised by the stats.

For the people who are so against this, what alternative is there? I understand not liking Perk because of history, but this is as good a move as you're gonna get with a vet minimum signing.

I just saw an OKC fan complimenting him at fearthesword.

If his defense is on point, yes it's a good addition.

Still hoping for a backup pg.

Think of it this way. Between him, Okafor, O'Neal, and Dalembert, Perkins has had the most consistent minutes in the last year. He's game ready. He doesn't need conditioning to play 20 mpg. And he gives us a large body against teams with a formidable backup center allowing Mozgov to sit and not relying on TT to guard out of position. I wouldn't have him and TT on the floor together, but I can definitely see a rotation where you take out Mozgov 5 minutes into the quarter for Perkins, have Love and Perkins play together for another 5 minutes, bring TT and Mozgov in from 2 minutes left in the 1st to about 9 minutes in the 2nd. Play small for another couple with Love and TT, bring in Perks again and finish with Love and Mozgov. So about 8 minutes a half for Perks. 16 minutes for him and 6 for TT. Something like:

PF: Love (32) TT (16)
C: Mozgov (26) Perkins (16) TT (6)

I'm not saying he's amazing. But all our team needs is defense. Our offense has been at an elite level over the last month and out defense has been middle of the pack. Our bigs are also playing too many minutes, some out of position. For the longevity of our bigs, this is the right move. Now for a point guard.

Side note, I hope we never see a rotation of Delly/Miller/Jones/Marion/Perkins. Even in garbage time.

PedroFlu said:

Perkins has been absolutely awful in the last couple of years.

I'd rather have a big that can score, because we still need it in the bench IMO. TT, Shumpert, Delly, Marion, all are more defensive than offensive.

But there aren't many options there. Blatche or Stoudemire would be the best.

Anyway, we needed a 4th big. Let's hope he can provide some defense.

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Lucky for us this isn't hockey and we won't be running TT, Shumpert, Delly, Marion and Perkins out there in a line change. One of LeBron, Kyrie or Love will ALWAYS be on the floor and most of the time two of them will. Throw JR Smith into the offensive mix as well. Come playoff time guys like Delly, Marion and Perkins will probably not even be in the regular rotation and won't play unless a specific matchup or game situation dictates.

Not sure we're getting a PG....I suppose we could cut James Jones, but don't know how realistic that is.

JSS2306 said:

I pretty much envision Perkins as the same guy who completely fucked our shit up more than 6 years ago...

Fuck that guy.

Now we fucks with his dead corpse. This may be a blessing in disguise.

We now fucks with dead corpses. It's a zombie world out there so who knows...

Rebound. Foul.

I think that's all we can really ask for. LeBron will get him some easy dunks.

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gourimoko said:

Lol...

But yeah, Perkins sucks. Ask any OKC fan.. He's garbage.

I know, I know... some folks are hype, but sorry, this dude is not any good.

Wish we had gone after a different player for our 4th big, but whatever; this isn't the position that's going to make or break us. I've still got the Cavs as a slight favorite to win it all.

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Care to name said "different player"? You know, they can't just take guys off of other teams or genetically engineer themselves a 4th big. The guy has to exist.

Scar4343 said:

Lucky for us this isn't hockey and we won't be running TT, Shumpert, Delly, Marion and Perkins out there in a line change. One of LeBron, Kyrie or Love will ALWAYS be on the floor and most of the time two of them will. Throw JR Smith into the offensive mix as well. Come playoff time guys like Delly, Marion and Perkins will probably not even be in the regular rotation and won't play unless a specific matchup or game situation dictates.

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Good point. It's been good right now given how JR is contributing on offense.

I was thinking that Shumpert would be the starter and JR would come from the bench as the scorer. But he meshed so well in the starting team that you just can't get him out.

Love hasn't been an offensive threat.

If Shumpert develops his confidence and shooting, providing around 10/12 points a game, it's good enough.

Anyway, I hope Griffin can find a Aaron Brooks like sort of cheap backup PG who can eventually score and run the point. This would make Delly perfect as a very situational player, just like Marion, Perkins and Miller.

