Perkins Injures Left Shoulder in Game 4, Listed Day-to-Day

By Scott Tribble
Celtics.com Correspondent
June 12, 2008

Kendrick Perkins typically plays with chips on both of his shoulders. On Thursday night, a lame left one forced him out of the Celtics' historic 97-91 victory over the Lakers in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

At the 9:34 mark of the third quarter, Lamar Odom drove past the Celtics center en route to the basket. Perkins' outstretched arm got caught up in the Laker's body, and the big man clutched his shoulder in obvious pain. Perkins, who suffered a sprained ankle earlier in the series, left the court and did not return to action. His teammates picked up the slack, however, mounting a dramatic comeback from a 20-point second-half deficit.

Team doctors diagnosed the injury as a shoulder strain, listing Perkins as day-to-day. In his post-game press conference, Celtics' Coach Doc Rivers was unsure about his availability for Game 5 on Sunday.

"When I first saw [the play], I didn't like what I saw, but I don't know yet."

Like the rest of his team, Perkins struggled mightily up to the point of his injury. Early foul trouble limited him to thirteen minutes, and, in that time, the five-year veteran picked up two points and a single rebound. Perkins also allowed the struggling Pau Gasol to get untracked, with the Lakers' center contributing ten points to his team's 57-40 halftime advantage.

With Perkins on the bench in the first half, Rivers experimented with a smaller lineup, alternating Kevin Garnett and P.J. Brown in the middle and giving James Posey significant minutes. Perkins' injury forced the Celtics' coach to re-deploy that formation for much of the third quarter, and, by the end of that frame, the Celtics had cut the Lakers' lead to two.

Perkins' left shoulder has been a source of trouble for some time. In February 2006, during a team practice, the shoulder popped out of socket, and team trainers reset the joint. Three months later, amid off-season workouts, Perkins separated the shoulder a second time. Team doctors tightened the capsule in a subsequent arthroscopic procedure, and Perkins was ready in time for that season's opener.

"It was a little too sore [for me] to go back in tonight, but I'll be ready on Sunday," Perkins said.

Teammate Paul Pierce was hopeful that the big man would be available for the upcoming Game 5 matchup.

"Perk hurt his shoulder tonight, so I think these two days will be great for us to recuperate from our minor injuries and try to suck it up on Sunday and end this thing before things get worse."