Kendrick Perkins is a huge Boston Celtics fan. Overall, this should not be a surprise to anyone. After all, he played for the Celtics and got to experience some great seasons with them. However, there is no doubt that his fandom has been ramped up a bit when you consider how they are about to come back from an unfathomable deficit. The Celtics were down 3-0 to the Miami Heat. Subsequently, they won three-straight games and now get to play a Game 7 at home. If they win, they will become the first team in NBA history to come back from an 0-3 deficit and win the series.
Heading into this game, most people believe the Celtics will end up winning. Overall, this is due to the fact that they have momentum on their side. Moreover, the Heat look pretty cooked right now. They can’t hit big shots, and Jimmy Butler has been outplayed. Not to mention, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown should be enough for the team to get over the hump and win. All-in-all, the pundits have the Celtics pulling off the comeback of the century.
This includes Kendrick Perkins, who spoke about Game 7 today on First Take. As you can see in the clip above, he is taking the Boston Celtics to win this matchup. Ultimately, that is not a surprise. However, it is worth noting just because he has been adamant about how good the Celtics are this season. Furthermore, he spoke about Jimmy Butler and Jayson Tatum’s legacies. In his mind, Butler has more to lose tonight, as he would be seen as the ultimate choke artist with a loss.
Legacy Talk
Considering how historic this comeback would be, you can’t help but agree with Big Perk. There is no excuse for losing this kind of series. Jimmy Butler’s talents would be put into question, and he would not be able to escape that, even if he tried. At the end of the day, he just has to go out there and win. Give us your big predictions on this game, in the comments section below.
When the Denver Nuggets swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, the Miami Heat were winning its Eastern equivalent against the Boston Celtics 3 to 0. As such, many NBA fans thought that another sweep was inevitable, but the Massachusetts team held on. After two victorious games, Game 6 tied the series thanks to an unbelievable play from Derrick White, clinching the win with just 0.1 seconds remaining. Sure, the shot was met with typical “the league is rigged” takes thanks to a clock controversy. Regardless, the Celtics are going back home for Game 7, a city that went absolutely ballistic with the Game 6 win.
Moreover, videos ran rampant online of Boston fans taking to the streets to celebrate. One clip in particular sees an athletic supporter climbing a street post and hyping up the massive crowd below him. From behind phone screens, one can’t even begin to imagine how electric the city must’ve been. “I’ve never been so excited to go back to Boston in my life,” Celtics star Jayson Tatum told press. Of course, the same applies to Miami, whose victory would’ve solidified the eighth-seed team’s absolute tear through the East- and lit their fans on fire. Still, given that both teams had their incredible moments and straight-up flops and fumbles in Game 6, anything could happen in the final game of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.
For example, Boston might have taken the dub on Saturday night (May 27), but it was their worst three-point performance of the whole season. On the other hand, Miami secured some truly remarkable clutch shots from the three-point line, but lost many chances to take the lead. On top of each team’s performance, the aforementioned clock controversy is a hot topic of debate in the NBA world right now. To sum it up, the Celtics were given an additional 0.9 seconds following their foul on Jimmy Butler (called with 2.1 seconds remaining) and his free throws, most likely due to refs maintaining that the foul took place at the 3.0 mark.
Derrick White Took The Celtics One Step Closer To The NBA Finals
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 28, 2023
However, other fans argued that refs missed Butler’s double dribble in the first place. These are two incredibly determined and passionate teams, and their fanbases are no different. With Game 7 taking place on Monday night (May 29), we can assume that there will be much tougher calls to make, much crazier plays to praise, and a whole lot of angry people on Twitter on both sides. If the Celtics win, it would make them the first team in league history to reverse a 3-0 trail in a playoff series. For the latest updates and news on the Celtics-Heat saga and the NBA post-season, come back to HNHH.
After a consecutive few years of turning up during Hot Girl Summer, Diddy has come up with a more gender-neutral solution for the world, dubbing 2023 an “Act Bad Summer” along with the release of his latest single. The father of six linked up with Fabolous and the City Girls for the catchy new song, which is sure to be bumping in clubs all across the country over the coming months. Following the track’s premiere on New Music Friday (May 26), Sean Combs and his collaborators also unveiled the raunchy music video for it, which finds the Bad Boy founder dancing naked after a wild night of partying.
Despite the fact that Miami told The Cut she and Diddy went their separate ways earlier this year, the Caresha Please host has been spending plenty of time with the producer lately. Not only did they attend the Met Gala together, both dressed to the nines in custom designer duds, but on Saturday (May 27), they also stepped out for the Miami Heat game. The pair looked happy to be at the event when the jumbotron caught them sitting courtside, aptly labelling them “Mr. & Mrs. Act Bad.”
