The 2020 NBA playoffs are due to commence next month. Though 22 teams in total will be joining the festivities in Orlando, only a handful are really considered title favorites.
According to Kendrick Perkins, the Boston Celtics should be one of those teams. In a guest appearance on Celtics Talk Podcast, he picked the Celtics to represent the East in the 2020 NBA Finals:
“You can call me a homer if you want, but here’s why I’m rolling with the Boston Celtics.
Kemba Walker: “At the start of the season, he was playing at an MVP-type level. After the All-Star break, he injured his knee and he wasn’t the same. Well guess what? He’s had more than enough time to rehab and rest.”
Jayson Tatum: “He’s been getting better and better by the month of this year, almost to the point where we consider him a Top 10-type player in the NBA. One of the best scorers in the league, he has zero flaws. He’ll be a future MVP of the league in the next two years, mark my words.”
Jaylen Brown: “He’s one of the best two-way players in the NBA today. He can get you 20 points a night on 50 percent shooting and he locks down on the other end.”
Marcus Smart: “Remember when I told you if you see him in a fight with a bear, you need to help the bear? That’s true.”
No doubt, the Celtics have one of the best starting fives in the league with Walker, Brown, Hayward, Tatum, and Enes Kanter. They are also being coached by Brad Stevens, one of the most brilliant minds in the game.
But if the Celtics are to reach the Finals, they’ll have to get through some stiff competition in the East including the Bucks, Raptors, and Sixers — all of whom seem to be favored against Boston.
Nevertheless, if any underdog has a chance to pull off something spectacular this season, it has to be the Celtics. They’re stacked, they’re hungry, and they are still very much alive in the race for the 2020 Championship.
