With only four teams remaining, the Boston Celtics once again find themselves facing off against Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. The series marks the second consecutive meeting between the two antagonists, and the third meeting between them in four seasons. As the higher seed, Boston will host Miami to kick off the series on Wednesday night for Game 1 at the TD Garden.
“We have some experience,” Jaylen Brown said of facing the Heat again. “This Miami team is looking for atonement for last year. They’re going out playing hungry and out fighting. You gotta be the toughest team.” Boston’s experience against Miami will benefit them well in this regard, because they know how fierce and stubborn the Heat team is on both sides of the ball.
The messages and emphasis from Brown on hard play and effort is an encouraging sign. At the start of this series, the playoffs were a test for the Celtics mainly due to their inability to hold the lead and falling down the scoring cracks; It was clear as day in both Hawks’s 76ers series. In the match with Miami, the margin for error becomes an order of magnitude smaller, as would be expected with the coaching staff of Eric Spoelstra. What they may lack in pure talent, they make up for in terms of execution and effort; If you don’t match this intensity, Miami is bound to leave you in the dust.
“They’ve had a tremendous story,” Brown said of the Miami Heat this season. “Going forward from the stage of play and going through the playoffs. We just have to go out and set the tone in it with our energy and try to calm it down a bit.” After being knocked out in Game 7 of the Conference Finals last year, the Heat understandably have an ax to grind. But after Boston fell short in the Finals against the Warriors, they were equally motivated and desperate to prove themselves.
Most of these Triple Eliminations (players remaining only):
42- Jason Tatum
33- Jaylen Brown
32- Jamal Marei
30- Malcolm Brogdon
29- Marcus Smart
28- Michael Porter Jr
27- Derek WhiteAll Celtics and Nuggets. pic.twitter.com/fpGmzaeF1D
– StatMuse (statmuse) May 16, 2023
“Everything,” Brown said when asked how losing last year’s Finals affected the team’s preparation. “We remember last year clearly. We lost in the finals, and that set the mood for our entire year this year, and we look forward to getting back to where we were last year.” With all of their hurdles this year between training drama, injuries and changing strategies, Boston has done far better than anyone could have expected, especially given the circumstances. Now, they sit four wins away from making it back to the big stage again, with a familiar (but changed) opponent standing in their way.
“I mean, they have a different team in a sense,” the Browns said of the Miami Heat. “They’ve had some injuries, and some of the guys are playing better than they were last year. It’s not the same team as last year. Jimmy is still Jimmy, and Spoo is still Spoo, but we have to make sure we’re aware of everyone else.” Kevin Love, some of the players The new ones they’ve got, some of the other guys who’ve been playing better. Strouss, Duncan Robinson is playing in this series, so we’ve got to be on the alert.”
Without Tyler Herro likely until late in the series at all and Victor Oladipo out for the rest of the season, Miami has had to turn to guys like Duncan Robinson and Max Strus even more to survive. Both players are sharpshooters, and in Robinson’s case, the opportunity for him is to regain some confidence and minutes on the team after taking a back seat in favor of others.
Back in 2020, shooting Robinson’s spotlight was a huge part in getting Miami to the Finals, but after getting a big contract extension, Robinson’s overall effectiveness has diminished. The absence of Hero and Oladipo provided him with an opportunity. Familiarity with most of the roster aside, the Celtics face a new opponent in the Heat, one that plays very differently from what they saw against the 76ers.
We have to reset, we have to rest so we can play, it’s a different team. We’ll just come with a different strategy, a different mentality to get over the hump. So, we just have to be ready. They started playing, they played well, they beat On the first team, hungry defeated New York Knicks a team. And we have to find a way to cool down the heat.”
When asked if he had a message for the fans again after calling them before Game 7, Brown said, “Just come with it. Bring the same energy. Bring the juice. The energy is about to shift.”
The Celtics and Heat will kick off Game 1 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals tonight at 8:30 PM EST.