Kendrick Perkins turns Celtics’ NBA Finals chances around

Celtics

“I have Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown hanging banner No. 18 from the rafters.”

Retired Celtics big man Kendrick Perkins hasn’t exactly been a strong supporter of his former team this season.

Whether it’s bashing Jayson Tatum’s impact on this Celtics roster, giving the Pacers a chance to upset Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals, or calling out Joe Mazzulla, Perkins has regularly called out Boston despite their dominant play this season.

Before the 2024 NBA Finals game was even officially set, Perkins already warned Boston fans not to antagonize Dallas guard Kyrie Irving in a possible showdown — even with the star’s notoriety on Causeway Street.

But speaking on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger & Mazz” show Thursday, Perkins finally gave the Celtics their flowers when asked about their title chances in the upcoming 2024 NBA Finals.

“I had them win everything,” Perkins said of the Celtics. “I have – whatever team they’re playing. I think if they play the Dallas Mavericks, it will go to Game 7. If they play the Minnesota Timberwolves, I think it will go to Game 6. But I have Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown hanging the banner n °18 in the match. rafters.

Despite all the recent talk surrounding the Celtics, the abilities of their franchise stars, and the path they took to punch their ticket to the NBA Finals, Mazzulla’s team has taken care of business throughout of this last playoff series. They went 12-2 in the playoffs after winning 64 games in the regular season.

Although Perkins has regularly criticized Tatum and Brown and their shortcomings in previous postseasons, he credited the duo as the main reason why Boston will be able to defeat the Mavericks or Timberwolves with a championship on the line.

“In the end, it’s going to be your superstars that take you home, right? For example, if the Celtics play Dallas, it will depend on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum outperforming Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic,” Perkins said. “It’s the same way we look at it right now: Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards ultimately dominated those two guys and the Minnesota Timberwolves finally got the victory.

“So we’re talking about the cream of the crop, across the board. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are coming off a series where they both averaged over 30 (points), right? They’re going to have to step up a little more, especially when we’re talking about facing players like Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.