Kendrick Perkins Points Out Critical Celtics’ Weakness Heading Into Playoffs

The Boston Celtics have two games remaining in the regular season before they begin their quest for Banner No. 18.

Boston has the league’s best overall record of 62-18. It has clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and homecourt advantage through the playoffs. The C’s are 35-17 against teams currently slated to appear in the NBA Playoffs.

So why is Kendrick Perkins worried about the Celtics’ ability to capture the NBA title this season? One word … toughness.

“Joe Mazzulla, he can go into postgame interviews, and he can try to downplay it as much as he wants,” Perkins said on ESPN’s “First Take” on Friday. “But the concern level is high. The word is out about the Boston Celtics. You get into them, you make them uncomfortable and close out, you pound the offensive glass … you’re gonna have a shot at beating them.”

The Celtics are ranked 20th in the league in offensive rebounds with a -0.5 differential, averaging 10.6 per game. However, they are second to only the Phoenix Suns in defensive rebounds with a plus-3.2 differential, even though the C’s have the most defensive rebounds per game with 35.6.

“I’m gonna go down, and I’m going to point at one particular individual when it comes to the Celtics … Kristaps Porzingis,” Perkins said. “And, yes, I understand that he has been phenomenal this season. He’s number one in the league in post-ups, I get that. He’s done an excellent job of protecting the basket, I get that.

“But can he hold up throughout the postseason? Through four seven-game series and help the Celtics hang another banner? Those are the question marks because he’s going to have his battles, whether that’s against Joel Embiid or if Giannis (Antetokounmpo) comes back.”

Perkins didn’t just point out the Celtics’ struggles with offensive rebounds but also closing out games.

“All you have to do is make the game close,” Perkins said. “Don’t let them run away with the game because we know how horrible they’ve been in late-game moments … especially Jayson Tatum.

“One of the worst for us closing out games, one of the worst for us at game time or game-winning field goals. So, at the end of the day, they have a lot of question marks.”

While the Celtics have run through the Eastern Conference at 22-10 this season, Perkins said the “East is no comparison” to the Western Conference. Boston is 13-7 in Western Conference matchups with the Denver Nuggets being the only team to beat the C’s twice.

The Celtics host the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night and the Washington Wizards to close out the regular season. The postseason begins on April 20.

“No one is watching the Celtics right now although they have the best record in the league,” Perkins said. “They have 60 wins-plus, but we want to see what they do when it matters the most.”

Boston won’t know its first-round opponent until the conclusion of the Play-In Tournament on April 19.