The Celtics needed a MERCY RULE in Game 3! 🗣️ - Stephen A. | First Take 

While Kendrick Perkins is in his Celtic feelings today, he did say before the postseason started that the Celtics didn't wanna see the Heat. And look at the outcome thus far.

The coach took the blame as the leader. But there’s No way he should have to motivate players that are in the playoffs. Boston lost this game as a whole in the first 5 minutes of the game. They all should be embarrassed for the effort they displayed.

Perk saying Robert Williams not starting is a travesty is wild to me. Watch any single second of these games and you see jimmy abusing Robert every time he’s guarding JB. He’s being targeted by jimmy in the mid range, and perk has to see that

As a Lakers fan, it helps ease the pain that BOS is also down 0-3. But, I don't think its a coincidence 2 rookie HCs are getting blatantly outcoached by 2 veteran HCs.

That's why I got a lot of respect for Jimmy Butler because he's one of the very few players in the league that doesn't want to be on a super team to win a championship

Who knew the Knicks would put up a bigger fight than the Bucks and Celtics did? 🤣 Miami broke Milwaukee. They broke Boston. They broke every AI projection algorithm.

"I'm humbly one of the best basketball players in the world" - Jayson Tatum 5/11/23

In Heat-Bucks series, it was all about 8 seed beating the 1 seed. 8 seed. 8 seed. It was all about undrafted players beating the 1 seed. It was all about shock. Giannis got injured, missed 3 games, played injured and NOBODY mentioned Giannis being hurt. NOBODY gave Giannis grace. after game 4, Giannis missed post game interview and went to straight to get treatment on his back. Did anybody mention that? They blamed everything on Giannis. What's the excuse for the Celtics? Getting walked down by Jimmy and company 🤣🤣. I am loving this.

Boston deserves every ounce of ridicule and shame for yet another failure. Miami is taking it to them and proving that a #8 seed can be lethal. Miami is outclassing them in every aspect. Congratulations to Spoelstra for motivating this team to not settle for anything less than a trip to the Finals.

Boston getting swept is more embarrassing than the Bucks losing in the first round. At least for the Bucks you can make an argument that their best player was out for 3 games. Celtics have 0 excuses, they have the most talented team, they're more complete compared to Miami, Brown and Tatum were considered better than Butler before the playoffs started and they're getting beaten down like this

It's funny, everyone i watched the game with last night agreed there needed to be a mercy rule. At least a "Throw in the White Towel" option. 😂😂😂

As a Celtics fan, I’m glad Stephen A brought up the Ime Udoka situation. I’m glad that we’re having this conversation about the Ownership.

I don't think I would necessarily blame the Celtics as much as I would praise the Miami Heat and Erik Spoelstra. They are playing perfect basketball out there and we've seen this consistently from them since last season. It's a thing of beauty.

While some blame is on coach and I respect him for taking 100% blame, Brown and Tatum (2 allstars) combing for 26 pts is not due to coaching. Gabe Vincent who was undrafted had 29 pts.

Yessss preach it SAS preach it!!! I’m so sick of this org. They’ve shut our championship window, they got rid of the coach and they’ve made JB feel unwanted! I hope we struggle the next decade!!!

7-40 from 3 this whole series? Good lord!!!!

The series Stephen A is talking about is the 2001 Western conference finals Lakers vs Spurs it was hyped as the greatest series of all time and the Lakers swept them easily.

As a player it’s your responsibility to be ready mentally and to show up. The coach definitely bears some responsibility for the poor play but why is it his fault Tatum, first team all nba, and Brown, second team all nba, are performing poorly. They’re turning the ball over and playing too much iso ball compared to the Heat who are moving the ball around, spreading the defense thin and making a barrage of 3pters. Kobe definitely not texting Tatum back

The Knicks being the Heat's toughest series in the eastern conference was not in my bingo card

Stephen A. hit the nail right on the head with the "JUSTICE". Karma is not about checks and balances... Karma is about lessons! I love my Celtics, but they had this coming.

