Former NBA player and current NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins said on Wednesday that the Miami Heat are a serious threat in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
On ESPN’s NBA Today, the analysts discussed which Eastern team not ranked in the top three has the best chance of advancing to the playoffs. Perkins began his answer by saying, “Give me a knock on the head.”
“When the Miami Heat were struggling, I said to myself, ‘It’s time to trade Jimmy,'” Perkins continued, before praising the Heat’s recent play. “When the time is right, they always step on the floor and now they’re playing the kind of basketball they play in the playoffs.”
Butler has been the Heat’s best offensive player since the All-Star break. He has averaged 25.8 points over the last two weeks. Butler scored 37 points in Saturday’s 126-120 win over the Utah Jazz.
The Heat are one of the hottest teams in the NBA. They have won seven of their last eight games. Their only defeat came on the road at the hands of the defending champions Denver Nuggets by six points.
“Right now, this team is playing agenda-free, guys are playing within the team, and when I look at this team I’m like man, not only do I know, but the rest of the Eastern Conference know that we don’t want to see the Miami Heat in the playoffs,” Perkins added.
The Heat finished sixth in the East with their last two games in hand, but they can still improve. They are just one game behind the fourth-place Orlando Magic.
The Heat start their Western Conference road trip tonight with two games against the Dallas Mavericks.