MIAMI — It did not take long for Kendrick Perkins’ hot take on the direction of the Miami Heat’s opening-round playoff series to turn into a cold, hard reality for the ESPN NBA analyst.
It was a one-game turnaround as dramatic as the Heat going from Sunday’ s 114-94 loss to the Boston Celtics to Wednesday night’s 111-101 victory back at TD Garden that tied the best-of-seven series 1-1 going into Saturday’s 6 p.m. Game 3 at Kaseya Center.
No sooner had the top-seeded Celtics pushed their lead to 34 in the series’ opener and then toyed with the No. 8 Heat the rest of the way, than Perkins bloviated, “The Miami Heat could go 100% from the field and 100% from the 3, and they’re still gonna get swept in this series.”
To keep it real, the former Celtics center added a smiley-face emoji.
So what happens? The Heat shoot 23 of 43 on 3-pointers in Wednesday night’s Game 2 and a mere .493 overall from the field to, at worst, force a Game 5 back in Boston.
— Freezing Cold Takes (@OldTakesExposed) April 25, 2024
That had Perkins back on his social media, with a bit less bluster and considerably more contrition.
“Every single time, man, every single time I start to put a little bit trust, a little trust in the Boston Celtics, and here we go again. The brooms, think about the brooms. This was supposed to be a sweep. Got a far better team. No Jimmy Butler, no Terry Rozier (sidelined for the Heat). But dammit, here my big dumbass go again, knowing I know better. Knowing that Erik Spoelstra and Joe Mazzulla is a damn matchup. Erik Spoelstra had them boys ready to go. And they showed that.
“Look Celtics, man, why can’t you all do right? I’m not saying you’re not going to win the series, but damn. But damn. For sure it should have been a sweep. Y’all supposed to be standing on business. This is the moment that y’all been telling the world, y’all been waiting on. You know what you do when you’re playing a shorthanded team like the Miami Heat? You tuck ’em in, read ’em a bedtime story, give ’em no life. Now you gotta go down to South Beach, the series tied 1-1, they playing with house money. And now you’ve got to handle the business.
“It’s just crazy. Man, my apologies to all the Heat fans. To E-Spo. To whoever else, man. Go ahead, give me the business for the night, you know what I’m saying. I deserve it.
“Damn, Celtics, as soon as I start to trust them. Just finish the damn series up. Carry on.”