'They in trouble': ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, Kendrick Perkins doubt Suns can match T-Wolves

MINNEAPOLIS – Kendrick Perkins is already calling it after Game 1.

The former NBA player who won a championship with the Boston Celtics, and current ESPN NBA analyst, said Monday morning on First Take the third-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves will win their first round series over the sixth-seeded Phoenix Suns.

“Phoenix Suns, they’re dead bird, tall grass,” Perkins said. “Minnesota winning this series and the Suns know that.”

The T-Wolves took Saturday’s Game 1 by 25 points, 120-95, after being swept by the Suns in the regular season, 3-0, by an average margin of 15.3 points.

“All season long, the Phoenix Suns had their number and the last thing you want to do is if you have an enemy that’s sick is give them some antibiotics,” Perkins said. “And that’s exactly what happened the other night. They gave this team antibiotics and they gave this team, led by Anthony Edwards, confidence, who don’t need confidence. He’s the ’89 version of Michael Jordan.”

Edwards scored a game-high 33 points, going 4-of-8 from 3, in Game 1 after averaging just 14.3 points on 31% shooting in the three matchups against the Suns in the regular season.

“He’s the best young leader that’s a superstar in the entire NBA,” Perkins continued. “They have an identity, they’re not going to back down from anyone. Kevin Durant knows that, Devin Booker knows that and he’s going to constantly remind you and show up in great fashion.”

Stephen A. Smith piggybacked off Perkins’ comments about Edwards, saying he called Michael Jordan during Game 1 as Edwards scored 18 of his 33 points in the third quarter in leading the T-Wolves to a 20-point lead going into the fourth.

“I said, ‘Yo, you seeing this?’” Smith said. “Michael Jordan (said), ‘That brother is special. No question about it.’”

Smith noted Durant scoring 31 points in Game 1, but he said the impact between his 30-point game and Edwards’ “appeared oceans apart.”

Then he later said Bradley Beal, Booker and Durant didn’t respond to Edwards’ performance in Game 1. Booker finished with 18 points on 5-of-16 shooting while Beal added 15 on 6-of-10 shooting.

“When you see somebody coming, how do you stop their momentum?” Smith said. “You stop their momentum by saying, ‘Yeah, you coming, but I’m here. Who you think you dealing with?’ We didn’t see that Saturday. We didn’t see that at all. What we saw was a Suns team that had to bow down to the onslaught that was being brought down upon them by this brother (Edwards).”

Smith acknowledged the T-Wolves getting contributions from 7-footers Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Naz Reid and credited them for cooling off Phoenix’s 3-point shooting. The Suns shot just 9-of-28 from 3 in Game 1 after going 16-of-29 from deep in the final regular season matchup they won 125-106 in Minneapolis to end the regular season.

“When Devin Booker can’t even give you 20 points in a game and I don’t think that’ll last cause you know I believe in Book,” Smith said. “He can come back on, but if he doesn’t bring his A-game, Phoenix has no chance. And Bradley Beal, you haven’t been relevant for years because you were stuck in purgatory in the nation’s capital.”

Beal is in his first season with the Suns after being acquired in a trade last offseason that sent Chris Paul to Washington. This is Beal’s first trip to the postseason since 2021 as he played his first 11 seasons with the Wizards.

“Now to be in Phoenix, your first playoff game, 15 points,” Smith continued. “Nah, we expect more from Bradley Beal. This is supposed to be a Big 3. There was one who showed up and he wasn’t enough to offset what Edwards gave to you. They in trouble. They in a world of trouble.”

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Stephen A. Smith, ESPN doubt Phoenix Suns against T-Wolves