Larry Brown Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder are heading in the wrong direction since Russell Westbrook went down with a knee injury. After putting the Houston Rockets in a 3-0 hole, the Thunder now find themselves preparing for Game 6 on the road. Kendrick Perkins is not concerned.

No team has ever come back to win an NBA playoff series after being down 0-3, but that hasn’t stopped the speculation. Some people feel as though the Thunder could be in trouble now that they have to adjust on the fly without their floor general, and there is certainly some truth to that. However, Perkins wanted his nearly 50,000 Twitter followers to know that the team is not panicking. He just had an interesting way of showing it.

You think we stressed out right now. Y’all crazy we got heart over here in OKC. Thunderup twitter.com/KendrickPerkin…

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 2, 2013

That’s great, but that would be a Boston Celtics championship ring. Perkins may have championship experience, but he is not going to carry the team to an NBA title. In my opinion, tweeting a picture of a Celtics ring doesn’t exactly help him prove his point.

H/T Black Sports Online

Kendrick Perkins has been in the NBA for 10 seasons and has been lucky to play with two of the top point guards in the league. Perkins and Rajon Rondo were teammates on the Boston Celtics for 4.5 seasons, and they became close friends during their time together. After Perk was traded to Oklahoma City, he became teammates with Russell Westbrook.

Perkins says Rondo and Westbrook have more in common than just being All-Star point guards.

“They definitely different [from other point guards],” Perkins told ESPN’s Justin Verrier. “They both some divas. In a good way though.”

Perkins may have said he meant that in a good way, but is there any way to consider calling someone a diva a good thing? “Diva” has a negative connotation no matter what. Additionally, Perkins has seemingly been critical of Westbrook in the past, so this comment won’t help appearances.

As for Westbrook’s overall development, another Thunder player gave a more positive review.

“In training camp [Westbrook] was great,” Nick Collison told Verrier. “He came in this year another year older, another year wiser and more comfortable I think with himself.

“He’s showing a lot of leadership. A lot of things people don’t see; he’s grown up a lot. The way he’s grown, the way Kevin’s grown, it’s helped us adjust from the trade and be able to kind of keep going. They deserve a lot of credit for the way they’ve stepped up as leaders.”

Westbrook and Kevin Durant led the Thunder to the NBA Finals last year, and they have led the Thunder to the best record in the NBA this season. Based on the way he dresses, it’s easy to see why someone would call Westbrook a diva. But it’s hard to criticize the way he plays on the court.

H/T Pro Basketball Talk

Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins’ awful fastbreak pass attempt last Friday was so bad it landed him a spot on TNT’s “Shaqtin’ a Fool” Thursday, but luckily the big man has a good sense of humor about it.

That shaqin a fool was so funny, I look like a bone head Lmao

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 11, 2013

Good thing he can laugh about it, because you don’t want to see Perk when he’s angry. The best part of his “Tragic Johnson” pass was when he yelled at the referee as if he missed a foul call. So great.

The entire “Shaqtin’ a Fool” segment was pretty fantastic. We highly recommend you watch the full thing, especially Kevin McHale’s reaction to Greg Smith tying his shoe in the paint to draw a three-second violation.

H/T CJ Fogler

Kevin Durant was called Sunday for his third technical foul in Oklahoma City’s past three games, and the star forward sent a joke about it after the game.

3 techs in 3 games, not like me…@kendrickperkins is a bad influence on my life lol jk..I will be better, sorry guys

— Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) January 6, 2013

Kendrick Perkins is recognized as one of the more fiery players in the league. He’s known for his cheap shots against opposing players, and he is never afraid to stand up his opponents. You remember in November when he and Zach Randolph reportedly rumbled by the locker rooms after they were ejected from a game? Yeah, that’s how Perk rolls.

Durant, you may recall, was ejected from Wednesday’s game against the Nets after receiving two technical fouls for yelling at a referee. Sunday was his third tech, but he did manage 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists in the 104-92 win over the Toronto Raptors.

Between Perk, Serge Ibaka, and now Durant living the thug life, the Thunder are assembling a roster full of hardened criminals. Watch out, rest of the league, you’re looking at the latest version of the Bad Boys.

