Brewers place Brandon Woodruff on IL with shoulder inflammation following Thursdayâs early exit
Brandon Woodruff placed on 15-day IL due to shoulder inflammation.
Kendrick Perkins declared Nikola JokiÄ's championship window closed after the Denver Nuggets were eliminated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the playoffs. Perkins criticized JokiÄ's performance, stating he needs to be held accountable like other all-time greats.
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Credit: ESPN
The Minnesota Timberwolves ended Nikola JokiÄâs season, and Kendrick Perkins just ended his championship window.
According to Perkins, the 31-year-old Denver Nuggets center is officially done winning championships after failing to get out of the first-round of the playoffs this season. Perkins laid into JokiÄ Friday morning on First Take, knocking the three-time MVP off any pedestal other analysts may have attempted to put him on.
âWeâre not in Serbia. Weâre in America. And he got punked yesterday,â Perkins ranted. âFor this series, he got punked. And we gotta hold him to a level of accountability like we would do quote unquote every all-time great.â
Perkins highlighted JokiÄâs recent playoff failures, with back-to-back second round exits before getting knocked out in the first round this season. And not only was JokiÄ knocked out in the first round, he was knocked out by a team in the Minnesota Timberwolves who were without Anthony Edwards and two additional key rotation players.
âI want to sit up here and apologize,â Perkins continued before issuing apologies directly to Shaquille OâNeal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon. âBecause I jumped the gun, just like everybody else when it comes down to disrespecting all-time greats. We were so ready to crown this man and put him ahead of all-time greats because of certain things and numbers he was putting up in the regular season. I get it, he has one NBA championship. And as a matter of fact, I donât think Jokic is gonna win another NBA championship to be honest with you.â
Stephen A. Smith quickly interjected to note that if Nikola Jokic doesnât win another NBA championship, it wonât be his fault.
Kendrick Perkins stated that Nikola JokiÄ's championship window is closed because the Denver Nuggets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
Kendrick Perkins criticized Nikola JokiÄ for being 'punked' in the playoff series and emphasized the need for accountability for his performance.
The Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated Nikola JokiÄ and the Denver Nuggets from the playoffs, ending their season prematurely.
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âWell, this series it was!â Perkins pushed back. âHeâs gonna take 50% of this blame for this series. He got exposedâŠwhen we get to talking about top-5 this and top-5 that of all-time, we need to sit back and keep a cool booty.â
The Denver Nuggets have long accused the NBA media of neglecting JokiÄ, with Kendrick Perkins already having a history of being at the center of those complaints. Three years ago, Perkins accused JokiÄ of stat-padding and alleged he was only the favorite to win that seasonâs NBA MVP award because voters held a bias against the leagueâs Black players.
In defense of Perkins, he has also called Nikola JokiÄ the âmost skilled centerâ in NBA history. But all that goodwill JokiÄ appeared to build with Kendrick Perkins seems to have gone out the window after getting knocked out of the playoffs by an Anthony Edwards-less Minnesota Timberwolves team this season.
The post Kendrick Perkins closes Nikola JokiÄ championship window: âWe were so ready to crown this manâ appeared first on Awful Announcing.