Kendrick Perkins reveals why Celtics can win NBA Finals this season

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The Boston Celtics are the hottest team in the NBA -- sorry, Phoenix Suns fans -- and in the last three months have gone from being outside the Eastern Conference play-in tournament to all of a sudden having a realistic chance of being the No. 1 seed come playoff time.

It's been a remarkable turnaround for the Celtics and there are many reasons for this massive uptick in success.

Defense has been the catalyst. The C's lead the league in defensive rating and have two legit candidates for Defensive Player of the Year Award in point guard Marcus Smart and center Robert Williams III. Health also has been a huge factor, especially with Williams, who has played in a career-high 60 games this season.

And then there's Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown -- two stars who have taken their performance up another level (or two) since Jan. 1. Tatum, in particular, is playing the best basketball of his career right now and is the overwhelming favorite to be the Player of the Month for March.

This stat puts Celtics' insane second-half turnaround in perspective

So, what should expectations be for the Celtics amid this impressive hot streak? Could they actually win the 2022 NBA Finals?

Kendrick Perkins joined ESPN's "NBA Today" show on Thursday and argued why Boston could actually win banner No. 18 this season.

Perkins does make some great points.

The Celtics' starting five is one of the best in the league, although a closing lineup with Derrick White in the game for Al Horford might be even stronger. Tatum is a legit superstar who can make plays for himself and others late in games. We saw that when he scored 54 points and excelled in crunch time in a win against Kevin Durant and the Brooklyn Nets earlier this month.

Celtics Talk: Jayson Tatum for MVP? Marcus Smart for DPOY? Which C's deserve award consideration? | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

Perkins also talked about people settling into roles that suit them and are allowing them to flourish, with Brown and Smart as two prime examples. Smart especially has embraced his role as a playmaker rather than a scorer, and it's really unlocked a new dimension for Boston's offense.

Even though the Celtics are firing on all cylinders and people are finally realizing their true potential, there are still five or six teams ahead of them in the latest NBA title odds lists, depending on which sportsbook you view.

The Celtics do have a lot to prove in the playoffs. This core has enjoyed pretty good success in the last five years, including three trips to the conference finals. Can they finally break through and reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010? 

Well, right now, it's hard to envision many teams in the East beating this version of the Celtics four times in a seven-game playoff series.

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