Even though the number one girl in his life is now his infant daughter, Love Sean Combs, the Florida native still looks happy to be by Diddy’s side. As always, the status of their relationship remains unclear to the public, though they have made it abundantly clear that they know how to make a hit together. “Act Bad” has been in the works as far back as the New Yorker’s appearance on Miami’s podcast, at which time he admitted the record needed some work before it was ready to share with the world.
Have you seen Diddy’s new “Act Bad” music video with Fabolous and the City Girls yet? If not, tap in at the link below. Make sure to check back later for more hip-hop/pop culture news updates.
Yesterday (May 22), the rapper tweeted, “all I ask is that one of you interviewers in this post season please ask jimmy wtf was on his mind when he did the fake dreds.” He added, “salute to the underdog of sorts but also we can’t just forget and forgive this easily.”
all I ask is that one of you interviewers in this post season please ask jimmy wtf was on his mind when he did the fake dreds
In case you missed it: Last summer, Miami’s Jimmy Butler debuted a new long-haired look, one that was very different from his usual style. He even wore it during Media Day, so his 2022-23 player photo on sites like Basketball-Reference features the hair, even though he didn’t end up sticking with the look for too long.
Earl’s question probably won’t come up any time soon for a couple reasons: It’s not exactly a timely topic anymore, and Butler has already answered it. Back in September, he told reporters, “I’m just messing with stuff to make the internet mad. That was my goal this summer and it worked.”
Earl Sweatshirt is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Caleb Martin contributed 18 points off the bench for the Miami Heat in their dominant 128-102 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday night, May 21. In the Heat’s 111-105 Game 2 victory, Martin torched the Celtics for 25 points, and he bucketed another 15 in the series’ opening matchup (another Heat win).
The eighth-seeded Heat are one win away from perhaps the most improbable NBA Finals appearance in history — certainly in recent memory — and we learned during TNT’s Game 2 broadcast that Martin was just one J. Cole call away from Miami last summer.
“We found out some interesting facts about Caleb Martin and how he got to this point,” TNT sideline reporter Allie LaForce said during the second quarter, as captured by Bleacher Report. “We were talking to [Heat head coach] Erik Spoelstra before the game, and he said a week before camp started, J. Cole — yes, J. Cole, the rapper — called assistant coach Caron Butler and said, ‘My guy Caleb Martin is available.’”
LaForce continued, “Coach Butler passed on the information to Erik Spoelstra. He said, ‘Could he come? We’re scrimmaging tomorrow.’ [Martin] showed up, impressed everyone, became a two-way player, and ever since, was a huge part of the starting rotation until they had to decide to sign him full-time. It was a match made in heaven from day one.”
Martin went undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, signing that summer as an undrafted free agent with the Charlotte Hornets. The Nevada product inked a multi-year pact with the team by that October (as relayed by the NBA at the time), but Martin was waived in August 2021.
Undrafted players Martin, Duncan Robinson, Gabriel Vincent, and Max Strus have contributed impressively to this magical Heat playoff run led by six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler.
Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals is slated to tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 23, from Miami’s Kaseya Center. The potential elimination game will be broadcast on TNT.
The Boston Celtics find themselves in the same Conference Finals fate as the Los Angeles Lakers: a 3-0 hole. On Sunday night, Jimmy Butler and the Miami HEAT had it all going, blasting the Celtics 128-102, putting Jayson Tatum and his team on the brink of elimination.
Jumped out to a big lead in front of our #WhiteHot crowd and never looked back. Look back at tonight’s Game 3 win Through The Lens @MiamiHEAT // @Chain
Butler had 16 points, eight rebounds, and six assists for the night. Gabe Vincent dropped 29 on a game-high six threes, and Bam Adebayo had 13 points composed of highlight poster dunks over Celtics defenders. Superstar All-NBA duo of Tatum and Jaylen Brown had 14 and 12 points, respectively.
At the end of the game, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla took the blame for the performance on the court.
“I just didn’t have them ready to play,” Mazzulla said. “I have to get them in a better place to be ready to play, and that’s on me.”
He added, “Some of that defensive identity has been lost and we have to get that back.”
On the opposite bench, HEAT hae coach Erik Spoelstra spoke glowingly of Vincent’s performance, just one game away from the NBA Finals.
