Gino's Jungle

If you have been watching the Celtics during the Kendrick Perkins era then you know that when he's on the floor he means business. Afterall, we don't call him a beast for nothing. When he is on the floor he plays with grit, determination, and tends to become very physical with the opposition. As fans we love to see this kind of play from our big man. As for his opponents, I can't say the same.

Some guy's have said Perk talks a lot of smack because of the team around him. They say that it is easy to act tough when you have three all-stars around you.  These guys saying this don't realize what Perk really does for this team. Perk is our force down low. He provides a "beast" down low on the offensive end, and in my opinion, one of the best, if not the best defensive center in the league. Look at last years series against Orlando if you need a reference. This kind of play from Perk irritates many players that have to matchup with Perk.

Following last night's loss against the Suns, Phoenix center Amare Stoudemire had a few words to say about Perk, via ESPN:

"He's a solid player out there, he loves to get physical. He's aggressive. But he keeps a lot of confrontation going. We try to play smart basketball. From my standpoint, we try to stay out of the confrontation -- really just go out and execute our plays offensively and defensively. But it seems sometimes, he wants to keep it up. He's always mean. Always mad. He don't never have fun out there. He needs to learn how to have fun on the basketball court and just enjoy his life -- enjoy the game."

 Did anybody tell Amare that your not out there to make friends? I think that this is a sign that Perkins really intimidates his opposition. Obviously Amare can not match Perkins intensity when he is out there on the floor.  I like the fact that players think Perk is "mean". We don't want a guy banging around in the paint that is "nice".  Perk is Perk, you are not going to change him. He will always be very physical, and he will continue to irritate his opponents.

We will talk to Amare come June and see which player is having fun. I'm sure Perk will be smiling while he's riding on the duck boats following a championship.