Right now there are 7 guys ready to contribute in the playoffs with 20 + minutes.

Then you have situational guys like Dellavedova, Miller/Jones/Harris, Marion and Perkins to go in. Not bad.

But theirs always TRob, a guy that gets passed around like a used tampon and couldn't carry Perks jockstrap.

Then theirs Blatche, this season wasnt a lockout so wtf was he doing over in China? Again, another no name lucky tall guy with little offensive game that made it. Nothing to see, move on.

Then at last we have Slammin Sammy. A guy who got bought out and when players get bought out theirs teams flying like buzzards. Not with Sammy. Hes been a ghost ever since, is it to late to put him on a NY milk carton?

Any "different players" I missed? At least Perk is respected and won a ring. Contributed to a ring for that matter.

PedroFlu said:

...

Love hasn't been an offensive threat.
...

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I don't understand these statements. The guy is averaging 17 points a game and taking far fewer shots than KI or Lebron. He's had his struggles for sure, but he IS an threat and teams can't just leave him. Even with his less than stellar performance he's still putting up better numbers than most power forwards and is in the top 10% of scoring in the whole league.

PedroFlu said:

Good point. It's been good right now given how JR is contributing on offense.

I was thinking that Shumpert would be the starter and JR would come from the bench as the scorer. But he meshed so well in the starting team that you just can't get him out.

Love hasn't been an offensive threat.

If Shumpert develops his confidence and shooting, providing around 10/12 points a game, it's good enough.

Anyway, I hope Griffin can find a Aaron Brooks like sort of cheap backup PG who can eventually score and run the point. This would make Delly perfect as a very situational player, just like Marion, Perkins and Miller.

Right now there are 7 guys ready to contribute in the playoffs with 20 + minutes.

Then you have situational guys like Dellavedova, Miller/Jones/Harris, Marion and Perkins to go in. Not bad.

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I don't really think "bench scoring" is the issue many seem to think it is. When you have the offensive diversity that we have and two great creators, guys will have good games here and there to fill in. You never play an entire "bench" lineup at the same time so as long as there are starters out there that can score with those bench guys... you're good.

Case in point, we scored 127 points last night on the team that's 9th in the league in defensive efficiency on their home court. Who'd we have coming off the bench? Shumpert, Thompson and Delly(and others in garbage time). We had 94 through 3 quarters and it's not like we were shooting way over our heads either. This wasn't due to Shump, Thompson and Delly scoring. They had a combined 26 points for the game and much of that came from garbage time. Shump did have some nice shots early and I'd argue he's more than just a "defense first" guy, he's actually an above average offensive player.

When you have Kyrie OR LeBron playing at a high-level, you'll score some points because of what they create for themselves and others. When both are hitting, it gets ridiculous. If Kevin Love ever gets to consistently being the Love we saw against the Lakers, God help this league...

The big three

mds said:

I don't understand these statements. The guy is averaging 17 points a game and taking far fewer shots than KI or Lebron. He's had his struggles for sure, but he IS an threat and teams can't just leave him. Even with his less than stellar performance he's still putting up better numbers than most power forwards and is in the top 10% of scoring in the whole league.

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He's shooting the ball pretty badly. He's been struggling offensively, this is undisputed.

But yes, maybe saying he isn't a threat is a reach.

Anyway, I really think he's struggling because his back is hurt. When he's fully fit - and it may happen only next season - he'll be back to the force he used to be on the offensive end.

But for this season I'd like to see another guy capable of contributing on the offensive end when needed, mainly when Love and/or JR are struggling. Either a big man or a backup PG. Now it's up to the backup PG.

But I don't think anyone will be cut to bring one. It will be too problematic. Jones and Miller are Lebron guys. Marion is a respected veteran. Harris has upside. Dellavedova is contributing. Haywood has a valuable contract. AV is out of question of course.

I think Cavs will roll with exactly what they've got now. Next season with AV healthy for 10/15 min a game and a PG drafted, rotation will be locked for years.