Last season, other teams largely would ignore Kendrick Perkins on the offensive end. The Thunder would try to get him going pretty much every night, throwing the ball to him in the post on the first couple trips down the court, getting him some touches before letting Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook take over.
How did it work? Perkins shot a career low 45.7 percent and his PER of 8.2 was the lowest in the NBA of anyone getting 25 minutes a game or more. (To be fair, the Thunder’s starting five was +10.6 per 48 minutes when on the court last season with a defensive rating of 97 points per 100 possessions. It worked. The question is did it work because of or in spite of Perkins? Take out Perkins and replace him in that same lineup with Hasheem Thabeet and the Thunder were +19.3 per 48 minutes.)
The Thunder didn’t amnesty Perkins this summer, but they need to do something to have more out of him on offense, and he told the Oklahoman he was working on that.
No doubt Oklahoma City will be one of the best teams in the West next season, a contender led by the second best player on the planet, as athletic a guard as there is in the league and some role players that fit well. But to really contend come May and June without James Harden or his lesser replacement Kevin Martin, guys like Jeremy Lamb are going to have to step up.
And so is Perkins.
If they get any offense out of Perkins, that would help.
