Derrenmatts came up with another good post over on Celtics Green. It is no secret how I feel about Perk. I believe that if he is given a chance, he is going to break out this season and become that dominant center that we need. Doc has used Blount and Raef way more than he should have, even though they weren't as effective as Perk. Now that they are both gone, hopefully Doc will give Perk the minutes he deserves. With the addition of Clifford Ray, I am hoping that he will give Doc some pointers on how big men are supposed to be used, under the basket and not out on the 3 point line. Perk is going to be a powerful rebounder this year and he said that he was working on his offense this summer as well so I expect him to take a huge step forward this season. I expect to hear Tommy shouting "I LOVE Perk" quite a bit... (Have I mentioned that I love this kid?)

Perkins has a chance to be a powerful rebounder. His lack of big time athleticism, agility, and quickness has often left me wondering about his future projectibility, being that the NBA is moving to a new brand of basketball, where quick running teams may soon outrun slower teams to championship trophies. But it wasn't until I started watching Perkins from a different perspective that I began to see his effectiveness in a new light. From guys like Dave Cowens back in the day to guys like Troy Murphy in the present time, big men who can use their sturdy bodies to seal off their men can put up big rebounding numbers, despite being athletically handicapped. They rely on getting good positioning and staying in front of their men to win the rebounding showdown. Big men like Pau Gasol and Tyson Chandler have a hard time making a living in this fashion, and thus have to rely on quickness and outreaching their counterparts to get rebounds. But those who are blessed with rugged bodies that can hammer out punishment have a big advantage if they learn how to harness boxing out their men. If you take at last year's top rebounders, yes you will see that the top 3 rebounders are in the new age big men mold: Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard and Shawn Marion. But the following 7 are big men who rely, at least partially, on a combination of body, strength, and positioning to win battles in the trenches. They are Ben Wallace, Tim Duncan, Elton Brand, Chris Webber, Troy Murphy, Chris Kaman and Jamaal Magloire. These guys aren't blessed with freakish athleticism for 7 footers like Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett are, nor do they have mutant powers like Shawn Marion. These guys have to take the beatings and dish out beatings for every rebound. Its no easy task, but its how they get things done. Kendrick Perkins fits into the latter mold. He's definitely got a mountain-like body with boulders sitting atop his shoulders. If he's ever going to make it as a big rebounder who cracks the top 10, he has to rely mainly on his ability to seal off his man and control his area inside the paint. He has to learn the art of creating space between his defender and the basket so that anything inside of 5 feet is his. Clifford Ray will play an extremely big part in Perk's development. Ray was a big time rebounder in his era and he also had to rely on using his body and positioning to win rebounds. He knows what it takes to develop this type of play, and he is going to impart his knowledge to Perkins. Perkins' part will be to learn as much as possible from Ray and translate what he's learned in individual workouts onto the court where it counts. Perkins is a workoholic who always pushes himself. Foul trouble so far his been his downfall, and doing a better job of limiting the amount of ticky tack foul he picks up will enable him to stay on the court for longer periods of time. We are going to need Perkins to be a powerful rebounder. We aren't richly blessed with impactful big men and so we need each and every one of our big men going beyond what they are called to produce. [More] source: Celtics Green -Derrenmatts Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!