Kendrick Perkins blasts Cleveland Cavaliers after blowout loss to Boston Celtics

Despite owning a 3-2 record, it's a work in progress for a vastly changed Cavs team. However one former Cleveland Cavaliers player has a blunt opinion on the start.

Oct 29, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Lonzo Ball (2), center Evan Mobley (4), forward/center Dean Wade (32) and forward/guard De'Andre Hunter (12) head back to the bench during a timeout against the Boston Celtics in the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Only five games into the NBA season, one former player-turned-analyst has already voiced his opinion on the Cleveland Cavaliers’ start.

After dropping their first game to the New York Knicks, the Cavaliers bounced back and reeled off three wins in a row before losing on Wednesday night to the Boston Celtics.

In five games, Cleveland has been on the road on four of those, with the solitary home clash with the Milwaukee Bucks – a game that the Cavs won.

However, it hasn’t stopped former Cavalier and widely outspoken pundit, Kendrick Perkins, from voicing his view on Cleveland’s start to the campaign.

I just don’t understand how the Cavs talked about how embarrassed they were this offseason but still playing with any sense of urgency and most importantly SOFT as hell. I thought they were on a Mission this season

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) October 30, 2025

Unsurprisingly, Perkins’ social media post has been met with replies telling the former NBA champion to calm down, noting that it is only game five of an 82-game season.

But a minority have added to Perkins’ post, calling out the Cavs’ defense and saying that Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are awful rim protectors.

Harsh? Arguably, yes. Given Mobley’s status as the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and Allen’s career stats of 9.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks a game.

It’s also harsh on this Cavs side, which has had to make a lot of adjustments in the first stages of the season. With Max Strus and Darius Garland sidelined, they have also been without De’Andre Hunter, Lonzo Ball, and Sam Merrill for portions of the season as well due to minor injuries.

Hunter and Ball have since returned, but Merrill was kept out of Wednesday’s loss to the Celtics with a right hip issue.

With a lot of the offense running through Donovan Mitchell and Mobley right now, Cleveland is looking for other players to step up at both ends of the floor. Merrill has been outstanding to start, but can be injury-prone.

Jaylon Tyson stepped up against Boston, joint top-scoring along with Mobley with 19 points, which was needed after Donovan Mitchell’s struggles.

Mitchell made all four of his three-point shots for 12 points in the first quarter, but followed that by going 1-for-8 to finish with 15.

However, despite the injury issues, the Cavs have been solid to start —a work in progress, though. Last season’s mantra of transition, high-octane offense looks to have been replaced with defensive ball-pressure, leading to quickfire offense.

Further proof of this is that Cleveland’s style of play last season relied a lot on three-point shots, but so far, they are 19th in makes from beyond the arc.

Again, a work in progress. But very far from Perkins’ very rapid assumption.