Kendrick Perkins is getting an old take (very badly) exposed this week.
The Indiana Pacers officially advanced to the NBA Finals with a victory on Saturday over the New York Knicks in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Finals series at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. The 125-108 win by the Pacers means that they are headed to their first Finals since 2000 (where they will now play the Oklahoma City Thunder).
In the wake of the Pacers’ triumph, an embarrassing old prediction by ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins resurfaced online. Before the season began, Perkins appeared on the ESPN show “NBA Today” and predicted that Indiana would miss the playoffs altogether.
“They’re not going to make the playoffs this season,” said Perkins. “I’m not high on them.”
“To me, I’m watching a guy like Tyrese Haliburton coming into the season,” Perkins added. “I don’t know if he’s necessarily been putting in the work he needs to put in.”
Here is the full clip.
It might have been fair to expect a little bit of regression from the Pacers this season following their 2024 Eastern Conference Finals berth, especially after a summer with no meaningful additions to their roster. But predicting that Indiana would miss the playoffs altogether was just asking for trouble on Perkins’ part.
In the end, the Pacers won 50 games during the regular season and then defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games, and the Knicks in six games (with the latter two series victories coming without the benefit of homecourt advantage). It is safe to say that Indiana has proved all the doubters wrong, and their star player Haliburton is enjoying hitting back right now at those who didn’t believe in them.
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