Brooks and Perkins

[bbms]

Not praising Brooks for doing the obvious, but it was really a nice surprise to see him throwing Perry Jones in the game at the third quarter's start and taking Perkins out of the game early.

Also, it suggest that Perkins plays smaller and smaller role for the Thunder, which probably means that Thunder is moving on from Perkins slowly.

The Thunder is better this way. Props to Brooks and Thunder's FO.

[ThunderUp1234]

I dont think they are moving away from him per say, his value is useless vs Miami.

Against the likes of Indiana, Houston, Memphis, etc, he has value.

Otherwise, he shouldnt play much.

Honestly should just save him for the playoffs and let him rest.

[HeartSouloma]

I would of LOVE to see Andre Roberson guarding LBJ.... Perry Jones done a good job on LBJ

[comingbacktousa]

I would of LOVE to see Andre Roberson guarding LBJ.... Perry Jones done a good job on LBJ

I think Perry Jones matches up better with Lebron. His length and athleticism is just off the charts. His length allows him to play off Lebron and still contest jumpers, and he has the athleticism to keep Lebron in front of him as well. Lebron was making some really hard shots while PJ3 was guarding him but outside of Paul George, I can't remember too many players that played Lebron as good as he did. Durant actually did a good job himself but it's not worth risking foul trouble/the energy needed. I would like to see Roberson be the number 3 guy to guard him instead of Thabo. Miami has good players at the 2 and Lebron is just too strong for Thabo.

As far as Perkins goes, I think it was just Brooks adjusting. I don't think its the plan to go away from Perkins at all. Perkins has his usefulness, and as long as Brooks is willing to adjust when necessary, its works.

[Podirk]

I think Brooks absolutely gets credit. He has improved rotations etc this year. This is one that should have come in to play 2 years ago, but still he has done a lot better job at picking rotations, etc.

What would be telling is if Perry starts the game over Perk (I still couldn't imagine that would happen).

[jackson77]

Finally, Brooks has changed the lineup and see a miracle, we won against Miami.

Miracles do happen ....... hooray.....!!!

[Thunderhead]

I don't see him moving away from Perkins , not at all. Appears to me, that the Pacers are gonna be in the Finals and Perk will be needed vrs Hibbert.

And ya can't just sit Perk on the bench until the games come along that he's needed, you have to keep him engaged and involved , or you lose him for when ya need him.

I also think Brooks played his hand last night by sitting Perk, rather than saving that move for a possible Finals series when it really counts. Though , I think Thunder need to win that game last night, just for confidence sake. And I as I said above, I don't think Heat make the Finals. You just might be able to stick a fork in them, they appear done , to me.

[Thunderhead]

I think Brooks absolutely gets credit. He has improved rotations etc this year. This is one that should have come in to play 2 years ago, but still he has done a lot better job at picking rotations, etc.

What would be telling is if Perry starts the game over Perk (I still couldn't imagine that would happen).

He has a much better roster to work with. He did not have this depth of good players in the 2012 Finals, or even last year.

Who have they had , as the 10th guy in the rotation, that can play like Perry Jones ? They've had no one like that, who could come in and guard Lebron.

What we saw last night, was not Brooks changing, as much as he has more tools in the bag now. And he has an older , more mature, more veteran team to work with.

[Thunderhead]

And BTW, what we saw last night with Perry Jones on Lebron, is what I think we would have seen last year if the Thunder had made the Finals, only Ronnie Brewer would've been on Lebron. I think that was the entire reason for trading for Brewer last season. I think they were saving that move for the Finals but got derailed by Russ's injury.

And if you go back to the 2012 Finals, where there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth because Brooks played Perk too many minutes, what ya don't hear is suggestions for WHO Brooks should've played . Do you sit Perk and play Mohammed ? What do you gain there ? Is Nazr gonna get out and cover Bosh on the perimeter any better than Perk ?

All the armchair coaches can see is that Perk is a problem, but they don't look down the bench and offer up a solution. Brooks could not play Serge and Nick the entire game.

This roster this year, is deep and talented , and they've done a good job of developing these young players AND win games at the same time. Very difficult.

[Podirk]

And BTW, what we saw last night with Perry Jones on Lebron, is what I think we would have seen last year if the Thunder had made the Finals, only Ronnie Brewer would've been on Lebron. I think that was the entire reason for trading for Brewer last season. I think they were saving that move for the Finals but got derailed by Russ's injury.

And if you go back to the 2012 Finals, where there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth because Brooks played Perk too many minutes, what ya don't hear is suggestions for WHO Brooks should've played . Do you sit Perk and play Mohammed ? What do you gain there ? Is Nazr gonna get out and cover Bosh on the perimeter any better than Perk ?

