It’s back to the drawing board for the Boston Celtics. After dispelling the notion of a “gap year” by securing the second seed in the Eastern Conference, Joe Mazzulla’s team crumbled in the first round of the playoffs.
Boston held a 3-1 lead. However, three consecutive defeats ensured the Celtics would be getting a jump start on their offseason. To make matters worse, three of Boston’s four losses came on their home court. They’ve now lost five of their last seven postseason games at the TD Garden.
During a recent episode of the “Road Trippin” podcast, former Celtics champion Kendrick Perkins let rip over his former team’s inability to close out the series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
“Y’all refused to switch up your style of play of shooting three after three, when at times y’all could have driven the damn basketball and gone for some f—–g layups or put some pressure on the referees,” Perkins said. “You f—–g lost three home games in the Boston Garden. THREE! It used to be a sacred place. But instead, Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid walked into your motherf—–g crib, shoes all muddy, went kicked feet up on your coffee table or the door dash with your credit card, that’s how comfortable they was.”
Under Joe Mazzulla, the Celtics have struggled at TD Garden in the postseason. In 32 postseason games at home, Boston holds a 19-13 record, equating to a 59.4% win rate.
Kendrick Perkins Calls Out Celtics’ Jaylen Brown
Perkins’ comments didn’t focus solely on the Celtics, either. The former big man took issue with Jaylen Brown’s recent comments (via his Twitch livestream) about the game officials having an agenda against Boston.
“Don’t come telling me about an agenda that the referees or anybody had towards y’all,” Perkins continued. “The agenda was that y’all didn’t protect home court. Y’all f—-g lost the game. Y’all kept shooting those dumba– three-point shots. Take ownership, zero excuses. I don’t want to hear the s–t. Y’all didn’t do anything, starting from the coaches on down to you. To you! JB? and I love you, it just lacks accountability.”
Brown has been outspoken against NBA officials this season. Therefore, his latest comments shouldn’t come as a surprise to Celtics fans, or the league itself.
The NBA Fines Jaylen Brown For Referee Comments
On Tuesday, May 5, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the NBA has fined Jaylen Brown $50,000 for his comments about the game officials during his livestream.
“The NBA has fined Boston’s Jaylen Brown $50,000 for his comments criticizing the referees during a live stream after Game 7 and series loss in the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers, sources tell ESPN,” Charania wrote on X.
For anyone wondering what Brown said, his comments on the game officials were as follows:
“Every good basketball player does this. What are y’all talking about? They clearly had an agenda,” Brown said. “If Jaylen does this move, call the offensive foul and follow him every time. I don’t know if it’s because I p—-d the refs off. I’ve been critical about them, and I called them out a bunch of times. So, they were like, ‘You know what, I got you in the playoffs. Watch this.’ [Because] that’s exactly what they did.”
He continued.
“It’s clearly an agenda. Look at the same move. Some referees that, if I had to choose, I would, like, say, there are some referees that need to be investigated. We had three of them in the last three games.”
Clearly, Perkins took issue with Brown looking to pass the blame for Boston’s collapse against the Sixers. All the Celtics can do now is look to improve the current roster and make a better run next year. Nevertheless, losing a series when being up 3-1 is going to sting for some time, gap year or not.
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