Former Celtics champion Kendrick Perkins slams Marcus Smart for calling out his teammates during a post-match media interaction. Big Perk believes Smart’s statements are going to create tension in the Celtics locker room.
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The Chicago Bulls defeated the Boston Celtics 128-114, with DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine helping their team overcome a 19-points deficit. The Celtics have lost their third consecutive game at home, despite Jaylen Brown shooting 5-for-8 from the 3-point line in tonight’s game.
The Celtics were coasting with the game till the fourth quarter. According to Celtics coach Ime Udoka, the team started celebrating too early that led to them blowing a 19-point lead. The frustration amongst the fans at the TD Garden was evident.
However, matters got worse for the Celtics when guard Marcus Smart would call out his teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum during a post-match media interaction. Smart took a shot at the All-Star duo for not learning to pass the ball.
Former Celtics player and ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins seemed livid with Smart venting out his anger in public. Big Perk slammed the Celtics guard for breaking locker room codes.
Kendrick Perkins slams Marcus Smart for calling out Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum during a live media interaction.
Perkins won his only NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008. Thus it is no surprise that the team has a special place in his heart. Having played 14 seasons in the league, Perkins understands locker room codes and snitching about teammates.
Thus he seemed visibly outraged with Smart’s statements, saying he should have consulted his head coach rather than talking about it to the media.
“Marcus can’t come out publicly and say that. Like, you cannot call your guys out on national television that is a locker room code. If you have a problem with the offense, you have to go to the head coach because no matter how you wanna look at it. You guys calling out publicly is not gonna bring out the best in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, and now you cause unnecessary turmoil that is going to go on in the locker room. Like you cannot do that, Marcus Smart knows that.”
(2:54 Kendrick Perkins addresses Marcus Smart’s comments)
Big Perk added, that blaming Tatum and Brown solely for blowing a 19-point lead was wrong. The ESPN analyst felt that nobody was discussing the lackluster defense of the team.
This is not the first time that Smart and Brown had indulged in an argument. During the 2020 conference finals in the Orlando Bubble, as per reports, things got heated between the two teammates after the Miami Heat were up 2-0 against the Celtics.