“I thought he had as much of an impact and put his fingerprints on the win in Game 2 as he did tonight,” Spoelstra said. “One of the games he had four points; another game he had 29. And he has that emotional stability to — you know, he sees guys like Jimmy and Bam [Adebayo], who are the perfect role models.”
Caleb Martin has been one of the NBA’s recent undrafted success stories. After going undrafted out of Nevada in 2019, Martin was signed by the Charlotte Hornets. After playing sparingly in his rookie year, he appeared in 53 games in the 2020-21 season. However, he was ultimately waived by the Hornets prior to the 2021-22 season. He signed a two-way contract with the Miami Heat, eventually being upgraded to a regular contract in February 2022.
This past season, Martin appeared in a career-high 71 games and started a career-high 49 for the Heat. In fact, he set career highs across the board as he became a crucial member of the Heat’s rotation and starting five. However, it turns out there was a surprising figure behind Martin’s transfer to the Heat.
Martin is from North Carolina, born and raised in the state while also briefly attending high school in Virginia. After being cut by the Hornets, he returned home to try and find another gig on an NBA roster. One of the places he trained was a gym owned by rapper J. Cole. After seeing Martin play, Cole reached out to his friend, Miami Heat Assistant Coach Caron Butler. “He had reached out to me and told me he had a very, very talented guy that was just wrecking shop up here in North Carolina and he had just got released from the Hornets,” Butler told The Charlotte Observer. He continued. “Obviously, we were still trying to improve on our talent. He reached out to me and I just invited him to an open scrimmage in the summer and from that point on he really earned his way on.”
He continued. “But J. Cole having the foresight in knowing Caleb can come and help a contending team was just amazing.” Butler also praised Cole’s eye for basketball talent. “He has a great eye for talent, but I think he just sees the grind and the drive in people,” Butler said. “He knows that someone like Caleb was going to go out there and play extremely hard, play with a lot of grit and a lot of passion. ‘O’ did a great job of working him, training him. Some of our philosophies that we teach, he did a great job of echoing our voice and making sure that he’s up to speed because he’s been working with him for so long. Between him and Cole and all those guys, it’s been a remarkable partnership.”
With the conference semifinals finished, it’s time for an NBA Conference Finals prediction. Only four teams remain in the playoffs as each one searches for a crucial victory to get them to the Finals, where they can taste the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Ironically, these four teams are the exact teams that stood in these positions three years ago during the bubble: Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics. It’s been an upset-filled playoff as a seven and eight seed have somehow made it this far. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steph Curry, Ja Morant, De’Aaron Fox, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, and others are eliminated, but Jimmy Butler, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, and Jayson Tatum remain.
These star players have dragged their teams to the Conference Finals. Many of them are probably exhausted from the work they’ve had to put in to get here. However, as the late, great Kobe Bryant once said: “The job’s not finished.” These teams would like to have two more series and end with a ring to cement their place in history. Here’s which teams will actually be able to do just that.
NBA Conference Finals Prediction: It’s Denver’s Ring To Lose
By most metrics, the Denver Nuggets are the best team remaining. They have arguably the most complete roster. They also have, with ease, the best player left in Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets dispatched Kevin Durant and withstood a historic Devin Booker series to win against the Phoenix Suns in six games. While the Suns were missing Chris Paul and DeAndre Ayton in Game 6, the series wasn’t all that difficult for Denver.
On the other side, it’s a miracle that the Lakers are still standing. They took on the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies and ousted them, thanks in part to the disrespect Dillon Brooks (who won’t be re-joining the team) showed LeBron James. Waiting next for the Lakers was Steph Curry and the reigning world champions, the Golden State Warriors. They dispatched them in six games without struggling all that much, either.
Can The Lakers’ Magic Continue?
Anthony Davis and LeBron James are possibly a stronger duo than any other team in the league. However, they don’t have the depth to take on Denver. While Anthony Davis is a defensive threat, no one has been able to stop Jokic. Denver has come up short the past few seasons and Jokic has been arguably the best player in the world during that time. They’re due for a championship if there ever was such a thing.
Jokic is the kind of player who can carry a team all the way. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to do it alone. His complementary pieces in Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. give them a nice starting lineup. Even Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is playing well. The Lakers have been on a magical run. It’s one that would go down in history if it were to go all the way. Unfortunately, a juggernaut stands in their way once again.
