Why did Kendrick Perkins want to "swing back and throw my hands" at JJ Redick? Understanding their heated Jokic vs Westbrook "statpadding" debate
Amid expectations that Nikola Jokic could become a three-time MVP thanks to his performances this season, many have continued to debate whether he deserves the honor. To date, there have only been three men to hold the distinction of three-peating as an MVP.
Bill Russell won the award from 1960 to 1963, Wilt Chamberlain then accomplished the feat between 1965 and 68. Nearly 20 years later, Larry Bird accomplished the rare three-peat from 1983-86.
Nikola Jokic is currently averaging 24.8 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 10.0 assists per game. Add to that the fact that the Denver Nuggets sit first, and it's no wonder Jokic is the favorite to win the MVP award. Despite that, Kendrick Perkins thinks he's stat padding.
So why did Perkins go as far as to tweet that he wanted to slap box JJ Redick?
If you wanna slap box @jj_redick allow me to at least swing back and throw my hands. I’ve witness people CRUCIFY Russell Westbrook every single year he averaged a Triple Double… seems like some type of double standard here! I’ll see you tomorrow. Carry the hell on… @FirstTake twitter.com/firsttake/stat…
"If you wanna slap box JJ Redick, allow me to at least swing back and throw my hands. I’ve witnessed people crucify Russell Westbrook every single year he averaged a Triple Double… seems like some type of double standard here! I’ll see you tomorrow. Carry the hell on."
Well, after Perkins ranted on ESPN that Jokic was stat padding and batted for Joel Embiid to win MVP, JJ Redick defended the Denver Nuggets star. Redick accused Perkins of making narratives up.
"Nikola Jokic does not care about stats, does not care about averaging a triple-double. Nikola Jokic, I hate to tell everyone, doesn't care about winning MVP. He cares about winning a championship. The idea that he's stat padding ... he doesn't fight the game. He just makes the right play every time."
"He (Michael Malone) compared his basketball IQ to LeBron. This is not a guy that cares about stat padding Perk. The best argument I can make of why this is such a ludicrous statement is they're 23-0 when he has a triple-double. Going back to last year they've won 28 games in a row when he has a triple-double."
You can see his comments in the video above.
JJ Redick pulls no punches in defense of Nikola Jokic
Given how outspoken Kendrick Perkins is, it's no wonder he didn't take too kindly to Redick shutting down his claims. After the official First Take Twitter account posted a clip of Redick responding to Perkins' rant, the veteran big man fired back with a tweet of his own.
If you wanna slap box @jj_redick allow me to at least swing back and throw my hands. I’ve witness people CRUCIFY Russell Westbrook every single year he averaged a Triple Double… seems like some type of double standard here! I’ll see you tomorrow. Carry the hell on… @FirstTake twitter.com/firsttake/stat…
That prompted another response from Redick, who doubled down on his claims that Perkins was in the wrong regarding the situation.
@KendrickPerkins @FirstTake You’re just wrong on this perk. It’s ok. I’m wrong sometimes too.
Redick also pulled the receipts on Perkins with a clip from his 'Old Man & The Three' podcast where he defended Westbrook's MVP season. As he stated in the clip, he never believed that Westbrook averaging a triple-double was stat padding. The way he saw things, the OKC Thunder needed Westbrook to average those stats to succeed.
What he didn't pull receipts on was Perkins praising Jokic in January for his play.
@KendrickPerkins @FirstTake Here you go. Don’t bring Russ into this. You made a point about Jokic. https://t.co/IWPhBPvzqB
So far there has been no response from Big Perk, but when he appears on ESPN tomorrow, he might be keen to make himself heard.