ESPN analyst and former NBA player Kendrick Perkins is not convinced that the Miami Heat will repeat their recent playoff success.
The Heat beat the Boston Celtics 110-106 on Sunday. After the game, ESPN betting odds were +1700 for the Heat to win the East. Perkins was asked about the team’s chances of returning to the NBA Finals, and at first he gave a comical answer.
“The bigger possibility is that I actually lose weight this year, but that’s not going to happen,” Perkins said.
He went on to compare the Heat and Jimmy Butler to the big Sunday story in the NFL.
“The Heat won’t sneak up on anybody and the Heat don’t have Patrick Mahomes,” Perkins said. “Patrick Mahomes is a guy who can take any player, put him in any circumstance and bring him home. Jimmy has been a bust every time he’s made the NBA Finals.”
Perkins concluded his comments by saying that the Fever will not even make it out of the first round.
The Fever are eighth in the East after Sunday’s loss. The team finished the regular season last year in the same position. Last season, the Fever made it to the NBA Finals. It was only the second time in history that a team of eight made it that far in the playoffs. Who is to say it cannot happen again?
The Fever have also been successful in the playoffs recently. The team qualified for the 2020 NBA Finals as the fifth seed. Two years ago, the Fever also reached the seventh game of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Some Heat fans disagreed with what the analyst had to say. After all, Perkins lost to the Heat in the 2012 NBA Finals.