Stephen A is soooooo right about that Lakers Spurs series in 2001. Kobe absolutely tore them up! Game 3 and 4 the spurs were massacred.

Celtics never should’ve gotten rid of Udoka. Ever since they fired him the Celtics season this year was solely based on if they could make it back to the Finals. They won’t. Same players, different results. That’s coaching.

just because someone is un-drafted does not mean they are inferior. a lot of b.s. goes into who goes to what schools..and people can develop on their own schedule. when players go up against one another - who cares what their resumes say..it's who outduels who

James Harden got Doc fired according to ESPN, but despite Brown and Tatum stunk up the joint.. its all on Coach 😊

Miami is so good, they might get two head coaches fired! 🤣 I'm happy for Joy Taylor. I know she loves her Miami Heat. Spoelstra is the best coach in the NBA.

Horford getting roasted and toasted by bam and Robert Williams getting picked on every possession by jimmy

I never thought I would see two conference finals where both team are about to get swept it’s unbelievable. The heat have been so good

Jimmy with the T to Horford was classic

Thanks Stephen A for bringing this up, justice has been served

That’s what they get for firing their coach over a personal matter! That should have been handled privately!

As a HEAT fan I learned a lot from STEPHEN A. and PERK.

As a Celtics fan I’m glad you said it SAS….the ownership is to blame for our situation…with IME we would have never looked this bad….and brad trying to promote his guy and look like a genius rather than get an experienced coach for this team puts him at fault too Celtics fans have had our doubts all year and now it shows….ownership destroyed our season and hope Talent is the only reason we got this far….ownership should be dragged up and down the airwaves

Few thoughts: #1 - The fact that the Celtics have not figured it out by now that you cannot underestimate Miami just because they are seeded 8th is mind- boggling‼️😅 #2 - Its amazing to see how the Heat bench has responded so well in this series amidst all the pressure! Drafted or not I don't care, the mental is just as important as the skills wrt professional sports and being successful. ✅️🏀 # 3- Is it just me or did it seem like Boston gave up at some pt in da 3rd? Sad to see considering they were the favorite! 😢 HOWEVER I am excited to see how badly Jimmy Butler and da Heat want that chip and are willing to play THE best games of their lives to earn it. That is why I always believed Miami should represent the East ✅️ 😊. That coach Erik is a genius.

PERK, you have evolved, You are 1,000 percent correct, Rob Williams field goal percentage is crazy plus he is a younger guy that can help slow down Bam, also Boston had lots of success with the high pic and roll when Robert Williams was in the game. Mazzula is out of his league in these playoffs.

Talk that talk Stephen and Perkin thanks for putting that out there.

Robert Williams was the only one who kept playing when they “let the rope go” last night. He was still hustling. Personal pride!

Bam has just hit the new level his confidence has hit the ceiling and that is the difference. Jimmy has always been HIM, but Bam made this team hit the next level with his mid-range and chemistry which he lacked yesterday. If he gets handles, it's going to be scary.

"This is Justice" I TOTALLY agree with SAS and his points about how classless the Celtics have been with the Udoka. situation.

Everyone deserves blame on the Celtics but let’s be real this coach hasn’t even been average… he got carried by talent all season, his philosophy has been a net negative for this team. Terrible feel for the game, terrible rotations, no plays on offense, no defensive adjustments… Sure the players gotta play but if your “leader” is clueless it leads to disorganization and players splintering to their own agendas. This isn’t a team that is together and that starts at the top… Total mismanagement by Joe Mazzulla and very disappointing and disturbing effort from the players….

Couldn’t agree more w/SAS monologue about Ime Uodka. Yes, he made the WRONG move but he committed no crime & the organization handled that (personal) situation terribly. Now they have some EMOTIONAL coach who bickers w/the media & isn’t yet ready

Tatum is a choker, stop blaming others. He deserves the same criticism as Embid is getting

Miami coming off as a team that exposed how soft the other teams were. Miami is winning because of sheer grit, grind and hustle.

