Everyone accept Perk as a great starter?

[Fencer reregistered]

I've long had Perk tapped for an eventual "career achievement award" trip to the All-Star game.

But will he have a Pierce-like run of All-Star reserve selections? That's still not the way to bet.

But the odds against it are shortening a lot. I wasn't expecting his offense -- actually his whole game -- to improve this quickly, this late in his career.

[Dirty Water]

I

But the odds against it are shortening a lot. I wasn't expecting his offense -- actually his whole game -- to improve this quickly, this late in his career.

He's 24. You mean this early?

[chakdaddy]

Borderline all star at this point. Continues to improve every year. Actually a pretty good low post offensive weapon now. Absolutely the best bargain in the league salary wise.

I have a special affection for him since he, other than Pierce, is the other survivor from the old days. Remember him getting called off the bench to miss FT's vs Indiana? He has gone from one of the scrubs that surrounded Pierce in the losing days and turned into an excellent starting center on the NBA Champs.

[billfromBoston]

I love Perk I don't know that he is as good offensively as he looks against Miller and Noah but he has improved so much and he is still so young and works so hard. He may always be a little bit less offensively than you would want out of a starting center but he is a real center not posing PF and will be an All Defensive team one at that which is a hell of a lot more important than an All Star.

I think Mark Jackson paid Perk the ultimate compliment he said he is Boston's Charles Oakley, he gives you what he need.

Not to nit-pick, but what more are you looking for offensively from a Center in today's NBA? While his 8/8 seasonal average isn't off the charts, he had 3 months this year when he was a near double-double producer. He started the year slow, began to build his game up and then got injured. Once he got back up to speed he was a double-double guy again.

Now in the playoffs he's gotten a chance to show what he can do with increased minutes and responsibility. He also has 4 go-to moves and is learning how to change them up based on what the defense gives him.

I fully expect next season to be Perk's first double-double season as he'll undoubtedly play 35mpg and have the respect of his teammates to the point where he sees the ball more regularly.

Once GPA are more support than focal, I think we'll see this "playoff Perk" throughout the regular season...and when GPA are gone even more so.

[joshman]

he is fat

[DorfonCeltics]

he is fat

If you saw Perk as a 310lb rookie you would realize the hillariousness of this post. Dude is rock solid.

[DarkAzcura]

Perk and Al would not dominate the league...Al = KG minus the D and jumpshot...I really liked Al when he was here but Al and Perk would be a porous interior...and not 'cos of Perk!

or KG = Al minus the post game

Jefferson's post game is SO valuable to any team. Garnett isn't even close to Jefferson's quality in the post. Jefferson is starting to get a pretty reliable shot too.

[Bad-Thoma]

he is fat

Where? Perk = Brick **** House.

[Bleeding Green]

I wish Perkins could control his turnovers. I think it's a huge issue that holds him back. Otherwise his offensive game is good for a center.

[Fencer reregistered]

As for who's better or more valuable than Perk:

Howard is better, of course.

I think Perk has just passed Ilgauskas.

Noah is actually pretty close, with a lot of "extra" plays to make up for his lower reliability as a rebounder and his lack of non-dunk scoring.

I'm not familiar with Lopez' game.

Yao is more valuable.

Duncan and KG are of course definitional issues -- great PFs who can also play C.

Ditto Gasol, except he actually does get a lot of starts at C.

If we consider the O'Neals' health and durability, I'd say Perk has passed both of them. But an argument could be made on behalf of either.

Camby is a tough call. He sure looks good on the numbers, but what about the dirty work?

[Bleeding Green]

Brook Lopez is legit. He's better than Perk, albeit with a completely different game. Marc Gasol is really good, too. Probably better going forward. Ditto Kevin Love. Hard to tell on Greg Oden at this point.

Jermaine O'Neal is absolute trash. Do not compare him to Perk. Shaq is better at the moment however. Not for long of course. Camby is better, but for how much longer given his injuries. Gotta bank on Okafor being better, Okur, Nene. And obviously Yao and Howard. Perk is good, somewhere in the 10-12 range, which is absolutely fine. He excels on this team where he doesn't have to take on really any sort of scoring load. Which is good, because if he did, he'd average about 6 turnovers a game.

[sam_I_am]

What I love about Perkins is that he knows he is a limited scorer, passes well and always plays within himself. Offensively as a scorer though, Perkins can be a liability at times. Right now he looks better because he is going up against Noah, Thomas and Miller who are about as good defensively as Raef and Blount used to be. Perkins can't shoot and he is a slow finisher. His defender will always sag and clog the middle and get away with it. And when he is wide open, rotating small defenders often are able to stop his finish. You hardly ever see that with dominant big men like KG or Howard. I love the guy and at 4 million a year he is a steal. If he had a 12 million a year contract and we had to let Rondo walk in free agency.... would he still be a steal? No. So top 5 center in the league makes him sound like an all star and I don't think he is that good. But I do accept that he is a great starter and is the perfect compliment to KG. KG would have had a lot of championships in Minnesota if he had a player like Perk at his side all those years.