The Boston Celtics are in serious trouble. And their bid for back-to-back titles is going up in flames thanks to two incredible collapses in the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks.
Inexplicably, the Celtics blew 20 point leads in both games as the Knicks rallied to steal both Game 1 and Game 2 in Boston. They now head back home with a 2-0 series lead as the heavily favored defending champions try to find some way to rebound after figuring out how they blew back-to-back games in never before seen fashion.
The Knicks come back to stun the Celtics and take a 2-0 series lead!
“OH THE BALL KNOCKED AWAY! ANOTHER GREAT DEFENSIVE PLAY FOR THE KNICKS! THEY’VE GOT IT! THEY’VE WON IT! NEW YORK HAS GONE UP TWO GAMES TO NONE! AND DEFENSE AGAIN AT THE END!” – Kevin Harlan #NBA #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/ScIGlsKnbe
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 8, 2025
While Boston is still incredibly about a coin flip to win the series according to the sportsbooks, one person who is not a believer in their chances is one of their former players – Kendrick Perkins.
In an appearance Thursday morning on Get Up, Perk said that the Celtics were “done” in the series. In fact, he even went a step further. He also added that they will be lucky to not get swept in the next two games in New York.
“The Celtics are done. They’re not coming back in this series. … The Celtics will be lucky to get one game.”
—@KendrickPerkins 👀 pic.twitter.com/nkWsCZ0I5i
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) May 8, 2025
“This series is over,” Perkins said. I don’t give a damn about what the Celtics’ road wins and what their record look like. First of all, do you realize how rocking Madison Square Garden is going to be in Game 3? The energy in itself is going to have the Knicks players making shots. Do you realize that they have one of the best, the best clutch guy in Jalen Brunson? Do you realize that role players actually play better at home? So I’m expecting Mitchell Robinson, Deuce McBride, even Mikal Bridges to play better at home. Although Mikal Bridges and those guys been playing better on the road.
“Look, right now, they have the mental edge over the Boston Celtics. I don’t give a damn what nobody say. The Celtics are done. They’re not coming back in this series. I have all the trust and faith in the New York Knicks. They’re going to win this series. The Celtics will be lucky to get one game,” he concluded.
There’s no love lost between Kendrick Perkins and his former team. Last year current Celtics analyst Brian Scalabrine said Perk wasn’t welcome exactly a welcome figure in Boston unlike other former players. However, Perkins discounted some of the reporting about how deep the rift goes with the organization.
One thing that you can never say about Kendrick Perkins though is that he will gaslight fans by waving the pom poms for his former team. That is commendable. But in proclaiming the Boston Celtics to be finished, he also might be setting himself for an epic cold take if they do somehow find a way to come back from their self-inflicted 2-0 deficit and win the series.
