NBA TODAY | Jayson Tatum & Celtics need Kristaps Porzingis at full strength to win it all – Perk

NBA TODAY | Jayson Tatum & Celtics need Kristaps Porzingis at full strength to win it all – Perk

will Larry be heading to Boston because for 16 years in counting Boston has been waiting for that record Banner number 18 this year’s team has a chance to do it in historic fashion so let’s just take a little trip back half stole the ball the 1965 Championship Squad won the most games of any Boston team in the Bill Russell ERA this one came in the middle of winning 11 rings in 13 years and then the 86 Celtics they won 67 games that are known as one of the best teams in NBA history bird male parish and Bill Walton coming off the bench they ran through the east playoffs with just one loss on the way to the finals and next perk hello next the 2008 Celtics led by the big three and yours truly right here 66 won 66 games behind the League’s best defense and of course took down Co and the Lakers in the finals body B and now the 2024 Celtics they won 64 games the fourth most in franchise history and the most since that 2008 Squad they enter the finals with just two losses in the postseason and now await the winner of Dallas and Minnesota so the Celtics they boast a 17 and5 alltime series record in the finals you can see where that Stacks up in terms of finals history and the number of teams to play in that many finals so CH this current Celtics Squad all around great right but is there someone under the radar who could be a Difference Maker oh there totally is we all know the Jays Jason Tatum Jaylen Brown we have to add Drew holiday based off of his Elite defend of performance last series to the list but we need to talk about this guy right here Derek white because he makes Championship level plays let’s take it to the court and I’ll show you exactly why the Celtics have the best defense remaining in the postseason so far it’s because he’s able to guard two players star players at once Tyrese halberton is his match matchup but instead he’s still able to go and contest a shot at The Rim that is Elite defensive performance and also Elite defensive effort and never gets old y’all because watch this this is a free throw it should be a bunny it should be a guarantee they’re playing Hot Potato but this ball should be in your reach instead he always pursues the basketball these are small plays that come up big that change the tides in which you’re seeing they’re trying to make a comeback but we’re going to talk about comeback this guy knocked down the biggest shot he has ice in his veins his ability to not only play defense but also stay cool calm collected talk his is as he knocks it down because he sealed the deal Derek white was a huge part of the Celtics being undefeated in clutch time this playoffs and as you can see in game four he literally did a little bit of everything you’ve got 16 points four rebounds four assists but if you look at this he’s the first player with five Steals and three blocks in a conference final since who Scotty Pippen in 2000 Malika that is not bad company not bad company to be in at all it’s almost like you know what I’m sharing to Des with you it’s like MJ and Pippen over there I love it B here’s the thing the Celtics they’ve been starting they’ve been doing this impressive run without Chris STS porzingis who had that calf strain in the first round they’re nine and one in this postseason without him there is of course optimism as W reported that he could be and will be back for the NBA Finals but do they need to be whole in order to win it all well they better not start the NBA Finals without them and hell yeah they need to be whole when you talk about chrisy Pingas I I get it Derek white has been fantastic that was a hell of a breakdown on him because he does the little things that also don’t show up in stat sheet but when it comes down to Chris porzingis he’s the most important player for us with the Celtics winning it all when you look at the two teams that he could possibly match up against the Mavericks and Minnesota both of those teams have what bigs athletic bigs at that so when I think about Christa porzingis yes we know he could stretch the floor yes we know he could post up on the mismatches but on the other side of things they need that anchor that defensive anchor to contest and block shots and rebound at the basket in order for them to hang banner number 18 I completely agree because even though you’re able to beat the Pacers the way you were defensively having Jason Tatum at times guard the five having a small lineup it doesn’t matter who you’re going up against the wild thing is when you look at the two scenarios for the Boston Celtics I thought like the harder matchup would be the Minnesota Timberwolves right because they’ve got an they’ve got cat they’ve got Rudy they all put pressure on the rim but it’s crazy that you’re seeing except last game the Dallas Big Show up in a big way so now you have to deal with not necessarily an advantage in the way that you thought going into a series potentially so you need everybody and your mama to show up because they understand that the expectation is championship and I said it at the beginning of the year this is the only thing we beefed on perk all year long how important Chris that’s porzingis is and I’ve said he’s so important that that will be the championship piece if he’s not able to play I still think there’s hope but he is the one that can really bring it home I know and and one of the things I was on was was he going to be able to be available and be healthy throughout this this thing and he hasn’t hope that he comes back some somewhere close to 100% I know that’s pushing it but at the end of the day look it’s going to come down when you get to the NBA finals yeah it comes down to your Superstars right and if