Kendrick Perkins blasted Paul George and the Clippers for ‘having the profile of challengers but playing like pretenders’.
Advertisement
Without Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers were slaughtered by the Mavericks in their third game, to put it mildly. They succumbed to the biggest halftime deficit in league history at 77-27. By fulltime, they were well on their way to the worst defeat in franchise history: 124-73.
The way Luka Doncic sliced and diced up their defense at will exposed their defensive shortcomings. Their inability to score at the other end was a damning assessment of their lack of playmaking in the roster. The Clippers went a shocking 1-of-19 from 3 and 9-of-36 from the field in the first half.
Kendrick Perkins, who’s always been siding with James and the Lakers, was probably beside himself with glee. The way he reacted to the annihilation suggests he did enjoy himself thoroughly at the Clippers’ expense.
Kendrick Perkins blasts the Clippers for being phony contenders
Perkins thinks this iteration of the Clippers are no better than the unit they had under Doc Rivers:
“To be down 50 at the half, that’s one thing … but to not fight back is another thing! … The Clippers are the true definition of front-runners!”
Even Kawhi Leonard being available for the game last night would probably have had little effect on the team. Paul George’s excuse-mongering in the press conference only made it worse for Kawhi’s team.
“Here we go, dejavu! Clippers are at it again. Profile of a contender, performance of a pretender. The teacher’s pet out here flunking exams! Carry on…”
Perkins will no doubt be overjoyed by the display put on by the Lakers in Anthony Davis’ absence against the Wolves. LeBron James also sat out for most of the second half with a reaggravated ankle.
