ESPN's Kendrick Perkins on the storylines that will dominate the Celtics - Mavs finals (2024)

And when it comes to the nexus of narratives and the Celtics, there may be no better interlocutor on the topic than ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins. A member of the 2008 title team, Perk has the privilege of having literally been there before with Boston, but also of being one of the voices that shapes those narratives.

His takes are often controversial, and that he changes his mind on them easily and often rubs some the wrong way. But Perkins is a great basketball mind behind the sometimes-hot takes, and he sat down with the Celtics Wire to share some insight on those narratives ahead of the start of the finals.

One such narrative — and one Perk has pushed back on even after being vocally critical of his former club — is that Boston has had an easy path to the finals. The Celtics had a light end to their regular season, and their opponents in the East playoffs were not exactly a murderer’s row, even before injuries smoothed the path.

That narrative isn’t sticking to Dallas, who also had a light end to 2023-24. But the Mavs caught a favorable path to the finals too, vs. a Los Angeles Clippers without Kawhi Leonard for several games, an inexperienced Oklahoma City Thunder, and a Minnesota Timberwolves team poorly constructed to stop the Mavs.

“When we think about the Mavs, no one really expected them to be true title contenders,” explained Perkins when this point was raised. “I thought before the playoffs that they could make a deep run into the postseason. I didn’t think they had a legit shot at actually winning a title. I knew they got better at the trade deadline, but I didn’t know they were this dangerous.”

That may be the point that hides a fist waiting to smack the Celtics and their fans in the face if they expect the team they gobsmacked for the second and final time they played them in the regular season.

Dallas may have pulled the trigger on the deals that made them into the juggernaut they became in the stretch run. But they had yet to stumble on the changes to their rotations and style of play that created their sizzling finale to the season.

“PJ Washington came from arguably one of the worst situations in the league,” explained Perk. “Daniel Gafford come from the Wizards. We know how that was going over there with Jordan Poole and (Kyle) Kuzma.”

“All of a sudden, they come to this organization, and they’re playing winning basketball, and they’re looking like winners, (a) huge part of Dallas’ success. Those guys can play … Washington was a lottery pick. PJ Washington is what you need in today’s game … Dallas finally got their guy. They thought it was going to be Grant Williams, but it wasn’t.”

With no shade at Williams whatsoever, sometimes finding the right fit of skill and personality can be critical, and now the Mavs have a team that can play multiple ways and sizes, which will make them a pest for the Celtics to adapt to, even as the reverse is true.

The narratives in this series are coming in thick — but also layered. Even the most obvious of them have new, intriguing wrinkles. Kyrie Irving seems to have truly made peace with his exit from Boston and the fans’ rancor over it, and letting go of that ire has been seen as part of the fuel behind this Mavs run. And Perkins sees additional profundity in an otherwise shallow trope as well.

“I know the Boston fans, they’re cutthroat,” he said. “They’re going to be on (Irving) … Then you wonder about Kristaps Porzingis going against his former team, but then you also wonder what is the relationship between Kristaps Porzingis and Luka because here’s another thing. How would Luka look if Kristaps Porzingis beats him on the biggest stage to win a championship? People are going to say, ‘Well, why couldn’t you get it done with Kristaps Porzingis, but Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum can?”

“If people think that Luka is not thinking about that, they’re crazy as hell,” emphasized Perkins. “The guy is a competitor.”

The competition doesn’t stop with the players, either — both Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla and Dallas coach Jason Kidd have defied their detractors in past seasons to elevate their respective teams with truly impressive game management in these playoffs. “Joe Mazzulla, he’s earned my respect,” suggested Perk.

“By earning my respect, I knew at least he had to do what Ime Udoka did with this team and get them to the NBA Finals. Now he has to elevate his game even more and get them past the NBA Finals to win the NBA championship.”

The adjustments shown by Mazzulla in particular have demonstrated his increased attention to detail, deeper bench of assistants, and willingness to break from a strategy that has stopped working, such as when he elected to move to using Jayson Tatum as a center vs. the Indiana Pacers. “I believe he actually has a bag to get into,” said the ESPN analyst.

“I think he has a deep bag. A lot of guys that been in the locker room with Joe Mazzulla, his assistant coach Sam Cassell told me he’s one of the smartest guys he’s ever been around. He’s a hell of a coach. Sam told me that, and Sam has been around the block, as a player and as a coach. So, for Sam to put that stamp on him made me be like, damn, because I know how Sam feels about a lot of coaches that he played for, a lot of coaches that he was under as an assistant coach.”

“When it comes to J Kidd, I’m just watching J Kidd get the best out of his two superstars,” noted Perkins, alluding to both having been a challenge to coach in other contexts. “When you’re able to challenge them defensively, and they’re responding right now, that shows a level of coaching.”

“Both of those guys need their flowers; J Kidd and Joe Mazzulla,” said Perkins. “It’s going to be fun. You have two matchups going on, you have the guys that’s playing in between the lines, and you also have the matchup of those two guys that’s walking up and down that sideline.”

And regarding the most important narrative of them all heading into these finals, Who Is Going To Win? Big Perk isn’t afraid to share his opinion on which club will hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy come the end of the series.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a five-game series, a six-game series,” he explained. “I’ve got the Celtics, if they match up with the Mavs, winning that series in seven.”

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