By J. Michael Falgoust, USA TODAY
The Oklahoma City Thunder went into Saturday hoping to end their first-round series 
vs. the Dallas Mavericks with a sweep.
But the Thunder lost starting center Kendrick Perkins in the first quarter of Game 4 in Dallas when he strained his right hip while trying to defend Jason Terry on a drive.
Perkins left the game with 4:09 left in the first quarter and the score tied at 15.
"It definitely hurts. Perk is a big part of what we do," Thunder coach Scott Brooks told TNT between quarters. "But that's part of the game. We have enough to figure it out.
"Other guys have to step up. They don't have to play out of their mind. They just have to play solid basketball."
Perkins is averaging 5.0 points and 7.7 rebounds going into Game 4, but his greatest value â€" setting screens and quarterbacking the defense from the paint â€" doesn't show up in the statistics.
Fortunately for Brooks, he has several big bodies he can rely on with Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison, Nazr Mohammed and Cole Aldrich.
But the sooner the Thunder can get this series over, the better for Perkins.
No comments:
Post a Comment