Patrick Beverley does not share Mike Greenberg’s confidence in the Boston Celtics.
Greenberg, during a “Tell Me I’m Wrong” segment on ESPN’s “Get Up,” floated the idea that Boston will defeat the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. Beverley, who previously predicted the Miami Heat would beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals, expressed serious doubt.
“You need to be drug tested,” Beverley quipped Friday, one day after the Warriors eliminated the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals. “Because you’re absolutely wrong.”
So, why is Beverley so high on the Dubs in a potential NBA Finals matchup with the C’s?
“Obviously we’ve seen Golden State and we understand that their excellence throughout the last eight years easily could have been eight championships. Easily. Something wild,” Beverley said. “So, I’m going to just leave it there. You just can’t discredit that.”
One could argue — and Greenberg did — that Beverley, ironically enough, is discrediting Boston’s accomplishments with his prediction, as he’s leaning heavily on the Warriors’ championship pedigree over the Celtics’ vaunted defense or offensive potential led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Yet Beverley is adamant Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and the Warriors will take care of business in the NBA Finals, which certainly looks like it’ll feature a matchup the Minnesota Timberwolves guard didn’t see coming.
“I had Miami winning it, so I’ve been totally wrong,” Beverley said. “I have no problem saying I’m wrong. That’s the biggest thing with me. I just really like Golden State. I like Western Conference basketball. I’ve been in the Western Conference my whole career, so maybe I’m a little biased.”
All told, the Celtics need to finish the job against the Heat before they can start thinking about the Warriors. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals at TD Garden in Boston is set to tip off Friday night at 8:30 p.m. ET.
