Comments on: Perkins sitting key to solving Thunder’s Shane Battier problem

By: borderline1988

borderline1988 — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 04:59:41 +0000

Very good article.

Perkins is getting torched out there. If the Heat bust out Turiaf, Haslem, or Anthony, then maybe the Thudner can play Perkins. But otherwise, he belongs on the bench, because he has zero chance of guarding Bosh or Battier one on one, and that’s all he’s really good for (defending post players man to man).

Btw, Battier hitting those 3s are impressive, but what about those drives and floaters/hook shots? Who saw that coming?
Battier right now is the second most important player on the Heat. He’s playing 43 minutes a game and constantly guarding OKC’s best players.

I”ve heard enough about Sefalosha, he’s just a poor man’s version of Battier.

By: thestudiokida

thestudiokida — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 15:00:59 +0000

Pippen is one of the top 5 defenders of all time and led the Bulls to a 55-27 record in his only year with the Bulls and without Jordan. You, sir, are an idiot.

By: hickoryhigh

hickoryhigh — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 05:00:51 +0000

Battier hasn’t been lucky, but at the same time, he’s not going to continue to hit 70% from 3. It’s just math, over time he will move closer to his career average. The Heat need to make sure they have a plan for when those shots stop falling.

By: hickoryhigh

hickoryhigh — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 04:51:07 +0000

michflaguy

Yeah, I noticed how bad the Bulls were without Jordan, 55-27 and 47-35. And it’s obvious you never played basketball, so let me help you out. Nobody ever designed a defense to “stop” Jordan, LeBron, Durant, Kobe or any other great scorer. You accept that they are going to “get theirs” and you try to minimize the impact of the other 4 guys. Case in point, the way the Celtics locked down on Wade in the last series even when Lebron was scoring 30+ every game. If they wanted to stop LeBron they’d have to triple team him, which obviously won’t work. What’s funny is you might have had some people supporting you if you had left out the Pippen comment. But all clowns give themselves away, don’t they?

By: Louis Tumblin

Louis Tumblin — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 03:19:00 +0000

Perkins is not a good match up for any Heat player in this series. The pace is too quick for him.

By: sheanjett

sheanjett — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 02:34:56 +0000

Get him out Too unathletic for this series Jus the traveling turnovers at least twice a game r a killer

By: turnmymicup

turnmymicup — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 22:36:32 +0000

Battier will be ready game 3. These shots that are dropping aren’t from luck. LeBron and Wade are doing a great job at getting into the paint. They are forcing OKC to commit every time one of them have the ball. Battier is getting some really good looks at the hoop. Bosh is also benefiting from this. LETS GO HEAT.

By: passerby23

passerby23 — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:54:50 +0000

I agree. Start Collison and Ibaka and bring Perkins off the bench when Haslem is in the game. Fouls will change things, of course, but Haslem is a guy you can stick him on. The Thunder have only played about 2-3 good quarters this series so far so I expect them to play better no matter who is out there.

By: sellahh

sellahh — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:45:41 +0000

Oh and i loved them arguments with ppl claiming Perkins is a good shotblocking and rotating big man. All he can do is guard big man 1on1.

By: sellahh

sellahh — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:44:29 +0000

Like my first thought reading the title, no Perkins is key.

By: ndirishfan1

ndirishfan1 — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:35:43 +0000

Pippen was amazing in 93-94, but it’s also amazing how many people forget the Knicks and Bulls played in the Eastern Conference Semifinals that year. The Knicks beat Indiana to get to the NBA Finals and the Pacers were playing some pretty good basketball at that point, so it’s no foregone conclusion Chicago makes it to the Finals.

You’re right though, Pippen was playing MVP like basketball that season.