Of course our job would not be complete without showing the sick double-crossover Durant used on DeMar DeRozan during the game:

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For every moment of greatness Russell Westbrook has with the Oklahoma City Thunder, he has another that frustrates the heck out of his teammates and the fans. When Westbrook is under control and not trying to force the issue, he is one of the best point guards in the NBA. On Christmas Day against the Miami Heat, he was not that guy.

Westbrook scored 21 points, but he was only 5-for-19 from the field. He turned the ball over five times while recording only three assists. He also tried to draw a foul shooting a three-pointer with the game on the line and didn’t get the call, so he threw a fit that resulted in a technical and sealed the win for Miami. After the game, Kendrick Perkins made some comments that were almost certainly directed at Westbrook.

“I just feel like … we just got to start getting back to who we are as individuals,” Perk told The Oklahoman’s Darnell Mayberry. “Turning off the TV and stop looking at articles on ourselves and start just losing ourselves in the team a little bit more, then the sky’s the limit.

“We just got to start knowing what got us here and what each guy did to get us to this point. We just got to make sure we start knowing who we are and what we are and what we mean to this team as individuals and the rest will take care of itself.”

Two seasons ago, a Thunder veteran reportedly said that he believes Westbrook thinks he’s a better player than Kevin Durant. L.B. wrote at the time that he had a hunch the player was Perk, and these comments would seem to support that theory.

For the most part, Perkins is right. The Thunder play their best stretches of basketball when Westbrook focuses on being a point guard who can score — not a scorer who also happens to run the point. Fortunately for Oklahoma City, it’s still very early in the season. Oh yeah, and Westbrook is only 24 years old.

Many will argue that Kendrick Perkins has been a disappointment since the Oklahoma City Thunder acquired him from the Boston Celtics two seasons ago. Perkins has average just 5.1 points per game in exactly 100 games for the Thunder, which is a let-down for any fans who were expecting him to be an offensive force in the post. However, those who were expecting that type of production are not familiar with Perk’s game.

Perkins last two games (12 points against the Jazz, 10 points against the Hornets) were two of his better efforts this season. He held Al Jefferson to a modest 16 points on 7-for-18 shooting on Friday night, and snapped at reporters after the game for asking him where this Perkins has been hiding.

“They didn’t have to go through two off-season surgeries, either,” Perkins said according to The Oklahoman. “I mean, they’re going to say what they want to say. But at the end of the day I know what I’m doing. So whatever. Just check my winning percentage since I been here.”

With Boston, Perkins was known for his ability to protect the post and shut down opposing centers. He has also had to battle a major knee injury and work to get his confidence back.

“I’m just trying to do my job, man,” he explained. “It’s not a team where I’m going to be coming out here getting 10-plus points a night. I know that. So I just try to find different ways to get involved in the game, whether it’s picking up full court with (Russell Westbrook) to locking up the best post player that they got on their team. So I just try to come out and have an effect on the game.”

With the talent the Thunder have on offense, getting great defense from a player like Perkins should be more than enough.

Photo credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Zach Randolph and Kendrick Perkins reportedly were involved in a postgame altercation on Wednesday night, though police deny that an incident took place.

Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman tweeted about the postgame altercation following the Memphis Grizzlies’ 107-97 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“After getting ejected in the 4th quarter, Kendrick Perkins & Zach Randolph had an altercation near the locker rooms. Police investigating,” Mayberry tweeted.

“Police captain saying an altercation did not take place and there is no investigation underway,” he later reported.

Sounds like the police were trying to cover up whatever did take place, because Mayberry insisted something happened.

A mouthpiece remained on the floor near the Thunder’s locker room for a while long after the game. Something happened back there.

— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) November 15, 2012

A different Oklahoman reporter added more details.

As @darnellmayberry says, there may be no investigation under way, but a NewsOK staffer heard yelling and walls and doors being hit.

— Jenni Carlson (@JenniCarlson_OK) November 15, 2012

Below is a video of Perkins and Randolph being ejected late in the fourth quarter after trading words:

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