we’re looking at the Duos whether it’s you know Jason Tatum matching up against Luc and Kyrie or car Anthony towns and Anthony Edwards damn it they have to shine like new money they average 30 they average 30 a piece in the Eastern Conference fin over 30 a piece in the Eastern Conference Finals they’re going to have to take it up another level when you talk about being cemented in royalty I want you to go look at what Paul Pierce did during his run right comparing him to Jason Tatum because we know he’s the face face of the franchise Paul Pierce went through a prime Joe Johnson if you don’t know who Joe Johnson is go Google him okay then he went toe-to-toe with a LeBron James in the seven game series took down the Pistons with rip Hampton chy and taan Prince and then got to the finals went head to-head with Kobe Bryant and won Finals MVP Victorious so it sounds like it sounds like that the path that you’re saying then is because that was the path uh there there’s no way that the depleted path that this Celtics team took can make it so that they overtake uh your team and oh no ma’am and we’re not even about to we we’re so we’re so we’re so weak away though from the NBA finals we got plenty of time for all of that we only have a day to get ready for game five between the Dallas Mavericks and believe there’s a chance and as Dave McMan tells us the timber wolves have their eyes set on three more as the series shifts back to Minnesota for game five after Carl Anthony towns and Anthony Edwards combined to carry the Minnesota timber woles down the stretch in game four over the Dallas Mavericks with towns busting out of a shooting slump and Edwards exercising the Wolves late game demons with a clutch jump shot the pair took turn praising one another at the postgame Podium everything came together for him he was he was super confident he wasn’t worried about any shots previous to the shots that he hit tonight he played exceptionally well and um he came through big time he was the reason we won tonight feel like he was visualizing that make and he got to exactly the spot he wanted to I see the work he puts in uh I knew at that place I knew at that spot if he gets over to his right hand with that pull-up it’s it’s going to be cash I’m honored to be playing with my brother here and seeing him every day put the work in and I knew when he got to that spot it was high likelihood he was going to make that what is just getting one mean to you we get another chance to get another one pretty simple a message in big black letters on the whiteboard in the Wolves visiting locker room afterwards read one win in a row with three exclamation marks their hope is to replace each one of those exclamations with another W and complete the unprecedented comeback after starting the Western Conference Finals down 03 in Dallas getting ready to go back to Minneapolis for game five I’m Dave McManaman ESPN all right wolves have one more chance to win another one NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins back with us perk every single game in this series has been close but the Mavs won the first three they didn’t do that last night what was the biggest difference in your mind for the t- wolves in game four well it’s easy I mean Anthony Edwards and car Anthony towns finally decided to arrive to the Western Conference Finals together right this was the first game that both of the franchise guys played well and they played well when they mattered the most car Anthony towns and Anthony Edwards both were in foul trouble in the first half that didn’t stop them second half you saw them taking turns doing it collectively trusting one another running their sets all the way through having a confidence and they have their legs back and you know the beautiful thing about this is watching that postgame interview if a if people think that this series is over and Dallas is going to win this series they need to stop this Minnesota Timberwolves got their swag back last night Anthony Edwards he got his swag back last night when was the last time we saw we seen him do a postgame interview like the way that he did we haven’t seen that in this series his head is up high this this Timber woodv team got the confidence coach fch is coaching he’s not sitting at the back of the bench anymore this series is going to go six or seven games ant’s got his swag back and he told Michael Parson’s last night he’s going to bring some shoes back also for for game six in Dallas now you like Minnesota to win game five but let’s take the other side of that prediction right what if the Wolves can’t do it so fill in the rest of the sentence for me the Mavs will win game five because of Irving okay and when you look at the start of this series in game one who set the tone for the series for the Dallas Mavericks it was Kyrie Irving on the road the only Champion that’s on the floor for the Dallas Mavericks okay and when you think about Kyrie Irving we understand that he understands the moment he has been in these moments he’s been the multiple finals he’s won the NBA Championship Kyrie knows what it take you expect your role players to play better at at home but on the road especially in the Conference Finals you need your Superstars to rise to the occasion and take you home I expect Kyrie to be aggressive I don’t expect him to go six for 18 from the field again and if the Mavs have any chance of winning game five I understand you have Luca donic but it’s going to be on the back of Kyrie Irving Stars got to play like stars Kendrick Perkins thanks so much thank you for [Music] spee spee spe spe [Music] [Music] spee [Music] [Music] spe [Music] [Music] sh for [Music] now for [Applause] I fore for [Music] in for [Applause] time [Applause] [Music] got since

NBA TODAY | Jayson Tatum & Celtics need Kristaps Porzingis at full strength to win it all – Perk