By: barkley4life

barkley4life — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:24:45 +0000

Foul

By: scalfor3

scalfor3 — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:07:53 +0000

collison is way more effective when harden is out there with him. those two work well together.

perk is kinda miscast in this matchup. he did rebound pretty well when he was out there. if the heat are gonna start the lebron, battier and bosh frontcourt, perk should come off the bench. give the guys a rest and battle on the boards with haslem

By: dgbk

dgbk — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:48:20 +0000

perkins touch the ball usually lead to a travel or an ofensive foul… i never saw a vet which such lil ofensive skills….

By: barkley4life

barkley4life — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:42:11 +0000

The Pippen comment took away all your basketball knowledge credibility. Pippen was a b.s. Hubert Davis coppull away from taking the Bulls to the Finals by HIMSELF.

By: chicitybulls

chicitybulls — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:36:20 +0000

You obviously dont know what you’re talking about. Pippen almost (and should’ve) lead the Bulls to the Finals except for a bad call by a ref. Only dumb fans say that Pippen is a top 50 all time player and a hall of famer b/c he played with Jordan. Former players and coaches NEVER say that. I’ll take their word over yours.

By: michflaguy

michflaguy — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:32:56 +0000

Yes…because he played side-by-side with THE greatest player of all-time. If you had to defend against that Bull’s team, you’d design the entire defense to stop Jordan and rely on 1-on-1 coverage for the rest of the team…including Pippen. Ever notice how bad the Bulls were when it was just Pippen? There is a good reason for that…Jordan was not there and Pippen had to play against defenses designed to stop HIM – and they did, quite effectively.

By: LPad

LPad — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:32:21 +0000

I’ll just also point out that the Thunder went with Collison/Ibaka to also help neutralize the Spurs spot up shooters and stretch 4s, so this isn’t exactly an Achilles heel.

By: michflaguy

michflaguy — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:30:09 +0000

Problem is that Collison simply cannot handle defending Bosh. He is a hell of a shot-blocker…under the rim. Bosh goes hog-wild with 15-foot jumpers when Collison is on the floor. This is a serious issue for OKC.

By: pmd5319

pmd5319 — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:28:02 +0000

“or Scottie Pippen (yes, I just said that!). ”
________________________________________________________________________________

You do realize that Scottie Pippen is in the Hall of Fame and was selected as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, right?

By: michflaguy

michflaguy — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:23:40 +0000

Perhaps the Thunder simply do not have an answer for an “outlier” like Battier. They have prepared so well for LeBron, Wade & Bosh…but that may be the beauty of the Heat. You can’t stop *everyone* because they have SO MANY weapons. All great championship teams had those role players that rose to star status in the Finals because they would always be the “guy left open” for an easy 3. Hell, OKC need look no further than their own bench for the best example of this type of player…Derek Fisher. He made a career from being the guy left open after the opposing team had to deal with Kobe & Shaq. Robert Horry also comes to mind. There have *always* been teams like the Heat with multiple superstars (80′s Lakers & Celtics, Spurs, ’08 Celtics)…so maybe Battier will go down in history as another Robert Horry or Michael Cooper or Scottie Pippen (yes, I just said that!). The role-player left open to drain wide-open 3′s that put the dagger in the heart of the losing team.

By: pmd5319

pmd5319 — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:22:50 +0000

This isn’t a groundbreaking idea. He played only 25 min in Game 1 and only 20 min in Game 2. He will be down around 15-20 min per game for the rest of the series. I enjoy the “Follow me on this one” line, as if you are presenting a mind-boggling idea. Not writing an article until you actually have something to write about is better than writing a dumb one.

By: labratre

labratre — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:14:49 +0000

Perkins is big, slow and clumsy as hell! Kind of Frankensteinish! Lol!

By: gmen4life33

gmen4life33 — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:13:05 +0000

Pretty good point made in the article. I feel like Collison/Ibaka instead of Perkins/Ibaka would limit open 3′s by MIA role players and force LBJ/Wade to control the whole game (which they can do, but its very difficult). Also, Perkins coming off the bench might also help OKC get off to a fast start so they arent down 10 after 4 minutes. Collinson is the ultimate hustle guy and OKC should start him