All the armchair coaches can see is that Perk is a problem, but they don't look down the bench and offer up a solution. Brooks could not play Serge and Nick the entire game.

This roster this year, is deep and talented , and they've done a good job of developing these young players AND win games at the same time. Very difficult.

The main reason Thunder lost that series is b/c of Lebrons help he got. Miller, Battier and co rained wide open 3s for days. Going small period, would have been a good move. 1. Perk had no one he could guard. 2. Ibaka was guarding a 4 that he wasn't fit to cover because of reason 1. Less Perk more Nick/Lazar on the extra g/f in the small ball would have been better then playing multiple people out of position. Obviously nothing would have been guaranteed but matchups were pretty bad (and caused Durant to get in foul trouble in multiple games).

[Thunderhead]

Yeah .... so you gonna play Lazar Haywood huh ?

Ok, I'm sure that would've turned the tide of the series.

I think my point still stands, he had no one else to replace Perk with. Bosh could drag Perk to the perimeter, and Battier could take Serge out to the perimeter. Then Lebron and Wade had all kinds of room to drive, and Serge and Perk are caught trying to get back to protect the rim, at the same time stay close to the perimeter ........ and that left other Heat players wide open for three's for Lebron/Wade to kick out to.

I get it.

But Brooks had no other tool in the bag, if Lazar Haywood on Lebron was the answer ............ well, OK, whatever. I wondered last night, how Brooks was gonna keep from playing Serge and Nick the entire second half, and he solved that issue with Jones.

Just go back and look at those rosters. If you don't play Perk at all, who plays ?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/OKC/2012.html

And as I said, I think Ronnie Brewer was brought into play the role Jones played last night, but .... it never happened. No one could figure out exactly what Brewer's role was at the end of the season, but we would've seen it in the Finals.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/OKC/2013.html

[Podirk]

Lazar on Lebron wasn't the answer...nor was it what I suggested. The problem was Miami was playing small and Thunder were playing big. So....play small.

No Perk. he had no one to guard.
Move Ibaka to C to guard Bosh. Opposed to standing between the lane and Battier.
Lazar can guard Battier.

Again...not a guaranteed solution but it wouldn't have been doing the same thing over and over expecting something to change.

I agree with Brewer (and to some extent, Liggins) and Jones. This more importantly would have provided a way to keep Durant out of foul trouble. Stupid Patrick Beverly.

[comingbacktousa]

I don't think any of those guys mentioned, Lazar, Liggins, Brewer really stand much of a chance at guarding Lebron successfully. PJ3 his a gifted athlete, and Roberson was a premier college defender playing the pf, so can atleast body up Lebron and keep him out of the paint. Durant did a fine job against Lebron as well but you don't want him guarding Lebron til the fourth when OKC has to put their best offensively lineup out there. Jackson-Westbrook-Lamb-Durant-Ibaka matches up well with Miami's best lineups and is the most offensive capable lineup but needs Durant and Westbrook to have no more than 3 fouls, going into the fourth.

[comingbacktousa]

Another thing, prior to the Miami game, Brooks had sneakly been using PJ3 as a defensive stopper, especially at the end of quarters, so I think he went into the game fully planning on seeing on how PJ3 did on Lebron.

[spearsy23]

Yeah .... so you gonna play Lazar Haywood huh ?

Ok, I'm sure that would've turned the tide of the series.

I think my point still stands, he had no one else to replace Perk with. Bosh could drag Perk to the perimeter, and Battier could take Serge out to the perimeter. Then Lebron and Wade had all kinds of room to drive, and Serge and Perk are caught trying to get back to protect the rim, at the same time stay close to the perimeter ........ and that left other Heat players wide open for three's for Lebron/Wade to kick out to.

I get it.

But Brooks had no other tool in the bag, if Lazar Haywood on Lebron was the answer ............ well, OK, whatever. I wondered last night, how Brooks was gonna keep from playing Serge and Nick the entire second half, and he solved that issue with Jones.

Just go back and look at those rosters. If you don't play Perk at all, who plays ?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/OKC/2012.html

And as I said, I think Ronnie Brewer was brought into play the role Jones played last night, but .... it never happened. No one could figure out exactly what Brewer's role was at the end of the season, but we would've seen it in the Finals.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/OKC/2013.html

Game 1: Harden
Game 2: Collison who is much more athletic laterally and vertically
Game 3: Serge
Game 4: Collison
Game 5: who cares, it was a total blow out.

Collison should have played more minutes all series and we should've been playing small most of the time. I say this as a Brooks supporter.

