The Boston Celtics could have had 19 NBA Championships if it weren’t for one key injury.
Over the years, the Celtics and the LA Lakers have established themselves as the two best organizations in NBA history.
After lifting the 2024 NBA trophy, the Celtics broke the championship tie with the Purple and Gold, as they now have 18 title banners hanging in the rafters.
Although it took them 16 years to win their second title in the millennium, the franchise was very close to it back in 2010.
After forming a Big 3 of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen, the Celtics were unstoppable in the 2008 playoffs. Even the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers were no match for the team.
However, in a matter of two years, Bryant avenged the loss by leading the Lakers to a 4-3 win over the Celtics in the 2010 NBA Finals.
Today, it is viewed as one of the most memorable NBA Finals of all time, as Bryant finally won the fifth ring of his career.
It also essentially ended the Celtics’ dominance in the league. After all, the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls rose to power following that season.
But what went wrong for the Cs? Could they have won a ring in 2010, a former team veteran certainly thinks so.
Apart from the Garnett, Pierce, and Allen trio, the Celtics had terrific role players on the roster. The likes of Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins were key figures on the team.
Big Perk was an elite defender and he was doing his job perfectly until getting sidelined due to a Game 6 injury. Former Celtics veteran Tony Allen recently recalled how Perkins’ injury led to the Celtics’ downfall in 2010.
“If Big Perk didn’t get hurt, we’d be two rings up. God damn it, it hurt. He was looking that ___ up,” Allen said.
“I ain’t going to lie, I sat in the room with that man [Perkins] for the rest of the evening,” he added.
Perkins’ leg injury has always been brought up when fans debate the 2010 NBA Finals. Although Big Perk wasn’t putting up huge numbers, to this date, fans believe he was locking up the Lakers’ backcourt.
The injury also gave the Lakers a mental advantage as they would have no problem defeating the Celtics over the final two games of the series.
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