NBA Conference Finals Prediction: Denver Nuggets in seven games
NBA Conference Finals Prediction: Miami’s Luck Runs Out
The Miami Heat have had an impressive run to the Conference Finals. They withstood the play-in tournament to earn the eighth seed. They went on to dismantle the number one-seeded Milwaukee Bucks with relative ease. Jimmy Butler reminded everyone why he’s considered one of the best in the game in the process. They followed it up by dispatching the New York Knicks, too. They enter as major underdogs (+400 to Boston’s -525) in the series.
The Boston Celtics just had one of the more intense and enjoyable (from a fan perspective) series of the entire playoffs. They found themselves down 3-2 to the newly crowned MVP and his Philadelphia 76ers. Boston also trailed late in Game 6. They came back, Jayson Tatum said he was one of the best in the world. He followed that statement up with 51 points in Game 7 (a new Game 7 record) to seal it.
Will Boston Redeem Last Year’s Finals Loss?
The Celtics are a much better team than the Heat. Where the Heat is led by Butler and Bam Adebayo (two admittedly great players), the Celtics are led by two elite players in Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Both teams are extremely well-coached and this should be an entertaining series where everyone forgets that Miami is an eight-seed. Still, the Celtics’ talent should win out.
Tatum will be guarded by a top defender in Butler. Humbly, he is one of the best players in the world, though. If he’s being shut down, too, the C’s have other stars that can carry the load. They’re too deep and the Heat are too thin for their unprecedented run to continue. They should be applauded for making it this far, but it likely ends here. Both teams have been to a Finals recently (Boston last year and Miami in 2020 in the bubble). Ultimately, this means talent will win out.
NBA Conference Finals prediction: Boston Celtics in seven games
Jimmy Butler has already had a legendary playoff run. The Miami Heat star willed his team to an opening-round series victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. However, the team is still attempting to defy the odds by moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 1 proved that the Heat belong in the second round of the playoffs. As the Heat took care of business at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. However, the team could now be dealing with a massive injury.
Butler went down, grabbing his ankle late in Game 1. The Heat guard has given his all in every game the team has had in the playoffs. Including a 25-point performance this past Sunday. However, if the Heat has to play on with Butler, chances would be slim on seeing them advance. The team is already dealing with an injury to Tyler Herro. However, Butler seemed to rest fans’ worries with his recent Instagram story.
Jimmy Butler Enjoying Time Off In New York
Jimmy Butler posted a picture of himself walking in New York City on his IG story after injuring his ankle in Game 1 pic.twitter.com/259YIQ3WKi
Butler shared a photo of himself taking a stroll through the city that never sleeps. However, the biggest part of the photo may be that Butler’s ankle has no wraps around it. The injury scare has been the talk of every Miami Heat fan’s circle. But I believe this photo will put to bed any thoughts that he won’t go for Game 2. Butler has shown time and time again just how much he will put himself through during the playoffs. The Heat star continues to win over the fanbase.
Butler has helped lead Miami to two Eastern Conference Finals in the last three seasons. A series win over the Knicks will once again lead the Heat to the big series. Although the Knicks could be outmanned without star forward Julius Randle. Both teams are dealing with massive injuries to their rotation. Unfortunately, it is that time of year when every player is feeling the pain of the regular season. However, neither team will use this issue as an excuse if they’re on the losing end. For the latest NBA news, keep it right here with HNHH.
Miami Heat point guard Kyle Lowry has had a long and successful NBA career, and the six-time All-Star still an impactful player even at 36 years old. His game isn’t anything to joke about, but he has been the subject of some memes due to the size of his butt. That part of his anatomy gets brought up here and there, like when ESPN’s Ryan Clark went viral last year for tweeting, “Kyle Lowry has to be wearing some kind of padding under his uniform. No way my man built like that.”
Now, Jack Harlow unintentionally did some investigative reporting on Lowry’s backside and has shared his findings.
Yesterday (April 30), Harlow attended the Heat’s playoff game against the New York Knicks, where Lowry ended up in his lap after a fall. Harlow then posted a point-of-view photo of the court from his courtside seat and shared it on his Instagram Story, writing, “Kyle Lowry just took a fadeaway 3 and landed in my lap. The rumors are true. His sh*t was like a pillow.”
Lowry has addressed all the talk about his backside, saying on Vince Carter’s The VC Show podcast last summer, “It used to bother me a lot. It used to get to me. It used to really get to me, I’m gonna be honest with you. And now, I don’t care.” He then rattled off some of his career accomplishments and continued, “Thick’s been good for me. Yeah yeah, I’m cool with it. […] Y’all can create all the memes y’all want. I embrace it. I love it.”
pic.twitter.com/kw6ywX4lCs