Very well said by these two gentlemen

I’m glad Stephen A. Addressed the elephant in the room as far as the difference in the Celtics this year and last 💯💯💯

I'm glad Stephen A. keeps bringing up that Ime incident. He's absolutely right.

I think it shows how much a coach actually matters. Your players have to believe in the system they’re executing in order for it to work. When most players disagree with the system, you lose the locker room and confidence in your team. You can tell they miss Eme “Udoker”

Noone speeks about Coach Spoelstra. He is the best Coach in the league. The Heat were not just ready, they were ready for war- every minute of the game.

Do it Big Perks...Love this...they lay down like a fresh set of Dominos...

Miami takes after their GM and coach! They work hard and don't believe anything team they play against is better than them! I teamwork! Go Heat!

AMEN Stephen A! This is JUSTICE indeed. FOR IME!!!! ✊

When the 3% team gon sweep ur team 🔥

Stephen A Smith said it best...This is Justice...For Boston...Ownership and Management for what they did to Udoka..plus as the old saying goes, The chicken has come home to roost...I've said this about Lakers in letting go of Caldwell Pope the one weapon that they shipped off to Washington and now is with the enemy the team they killed in WCF in 2020...The Nuggets understood the assignment, they did it...Lebron isn't 35 with fresh legs from a pandemic AD aint a young buck no more..The Lakers didnt have the same weapons they did 3 years ago...All because Bron wanted Westbrook and how much that created a failure and firing Vogel to be the fall guy it was nasty...Just like This is justice for Boston, this is the same Justice for Los Angeles Lakers for getting rid of a good bench for a player that never fit with them from the jump...and now Lebron at 38-39 and AD 31 this offseason is key for the Lakers..

Ime was the actual brains if the celtics

"Joe Blow" Mazzulla happens to be nearly 4 months younger than Steph Curry. His previous experience is being an assistant coach in Division II and G-League teams.

I think the problem is Tatum tends to disappear when the game gets into crunch time. Yes he had 51 points in Game 7 vs. the sixers but a lot of that came when the C's were already up double digits. The real question is can he wheel and deal his team to victory when they are are trailing by double digits? That remains to be seen

Miami vs Celtics should always be a 7 game watchable TV series, I did not expected this kind of a** whooping.

Who else remembers ESPN saying the Heat had a 3% chance in beating Miami in this series?

Big changes are coming to Boston.

SAS is absolutely correct - this debacle of a season has Wyc and Stevo's fingerprints all over it. Next, Udoka takes the rest of the Celts few remaining assistant coaches and Jaylen and Marcus request trades to Houston. Heck, Celtics management didn't even give their own players a heads up before the scandal hit the mass media. That indicates the lack of respect that ownership had for the players as well as the fans of the team.

Choking under pressure has no cure

It’s on Tatum and Brown. Obviously Mazzulla isn’t ready, but it’s just a choke job

Coaches can ONLY do so much. At the end of the day the athletes are doing the scoring, fouling, blocking, defending, etc. It doesn't matter if the coach switches the players or drafts up a good play...at the end of the day if the players do NOT execute then it all goes to waste. Hold them players accountable!!!

PREACH

Kudos to the producer who cued the music behind KP's dialogue about the Nuggets ball movement. starts at 6:59

Here's why I believe the Heat will beat the Nuggets in the Finals: Because they punked the Bucks and Celtics, two teams you can argue are better than the Nuggets.

Stephen A was absolutely correct in his assessment of the situation of the Boston Celtics and Ime Udoka! Thats what the leadership deserves.

Miami like one of those 90s teams they did this to my Hawks last year they are just a dangerous discipline team and I wonder can they do anything close to Denver who also looks dangerous we will see soon enough.

