Scott Souza has this story today:
Perkins, who underwent surgery on the shoulder in 2006 after two dislocations, experienced nagging pain throughout the second half of this season before enduring a more serious strain in Game 4 of the Finals. Though he reluctantly sat out Game 5 in Los Angeles, he forced his way back into the starting lineup for the clinching Game 6 in Boston two days later.
Despite being back under the knife 15 days later, Perkins said he has no regrets about playing through the strain in Game 6.
"Yeah, I knew about it," he said of the extent of the injury. "But I wasn't sitting."
Of course you weren't sitting Perk. That's not in your blood. If your arm was hanging by a thread, you'd ask the trainers to strap it to your side and let you go out there and defend Pau Gasol with one arm. And you'd be dead serious about it too. (By the way, he expects to be 100% by training camp, according to the article)
There aren't enough true tough big guys in the game anymore. These days the toughest guys seem to be the guards like Iverson or even Paul Pierce who take a beating by crashing into the paint. Meanwhile, all the bigs are trying to be like Dirk and Garnett, shooting 3 pointers and fallaway midrange shots. They avoid contact whenever possible.
You, on the other hand, don't back down from anyone. You create space for rebounds and seal off your man for proper spacing on offense. When you set a pick, the defender feels their teeth rattle. And of course you finish your dunks with authority. Basically you throw your weight around in the best way possilbe.
But that's not all. You blitz the pick and roll and show surprising agility in getting back to cover the baseline on the defensive rotation. You have developed the beginnings of a back to the basket post game. You happen to have good hands catching the ball and a good eye for passing for a big man.
In many ways you are underrated outside of Boston, but it is no wonder why you are a crowd favorite at home. We love us some Perk.
So thanks for doing what you do. Thanks for playing through the pain. Thanks for being a tough guy.
More Thank You's: Eddie House | Ray Allen | PJ Brown | Wyc Grousbeck & Owners | Sam Cassell | Paul Pierce | Kobe Bryant | Doc Rivers | Assistant Coaches | James Posey | Danny Ainge | 17 Thank You's