Kendrick Perkins a game time decision for game 2 against the Los Angeles Lakers – NBA News
Oklahoma City Thunder centre Kendrick Perkins is a game time decision for game 2 of the Western Conference Semi Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, after re-injuring his hip in game 1 on Monday.
Perkins did not practice with the team on Tuesday as he undergoes treatment for the injury.
"If he's ready to go, he'll play. If he's not, we won't play him. But we'll see how he feels. We have all day tomorrow. We have treatments today, treatments tomorrow and he'll be a game-time decision” said Thunder
coach Scott Brooks.
Perkins initially sustained the injury in game 4 of the Western Conference First round matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. The Thunder luckily had an 8 day rest before they opened their semi final series against
the Lakers, who were taken to 7 games by the Denver Nuggets in their first round series.
That rest gave Perkins time to recover from his injury and was ready to play when the series against the Lakers started. He, however, re-aggravated his injury early in the 3rdquarter when he went up
for a dunk. KP left the game immediately to be examined, but did return to the Thunder bench, albeit without playing the rest of the game.
"We'll see how he feels tomorrow," Brooks said. "One of the things that we know about Perk is that he's as tough as they come. He wants to play. But if he's not ready to play, we won't play him tomorrow" added
Brooks.
Perkins is averaging 5.1 points and 6.5 rebounds this season, and is an integral part of the Thunder presence in the paint. The injury does not seem that serious as he might return next game, but if Scott Brooks
hurries with his big, he may aggravate what seems to be a niggle at the moment.
If Perkins has to miss a few games due to the injury, it would put OKC at a disadvantage playing against the Lakers who have a strong presence in the centre with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. The Lakers duo struggled
even with Perkins on the bench in the last game, but they are big game players and OKC will need all of Perkins experience to counter them in this series.
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