<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">In terms of sheer momentum - as in riding a three-game winning streak - the Celtics haven?t been this good in a season-and-a-half. But as Kendrick Perkins went through some pool therapy yesterday with Walter Norton - one of the team?s two fitness gurus - coach Doc Rivers found himself staring at a half-empty glass. ?There is some concern there,? Rivers said. Perkins, the Celtics? only functioning center at the moment, has been nursing a painful case of plantar faciitis in his left foot since a Nov. 13 game against Orlando. The inflamed-tendon condition, a common one among basketball players, finally was bad enough yesterday for Perkins to hop on an exercise bike and miss practice. Considering his physical style has keyed the Celtics? defensive improvement during the three-game streak - the burly, 6-foot-11 center is averaging 3.7 blocks and seven rebounds in that span - the last thing Rivers needs is another lame big man. ?We might have to start five guards,? said Rivers, only half-jokingly, of tomorrow night?s game in Charlotte. That might not be necessary. Perkins plans to practice today and play tomorrow night against the Bobcats. ?I play through it all the time,? Perkins said. ?After I get warmed up, I can play through it without any problem. I?m going to practice (today). They say it can take a few weeks to get over. Wally (Szczerbiak) had it for a while.? But with Al Jefferson, Michael Olowokandi and Theo Ratliff all expected to remain on the shelf, Perkins doesn?t consider now the time to start nursing an injury. ?That too,? Perkins said of wanting to play with the C?s short on big bodies. ?But that?s just the kind of guy I am. We?re rolling right now, so I just want to stay out there.? It?s especially difficult for Perkins to apply the brakes while he is playing so well. Two keys, according to Rivers, are Perkins? willingness to restrict his thoughts on offense and to discipline himself on the defensive end. A player who in the past was a lock to finish among the league leaders in personal fouls, especially when those numbers are projected over 48 minutes, now is buried on the list. Perkins is in a three-way tie with Golden State?s Andris Biedrins and Utah guard Derek Fisher for the 23rd-highest foul average at 3.7 per game. These days, Perkins isn?t even the most foul-prone C?s player. Jefferson, in a five-way tie in seventh place with at 4.0 per game, has done more hacking. Perkins also is eighth in the NBA in blocks per game. ?He?s really starting to understand his role,? Rivers said of Perkins. ?And the only time he gets out of it is when he starts to think offensive thoughts.?</div> Source
not good. Ive heard plantar facilitis can sideline players for months or make them never the same again. Sure hope Perk is careful about playing with it
I hope I never get accused of not being good enough because I think offensive thoughts, that just doesn't seem right.
<div class="quote_poster">Squishface Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I hope I never get accused of not being good enough because I think offensive thoughts, that just doesn't seem right.</div> BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING!
