The Boston Celtics finally dropped their first game of the season Wednesday night to the Indiana Pacers. The 135-132 overtime loss came at the hands of Pascal Siakam‘s winning shot. Despite the loss, the Celtics are still in firm control of the East. Even though the Cleveland Cavaliers remain the East’s only undefeated team and have the top seed, it’s still Boston’s conference. Boston’s dominance stretching back a season led to an interesting conversation on ESPN’s NBA Today where former Celtics champion Kendrick Perkins claimed that when healthy, these Celtics today are one of the best teams he’s ever seen. He also posed an interesting take on Boston’s starting five compared to historic starting five lineups.
Celtics Line Up With Any Historic NBA Team, Per NBA Analyst
Kendrick Perkins Believes the Current Version of the Celtics is Equal to History’s Best
The NBA has showcased some pretty historic teams going back decades and several top-tier starting lineups. On NBA Today, fourteen-year player turned NBA analyst Perkins claimed that the Boston Celtics team we watch now aligns with the greatest teams in league history. Big Perk had this to say on the matter.
“A couple weeks ago I said that this Celtics team is one of the greatest offensive teams I’ve ever seen. That’s an understatement. This is one of the greatest teams I’ve ever seen all across the board. This team could be lined up with any historical team in NBA history, when you talk about any era.”
Perkins also stated that this version of the Celtics is already better than the Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen-led championship team in 2008. Perkins and Rajon Rondo were also in that starting lineup. Chime in a quick quip from Richard Jefferson, and Perkins would continue laying the foundation for his take.
“If you wanna match them up against the old Detroit Pistons in a seven-game series, or the Warriors with KD [Kevin Durant] and Steph [Curry], they line up with the best of them. When you look at this starting five, not only are they great offensively, with Kristaps Porzingis in the starting lineup, defensively, they are a problem as well, all five of them.”
Where The C’s Stack Up Amongst Others
Perkins most likely alludes to the Pistons iteration of the late 80s-early 90s. They weren’t a dynasty, as Isiah Thomas once admitted, but they were the most impactful team of that era. While the Warriors in the two-year Kevin Durant window dominated to the one-thousandth degree, teams of years and decades earlier also carried some epic starting five lineups.
The 1995-96 Bulls had Michael Jordan, Ron Harper, Scottie Pippen, Luc Longley, and Dennis Rodman. In 1985-86, Boston started Dennis Johnson, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Danny Ainge, and Larry Bird. The Lakers boasted Magic Johnson, Byron Scott, James Worthy, A.C. Green, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1986-87. The Lakers also had a dominating starting five in 2000-01 with Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, Horace Grant, Rick Fox, and Derek Fisher. And, of course, Perkins’ 2007-08 Celtics squad should also receive a mention. There have been many notable starting rotations over the decades.
Perkins believes a 70-game win campaign is at hand for Boston this season. Suppose the Celtics can rip through another season to a second consecutive championship. In that case, health and availability across the board provided, of course, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Derrick White can absolutely contend for one of the greatest starting five lineups in NBA history. Or maybe they already are.
