KENDRICK PERKINS

That is the best I have ever seen Kendrick Perkins play.  I realize that offense is more rare and so that might have to be valued higher but for most of the time he was in the game I thought Perkins was the best player on the floor.  He was the guy that the other team just couldn't do anything about, whereas we could double and contain Joe Johnson (although we seemingly decided not to down the stretch - why?).  Even PP finally missed a shot on one of those Mike Bibby back downs.  As good as KG was if he had been able to hit a jump shot this wouldn't have been close.  But Perk, wow.  He was covering the whole floor on D.  He looked like Scottie Pippen out there.  I remember when it counted the Bulls would send Pippen out there to gaurd the ball all over the half court, literally, behind the three point line.  It was rediculous.  He was so long and fast that he would just chase the ball around, and often completely contain it or take it away.  He would, and could chase it down from pass to pass all over the court and somehow manage to keep up with it.  I had never seen that.  I remember laughing about it with some friends at the time.  It was so outrageous it looked funny, like a broken play, and then we realized that that was the plan and that it was actually working.  Perk reminded me of that tonight.  He didn't go out as far, usually, but he also maintained responsibility for the cutting of the lane and boxing out.  He would go out and take a perimeter guy, bottle him up, allow Allen or Rondo to get back then have to turn and find the big under the basket before the ball could get down there and he would do it two, three times per possesion, facing up to the driver each time and forcing them to think better of it.  He did that and he still blocked shots.  And he would do it each time, over and over again.  Hats off to Ray's effort on d when overmatched, hats off to Pierce forcing the defense's hand with that crazy Bibby matchup, hats of to KG's clutch work down low, hats off to Tony Allen's spot D, and hats off to Rondo's now expected all-star type speed, and aggresiveness, his drives and his finds and his  finishes.  But hands down, this game belonged to Kendrick Perkins.  I have never seen a big, other than Garnett, play defense that way and dominate the game that way.  Wow.