The star in this clip goes to the Perkins Kingdom 💕 What a display of unity

I'm starting to believe the Miami Heat are going to win the 2023 NBA championship. It's 2023. Jimmy Butler is called the illegitimate son of Michael Jordan.

As a sixers fan i love these playoff ,Boston is getting it handed to them Boston figured out Philly, the fact that you cant win playing hero ball or just isolation ball,that worked in the regular season but not in the playoffs, now Miami figured out the same thing, Boston isnt gonna win playing the same way ,Miami plays as a team ,Boston has two guys that ball hog and do not trust their teammates.

I've seen many punkings on a basketball court and I'm sure I'll see more.

Ime Udoka somewhere laughing like when Jimmy Butler left when he beat Minnesota's starters with back-ups. "Ya'll can't when without me!!!" 🤣🤣🤣

Stephen A just spoke the gospel. This is exactly it!!! I’m celts fan and this is exactly it.

They could not even defend a dude named Gabe Vincent lol

My boy Perk needed that water 😆😆😆🤣🤣

They should have called up Taco Fall to guard the middle of the paint! 😂

Knicks putting up a better fight then Boston or Milwaukee in the Easter Conference is more then anyone thought. They had their best season in a while and I'm proud.

Is it the coach playing or the MultiMillionaire NBA players playing?

Perk.... Robert Williams gonna get ate up on the pick and roll too. Jimmy is targeting him 😂🤣

Stephen A is a master at rhetoric and delivering a story and point.

Nahhh Boston just doesn't have the heart anymore. They're not the same team as last year in terms of heart and effort. Watching the Celtics this playoffs ya'll can see they give up in the 1st half. I think it's time to blow this team up, they've been using the same formula for years now and the league has adapted to it. Sure they've had multiple conference finals appearance and even a Finals appearance last year but that's as far as their ceiling goes. Time to blow the team up, maybe consider that Brown and Tatum aren't the duo this team is expecting them to be and trade Smart while they're at it

Protect Kendrick Perkins at all cost!!! d Dominos reference was fire 🔥 !!! 😂😂😂😂

14:54 Big Perk is BIG PHLEGMY Get that brother some H20 ASAP!

Perk said it what I been saying last few years iso ball with Tatum and brown is not going get it done they need a point guard …. Been needed one

Mark Jackson would be a great new coach for Boston

Perk wrong. not the coach fault. if your coach got to come up with strategies to get star players motivated in the ECF then something wrong with the players

Yet to post a video of the morning shows talking about the Lakers down 0-3 lol

They always blame the coach last time I checked the coach ain’t the one out there missing 3s and allowing lay ups by the opposition

Celtics just look embarrassing last night. You had home court for the first two games and a lack of gameplay against this team who are surprising everyone and you are down 0-3. What makes it impressive is that Jimmy didn’t have a big night and the role players let them get every single point while Tatum and Brown just look awful in that game.

Eat your heart out haters. An 8th seed about to take out both the 1st and 2nd seed. 3% they said..let’s go Heat!

SAS and kendrick perkins said that doc rivers didn't deserve to be fired but Joe mazzula deserves it.Joe mazzula failed JT that's why they quit and Harden and embid quit on doc rivers

Someone needs to play this in the celtics locker room, " We must be swift as the coarsing river. With all the force of a great typhoon"

Knicks gave the Heat their best fight so far in the playoffs. You know the espn won’t ever say that. Not to mention the refs helped the heat vs the Knicks in the first 5 games of the second round. The Celtics are getting a fairly reffed series.

Once udoka was out i knew Celtics wouldn't make it back to the finals, didnt think they would be on the verge of getting swept tho 😮

They didn't think about Nia Long! Good word SAS!

I love it!😂

If the Heat don't close this out in Game 4 and the series comes back to Miami 3-2, there'll be a lot of people pulling for Boston.

Stephen A Smith was preaching about Udoka 💯

Coach can only do so much, players are ultimately the ones on the floor and they flat out quit!

I’m old enough to remember folks scoffing at perks takes. Man been on fire this post season.