Inside The Heat

Kendrick Perkins Thinks Erik Spoelstra Could Be Difference-Maker In Miami Heat-Boston Celtics Series

Shandel Richardson

Apr 24, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra watches from the sidelines in Game 2 against Boston Celtics - David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports
Apr 24, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra watches from the sidelines in Game 2 against Boston Celtics - David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
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When the series began, ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins predicted the Boston Celtics would sweep the Miami Heat.

After the Heat evened things at 1 Wednesday, Perkins is rethinking his claim. He posted a video on X, formerly know as Twitter, about the state of series.

"Every single time I start to put a little bit of trust in the Boston Celtics, and here we go again," Perkins said in the video. "This was supposed to be a sweep. Y'all the far better team. No Jimmy Butler. No Terry Rozier. For sure this should have been a sweep. Y'all supposed to be standing on business."

There is no timetable on when Rozier or Butler will return this postseason, if at all. But Perkins said the X-factor could be Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. Perkins feels Spoelstra holds an edge against Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla.

A few years ago, Spoelstra was named one of the top 15 coaches in NBA history. He's won two titles in six appearances in the NBA Finals. Last year he led the No. 8 seed Heat to the Finals, defeating Mazzulla and the Celtics in the conference finals.

"This is the moment y'all been telling the world y'all been waiting on," Perkins said. "But damn it here my big dumbass go again knowing better, knowing that Erik Spoelstra and Joe Mazzulla is a damn matchup. Erik Spoelstra had them boys ready to go and they showed out in great fashion."

The series returns to Miami for Game 3 Saturday night.

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Shandel Richardson

SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here