Ex-Boston Celtics big Kendrick Perkins: Jamal Murray 'most likely' suspended for Game 3 for throwing heat pack

Former Boston Celtics big man Kendrick Perkins predicted that Jamal Murray would be suspended for Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals series between the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves series after he threw a heat pack onto the floor during a one-sided beatdown of the defending champions by the Rudy Gobert-less Wolves.

"It’s going to be interesting how the Nuggets are going to look in Game 3 without Murray… because he’s most likely getting suspended for throwing that Heat Pack," Perkins tweeted.

The Athletic's John Hollinger, a former front office executive, asked the same question.

"Wondering if Murray gets suspended for Game 3 for throwing that heat pack during live play," Hollinger prefaced before saying, "Can't do that."

Murray was at the end of the bench when he stood up and threw the heat pack onto the floor and it bounced off Reggie Jackson's foot and ricocheted into Karl-Anthony Towns, who still hit a layup off a feed from Kyle Anderson.

Nuggets may not be biggest challenge to Boston Celtics' title ambitions after all

All season, it was thought by many that the Nuggets would be the biggest challenge to the Celtics. But after two games against the Timberwolves, it looks like Denver may have its hands full even making it to the Western Conference Finals.

Losing Bruce Brown and Jeff Green in the offseason looks like it's finally catching up to the defending champions, and Minnesota is proving to be quite the defensive force themselves. If Kristaps Porzingis isn't healthy in a theoretical Finals series with the Wolves, you'd have to worry about the size of Minnesota's bigs stifling what'd be an undersized Celtics frontline.

If Murray is out for Game 3, the Nuggets being the Celtics' biggest challenge these playoffs may be an irrelevant hypothetical sooner than later.