Video: Kendrick Perkins rips Celtics a new one after ugly Game 2 loss
"The Celtics are playing so selfish offensively!"
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) September 18, 2020
—@KendrickPerkins pic.twitter.com/huPqq5snLk
By Matt Dolloff, 985TheSportsHub.com
When you lose two straight games in the fashion that the young Boston Celtics have lost them, you face the wrath of scorching hot takes. It simply comes with the territory, especially when it’s a conference final loss to a team with inferior talent.
So after a disappointing defeat like the Celtics’ Game 2 loss to the Heat, in which they blew a 14-point lead and engaged in a heated postgame locker room shouting match, riot acts like the one they got from ex-Celtic Kendrick Perkins on ESPN’s “Get Up” are inevitable. Perhaps it’s what they need to hear.
“The Celtics right now, they’re showing up to the arena in a cute and sassy style of play,” Perkins said. “They’ve got their Versace robes on and their Versace slippers and Gucci slippers with their Louis Vuitton swimming trunks. And right now the Miami Heat are showing up in their no-necks and their steel-toed boots and they’re ready for action and they’re grinding it out.
“The Celtics are playing so selfish offensively, they’re playing ‘my turn’ basketball. Kemba [Walker] comes down, ‘Let me show you what I’ve got: a crossover to a step-back.’ Jayson Tatum, ‘Oh you’ve got that? Let me show you what I’ve got in my bag, the side-step three-point shot.’ Then all of a sudden you see Jaylen Brown, ‘Oh, let me show you, I can do something too. I’ve got a one-legged turnaround off the baseline.’ That is selfish play offensively by the Celtics.”
Kendrick Perkins did not hold back ripping Jaylen Brown and the Celtics after losing to the Heat in Game 2. (Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports)
Perkins, who in Boston was known for his defensive toughness and intensity that he used to bolster the 2008 championship-winning squad, lamented their puzzling defensive struggles as well.
“They have lost their identity,” Perkins continued. “Last night I wanted to call Bam Adebayo ‘Bam O’Neal’ he had so many dunks, he was just snatching the screws out the rim. Where is the Celtics’ No. 1 defense that they’ve been leading in these playoffs? It has disappeared. They have lost their defensive identity.”
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The series is far from over. But the Celtics do need to re-assert themselves against the Heat and Jimmy Butler, who appears to have established himself as the “alpha” on the court. They need their superior talent to take over at some point, and to Perkins’ point, show more toughness both physically and mentally.
This series should garner any sweeping long-term judgments on the core of this Celtics team, but these losses show that they may not fully understand what it takes to win a championship yet. Perkins does, and that’s why he didn’t hold back in his criticism.
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff or send him a nasty email at matthew.dolloff@bbgi.com.
