Adams pushes Perkins for starting job for NBA’s Thunder

Oklahoma City acquired Kendrick Perkins late in the 2010-11 season and he started at center. He kept starting, every game since when in good health, a reliability that maddened some fans who wanted more production from that spot.

Perkins’ skills are sometimes hard to quantify. He is not a threat to score except within reach of the basket. His rebounding and shot-blocking skills are in decline. While he continues to set nasty screens and his post defense is helpful, after 11 NBA seasons, Perkins often appears to slow down the Thunder.

He remains, however, a favorite of coach Scott Brooks for his strength in the lane, his leadership and his voice in the locker room. Serious competition, however, for the role of starting center exists this season.

“Minutes will be fought for,” Brooks said at the team’s media day in Oklahoma City. “Starting lineups will be fought for. One thing about Perk — he cares about winning and he cares about his teammates. He’s a big part of the team, whether he starts or whether he doesn’t start, he’s going to fill a role that we need.”

Perkins, 30, did not play in Oklahoma City’s first three preseason games because of a quad strain. Even before the injury, second-year center Steven Adams entered training camp as a rising option to Perkins’ offensive limits. Adams (7-foot, 255 pounds) has two inches on Perkins and possesses a growing variety of scoring moves around the basket. In exhibition games against Denver and Dallas, Adams averaged 17 points and made 15 of 17 shots and 4 of 8 free throws. On Tuesday, Adams scored 22 points and made 9 of 11 shots in a 117-107 win over Memphis.

The Thunder continues the exhibition season on Friday against the Toronto Raptors at Intrust Bank Arena. It is the third consecutive season the Thunder will play in Wichita and the previous two sold out the arena’s capacity of 15,004 fans.

Adams, from New Zealand, showed up for camp sounding confident and full of humor. He showed off a Tom Selleck-inspired moustache, grown for the scoreboard videos and media-guide pictures taken on media day. He will spend the 2014-15 season as the man with the moustache.

“I was just going to say, I’m accepting no questions about the moustache,” he said at media day. “That’s all it was, so when they call out my name, it’s just Stache. Or when someone opens up the book — Stache.”

Adams started 20 games as a rookie (he played against Wichita State for Pittsburgh in the 2013 NCAA Tournament) and averaged 3.3 points and 5.3 rebounds. He made his biggest splash as an aggressive force who bothered opponents with a physical style.

“Last year, I had no idea to expect,” he said. “Now I have a good idea of how things work.”

Adams played well in 18 playoff games last season and set his season-high with 10 points and 11 rebounds in a series-clinching win over the Los Angeles Clippers. He made 31 of 45 (68.9 percent) of his shots in the playoffs. He isn’t ready to proclaim himself a No. 1 option, but he is ready to do his part and take advantage of the open shots afforded by defenses rotating frantically to deal with Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

“It’s real easy; they draw so much attention and I’m just like a little snake in the grass,” Adams said.

Perkins, who came to the NBA out of high school in Texas, reported to camp weighing 276 pounds, down from 298 at the end of last season. He knows his age demands that he make changes to extend his career.

“I changed my diet,” he said. “When you’re getting older, you try to find ways to stay in the league longer. If you’re not the $100-million guys, it’s always a position battle.”

Injury report – Durant is sidelined with a Jones fracture in his right foot and is expected to miss around two months of the season. Thunder rookie Mitch McGary, a center from Michigan, is out six weeks with a fractured left foot suffered in the preseason opener against Denver.

Shooting guard – Before Durant’s injury, the biggest question in the lineup was at shooting guard. Thabo Sefolosha, who started for six seasons with the Thunder, is playing for Atlanta. Reggie Jackson, who averaged 13.1 points and started 36 games last season, made it clear that he wants that job. Adding to the intrigue is Jackson’s contract status — he is scheduled to be a restricted free agent next summer.

“I want to be a starter,” he said at media day. “I want to be great. I want to play against the best, I want to play against Chris Paul, I want to play against Kyrie Irving, I want to be mentioned on the highest of levels.”

Jackson did not play in Tuesday’s exhibition game against Memphis after suffering a right wrist contusion on Friday at Dallas.

In the first two exhibition games, Andre Roberson started in the backcourt with Russell Westbrook. With Durant out, Roberson may move to small forward and open a spot for Jackson, Jeremy Lamb or new acquisition Anthony Morrow. The Thunder signed Morrow as a free agent to add scoring to the reserve unit. Morrow, who played with New Orleans last season, is a career 42.8-percent three-point shooter. He averaged 8.4 points and made 45.1 percent of his threes for the Pelicans in 76 games.

“I’ve never been on a team with two guys (like Durant and Westbrook) drawing that attention,” Morrow said. “I’ve never made the playoffs, so you look up and you’re in the position to play for one of the best teams in the league. It just made me work that much harder.”

The Raptors – Toronto is coming off its first playoff appearance since 2008 and a franchise-high 48 regular-season wins in 2014. The Raptors are 3-1 in exhibition games entering Wednesday’s game at Boston. DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry form one of the NBA’s top backcourts. DeRozan played in his first NBA All-Star Game in 2014 and averaged 22.7 points.

This story was originally published October 14, 2014 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Adams pushes Perkins for starting job for NBA’s Thunder."