Former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins delivered a blunt, expletive-laden message to Houston Rockets superstar Kevin Durant about facing the LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers.
Perkins’ comments came shortly before Houston’s Round 1 NBA playoff matchup against the Lakers was finalized.
Kendrick Perkins Cautions Kevin Durant Ahead of Rockets-Lakers Playoff Series
On Sunday’s edition of the “Road Trippin’ Show,” Perkins issued a stark warning to Durant and the Rockets entering the playoffs.
Having shared a locker room with Durant on the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2011 to 2015, Perkins previewed the playoff seeding scenarios and revealed what he expected from Durant against Los Angeles.
Addressing his former teammate’s legacy, Perkins said, “KD a** better not lose this series. … When you talk about pressure, just in the first round, Kevin Durant is under the most pressure. You better not f**king lose to that Lakers team.”
Perkins set his expectations based on the fact that an injury-laden Lakers roster was heading into the playoffs relying primarily on an aging James.
“You better not lose to Bron at 41. I don’t give a f**k. That’s what it is,” Perkins continued. “You better not f**king lose. It’s going to be a different conversation. … That s**t shouldn’t go past five games. … You better not lose more than one game to 41-year-old Bron and Bronny [James]. I don’t want to hear that s**t.”
The fifth-seeded Rockets enter the first round looking toward Durant’s production to anchor their offense. In his first season with Houston, the 37-year-old averaged 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game on 52.0% shooting from the floor across 78 contests.
During an early April game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles simultaneously lost superstar guard Luka Dončić to a Grade 2 left hamstring strain and Austin Reaves to a Grade 2 oblique strain.
This double whammy wiped out nearly 57 points of nightly production for the Lakers, forcing James to absorb a massive workload to close Year 23. Down the final stretch of the season, the four-time champion responded with averages of 23.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 9.2 assists per game over his last five regular-season outings.
The Denver Nuggets’ 128-118 win against the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday ensured that the Lakers would enter the playoffs as the No. 4 seed against Houston.
With Game 1 tipping off on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET, a failure to get past a battered Los Angeles team could spark some uncomfortable conversations for the Rockets.
