BOSTON — The Celtics are officially on the revenge tour after they beat the Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. They started the postseason by sweeping the Nets in the first round, the team that eliminated the C’s from the 2021 playoffs. Then they overcame the defending champion Bucks in seven games, the team that eliminated the C’s from the 2019 playoffs.
So, naturally, next up in the Eastern Conference Finals are the Miami Heat, the team that eliminated the Celtics from the 2020 playoffs in the NBA Bubble. The Heat downed the Celtics in the bubble in six games in the same conference finals, which is a sour spot for the C’s as they had a real shot that season of winning the title.
The Celtics can get some revenge against the Heat as the cast will be mostly the same as the bubble. It’s just that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are a few years older, but so are the likes of Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and more on the Heat. There’s respect going both ways, but the series should be another hard-fought battle between two gritty teams.
“Tough team,” Brown said of the Heat. “Team full of dogs. Guys that aren’t going to give up. Guys that aren’t going to give you anything, not an inch. So we have to go out and play with poise, play with the same mindset to fight. I expect nothing less than a great battle.”
Tatum, Adebayo and C’s coach Ime Udoka will likely have some banter after they all teamed up to win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. But there won’t be much love lost as each team looks to make it to the NBA Finals.
“We get to play Miami again,” Tatum said. “Another extremely physical team. Obviously really well-coached. We played them two years ago in the conference finals, so just looking forward to it. Excited being back in this position and trying to get over this hump.”
The Celtics won the season series against the Heat 2-1, though some more context is necessary. Boston smashed a surging Heat team 95-78 on Nov. 4, 2021, where the C’s looked like they were going to break through (it took them a couple extra months). Game 2 on Jan. 31 was a 122-92 Celtics win, though the Heat were extremely shorthanded in that contest.
The final game of the season series came March 30, a 106-98 Heat victory. That game appears especially crucial now because of home-court advantage. Back then, the Heat were reeling while the C’s surged, and it looked like Boston could overcome Miami for the No. 1 seed in the East. But the Heat put together a solid game and beat the C’s in the final few minutes. The Miami win effectively locked them into the No. 1 seed while Boston finished second in the conference.
Now, Miami gets home-court advantage for the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 1 of the series will tip off at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday at FTX Arena.
“Similar kind of makeup where they have Bam, Jimmy, the physical guys,” Grant Williams said. “They added P.J. (Tucker), they have a lot of toughness on that team and they shoot the ball well. We’ll have to be able to lock in and focus in on our game plan against them. Watch some of their film they had this past series against Philly. It’s going to be exciting to run it back against them — especially with fans in the arena.”
The Celtics and Heat are both gritty teams, so Brown said the Bucks did a great job preparing them for another slugfest of a series. It’ll likely be plenty of physical games where open shots come at a premium. But the Celtics should be well-equipped for that as they overcame the defending champions in a similar series.
It’s been a minute since the C’s were last in the NBA Finals — not since they lost to the Lakers in seven games in 2010. While there have been plenty of Eastern Conference Finals trips since — four in the last six years — they have struggled getting over that hurdle. But the Celtics look like title contenders, and they’ll have a chance to advance to the greatest stage in basketball.
“We just can’t be surprised, gotta expect the same level of physicality, if not more,” Brown said. “Just maintaining that same mindset and going into the next series that is going to be physical, and we can’t be afraid to take on that challenge and can’t shy away from it.”
C’s-Heat Schedule
Game 1 — Tuesday May 17, BOS @ MIA, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN via fuboTV)
Game 2 — May 19, BOS @ MIA, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN via fuboTV)
Game 3 — May 21, MIA @ BOS, 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC via fuboTV)
Game 4 — May 23, MIA @ BOS, 8:30 p.m. ET (ABC via fuboTV)
*Game 5 — May 25, BOS @ MIA, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN via fuboTV)
*Game 6 — May 27, MIA @ BOS, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN via fuboTV)
*Game 7 — May 29, BOS @ MIA, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN via fuboTV)
*IF NECESSARY
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