[Thunderhead]

I don't think any of those guys mentioned, Lazar, Liggins, Brewer really stand much of a chance at guarding Lebron successfully. PJ3 his a gifted athlete, and Roberson was a premier college defender playing the pf, so can atleast body up Lebron and keep him out of the paint. Durant did a fine job against Lebron as well but you don't want him guarding Lebron til the fourth when OKC has to put their best offensively lineup out there. Jackson-Westbrook-Lamb-Durant-Ibaka matches up well with Miami's best lineups and is the most offensive capable lineup but needs Durant and Westbrook to have no more than 3 fouls, going into the fourth.

If my memory serves me correctly, I think Brewer had shown to have success vrs Lebron, when Brewer was with the Knicks. Which led to speculation at the time, that was the reason Presti traded for him.

[Thunderhead]

Yeah .... so you gonna play Lazar Haywood huh ?

Ok, I'm sure that would've turned the tide of the series.

I think my point still stands, he had no one else to replace Perk with. Bosh could drag Perk to the perimeter, and Battier could take Serge out to the perimeter. Then Lebron and Wade had all kinds of room to drive, and Serge and Perk are caught trying to get back to protect the rim, at the same time stay close to the perimeter ........ and that left other Heat players wide open for three's for Lebron/Wade to kick out to.

I get it.

But Brooks had no other tool in the bag, if Lazar Haywood on Lebron was the answer ............ well, OK, whatever. I wondered last night, how Brooks was gonna keep from playing Serge and Nick the entire second half, and he solved that issue with Jones.

Just go back and look at those rosters. If you don't play Perk at all, who plays ?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/OKC/2012.html

And as I said, I think Ronnie Brewer was brought into play the role Jones played last night, but .... it never happened. No one could figure out exactly what Brewer's role was at the end of the season, but we would've seen it in the Finals.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/OKC/2013.html

Game 1: Harden
Game 2: Collison who is much more athletic laterally and vertically
Game 3: Serge
Game 4: Collison
Game 5: who cares, it was a total blow out.

Collison should have played more minutes all series and we should've been playing small most of the time. I say this as a Brooks supporter.

Well, that's a far cry from saying Perkins should not have played at all. Perk played 17 to 19 minutes per game, that's not a lot, cept for Game 3 when he played 33 minutes. But in that game, he had 12 rb and 10 points , he was the leading rebounder.

As to whether Collison getting more minutes and Perk less, would've turned that series, it becomes very subjective. It was the three ball that won the series for the Heat, and the shooter changed from game to game, between Battier, a combo of Chalmers/Cole and then Miller in the final game. Whether Collison changes that ........... wow, that's hard to say.

[theokie]

If we play Miami in the Finals, Perkins shouldn't play a minute of that series, unless Miami uncharacteristically goes big and has Bosh at the 4 and Anderson/Oden at the 5.

I still see Brooks starting Perkins to be honest, and making the adjustment at halftime.

[Thunderhead]

If we play Miami in the Finals, Perkins shouldn't play a minute of that series, unless Miami uncharacteristically goes big and has Bosh at the 4 and Anderson/Oden at the 5.

I still see Brooks starting Perkins to be honest, and making the adjustment at halftime.

With the roster Brooks has now, he can do that. I am sort've surprised he showed that hand Wednesday, he could've saved it for the Finals, but they needed to beat Miami , just for confidence.

But I don't see how anyone can use what he did this week, with this roster, as some sort've validation that Perk should not have played at all in the 2012 Finals. Its apples and oranges. The roster now, top to bottom , is much better than 2012.

And as I said above, Perk has to get some minutes to keep him engaged for the times when ya need him. So he will still need to play. This is not a video game, its real life , and Brooks is a real life manager managing real people.

[theokie]

If we play Miami in the Finals, Perkins shouldn't play a minute of that series, unless Miami uncharacteristically goes big and has Bosh at the 4 and Anderson/Oden at the 5.

I still see Brooks starting Perkins to be honest, and making the adjustment at halftime.

With the roster Brooks has now, he can do that. I am sort've surprised he showed that hand Wednesday, he could've saved it for the Finals, but they needed to beat Miami , just for confidence.

But I don't see how anyone can use what he did this week, with this roster, as some sort've validation that Perk should not have played at all in the 2012 Finals. Its apples and oranges. The roster now, top to bottom , is much better than 2012.

And as I said above, Perk has to get some minutes to keep him engaged for the times when ya need him. So he will still need to play. This is not a video game, its real life , and Brooks is a real life manager managing real people.

Im not talking about 2012, I'm talking about 2014.

Im also not saying we should never play him at all, just against Miami. I'd rather win a title and not play Perkins than play Perkins and lose. If he gets his feelings hurt thats fine, a championship would help him get over it. But OKC will NOT be able to beat Miami this summer if Perkins gets 10-15 minutes a game. Prior to the Finals, Perkins certainly has to have a lot of value and OKC needs him against just about every opponent OKC could face in the West.