Kendrick Perkins still day to day; Expected to miss the first half of second round of NBA Playoffs
Oklahoma City Thunder swept Dallas Mavericks in the 1st round of playoffs, thus allowing them to take some time off before heading towards the semi-finals. This luxury is something their roster has been yearning for.
However, will this time suffice for Kendrick Perkins to recover from the hip injury is another question?
The 27 year old strained his left hip on Saturday in the 4th game against Dallas Mavericks. According to initial information released by the franchise, the exact time of his recovery was not intimated and his status
was kept day to day.
Coach Scott Brooks had projected that Perkin’s injury will sideline him for a day or two and had there been a game 5, the OKC centre wouldn’t have participated. But a day after, Brooks had to exclude the time frame from the statement.
“I'm sure in the next couple days we'll have a better understanding.” He said at that time.
This clearly indicates that the injury is of dire nature that will probably keep him sidelined for quite some time. The MRI confirmed the strain in the right hip’s muscle, which results after a stretch or tear in the tendon’s fibres
surrounding the large bone that make up the hip joint.
Rest is the only standard operational procedure for it, but time is one thing that OKC do not have at the moment. If the Los Angeles Lakers win the game six against the Denver Nuggets, the Western Conference Semifinals will start
on Monday and given the present condition of Perkins, it is unlikely that he will be ready for at least game-1.
The centre did not participate in Tuesday’s practice. "Going to do everything to put himself in a position to play.” Brooks said of Perkins after the session, “If that happens, great. If it doesn't, we have to make adjustments."
Perkins will not be missed on the offensive end, but his absence will definitely affect Thunder’s glass work and defensive hustle, which proved to be a major component in Maverick’s downfall. Nick Collison is expected to assume
Perkins’ role, till the time the big is day to day and all OKC will be hoping for now is for the Nuggets to take the series against the Lakers to game-7.
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