Perk was born to wear a suit, huh?

Four months before he’s supposed to return to the Boston Celtics, Kendrick Perkins is already itching to get back to the court. Yesterday, he told team trainer Ed Lacerte that he wanted to run sprints. (Boston Herald)

Perkins, still recovering from surgery to repair shredded ligaments in his right knee, was feeling good yesterday. Feeling good, and feeling bored. Feeling so good, in fact, and so bored, that he told Lacerte he was in the mood to do some sprinting up and down the court.

As Perk would later explain the exchange, “Ed Lacerte said to me, ‘You probably can sprint down the court, but you’ve got to be smart about everything.’ ”

And so Perk sat. And Perk watched, as Garnett, Allen and the others went through a round of preparations for the 2010-11 NBA season. But the mere fact that Perkins would even consider doing some sprinting yesterday is revealing on a couple of fronts.

It’s encouraging that Perk wants to exercise (he said he has lost fat and maintained muscle since being injured), but his desire to return so quickly worries me. Take your time, Perk. Ease your way back in. It hurts to watch the guys play without you now, but it will hurt a lot more if you rush back, get re-injured and have to miss a portion of the playoffs. You feel me?

Just as Perkins knows he can’t do some of the things the O’Neal brothers do, he knows they can’t provide everything he does. ”At the end of the day you can say what you want, but I’m really the captain of the defense,” he said. “And that won’t change.”

Perkins admitted, “I do have to be smart. I did have an ACL injury. I’m only three months out of surgery.” But watching his team isn’t easy. “I’m sitting back here and watching, and I’m thinking about what I’m going to do when I get back on that court, how I’m going to play my game and help the team.”

You’ll play your game in February, Perk. For now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

“When I return,” he said, “I’m going to be 265 pounds, lighter and faster than ever.”

That’s great, Perk. Just make sure you return only when you’re fully ready.