The Celtics should be terrified of facing the Heat in the playoffs

[GrandTheftRondo]

Well I think they were favored vs Miami all 3 times? And only won one of them barely. They also almost lost to the Sixers before Tatum caught fire out of nowhere, after being terrible all game.

If anything I’d maybe be worried about their coach in the playoffs. He was definitely out coached last year, and this year one of his focus points seems to be blocking opposing teams dead ball shots of all things (sorry if he was already doing that last year).

Anyway, there are certainly the best team so far this year. But if I were a Celtics fan I def wouldn’t think they are going to just crush their way to a title, and Miami is one of the teams I’d be worried about.

In 2020 they were a young team playing against a Heat team that knocked off the 1 seed Bucks. They weren’t some team expected to do anything.

In 2022 as mentioned they had a miraculous turnaround and made it to the finals. Nobody was picking them for the finals at the start of the season.

Last season yes they underperformed. Funny how you mention almost losing to Philly yet Miami almost losing to Boston doesn’t seem to count.

Again I don’t see where all these collective failures are. They’ve had one season where they failed to live up to high expectations all season and win a title.

Miami meanwhile has this ridiculous playoff performer narrative despite losing in 2022 as the number 1 seed and getting swept the year before that. That commonly seems to get ignored.

I really struggle to take any of your post seriously though when you’re actually trying to argue that the Celtics coach is more focused on blocking opponents shots than coaching his team. What absolute nonsense.

I ignored Miami almost losing to the Celtics? The Celtics were heavy favorites with homecourt. They were supposed to win. I didn’t say collective failures. I said they got beat by a team soundly, one they were supposed to beat. I said that teams plays them very confidently, and I don’t understand why Celtics fans would “want” to play them when they clearly have one of the better chances of knocking them off. Certainly more than nearly every other east team, possibly including Milwaukee. Some teams play my team better than others. I want the easiest path because I want the highest chance of winning a title, but that’s me.

I was exaggerating about Joe, but he’s clearly not on Spo’s level at this point. And I just found the blocking opponents shots thing more funny than anything. Either way, coaching matters more in the playoffs than in the regular season. Sometimes coaching gaps show in a big way.

I want to play Miami and beat them so you all can shut up with this bogus narrative about them.

They don’t scare me.

[Above The Rim]

The Heat are always a wild card with Butler, Spo, and Bam but idk. This year feels different. There have always been indicators during the regular season that Heat matchup well with the Celtics. That is not the case this year.

[shi-woo]

If the Celts are vulnerable to a team like the Heat it's because Boston falls in love with hero ball low % stuff, while Miami grinds out all the edge cases to win games. I wish Boston would dial it back a bit and do more ball and player movement. They don't need to hit a home run every at bat. They're so talented, just get on base.

I wouldn't really say that is an issue as much this year as in years past. Having Jrue and White as the starting guards this year changed that dynamic, and having Kristaps turn into one of the best post players in the NBA this year also helps. Celtics actually have guards now that can run an offense and shoot.

You're still going to see a few Tatum and Brown breaking down their guys for a possession here and there, but it's rarer now. Celtics are top half in the league in assists, and lets be honest, the issue with the Celtics this year is that they are the living definition of live by the 3 die by the 3, taking the most in the league (42 per game) when the next team only takes 39. That's nearly half their total possessions being 3's.

This year the issue isn't iso ball, but more so those guys settling for the outside shot. If we lose it's going to be because of that.

Also I want to highlight the low % stuff you mentioned. That has clearly been an issue with this team, and I think that will be the space that Porzingus fills in the playoffs. We've used his size in the post in those moments this year as a way to balance that out, so the J's aren't always going iso. It's a dynamic that has essentially whipped the entire league so far this year, and it will be interesting to see how teams adjust. Celtics weirdly enough used to use Brown and Smart in these moments to get dudes on there back and use their size. Now, we have a 7'3 guy that can bang it from midrange out doing it. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain that in the PO, and not go back to the lower % shots mentioned.

[Eagle4]

Everyone in the East should be actually, they've made the Finals twice in the last 5 years when both times they were below a 4 seed. That's never been done before.

They also lost as the #1 seed in 2022 and got swept the year prior in the first round.

Also were a Tatum injury from choking a 3-0 lead last year but I digress.

Ok and Butler had a back injury and the whole team was fatigued having the shortest off-season due to covid in '21. Funny how the injury excuse only works for teams that play against Miami and not the actual team. Constantly bringing up Tatum when he still played but love to ignore the fact that Herro a whole 21ppg scorer and Oladipo a decent 2 way player off the bench were injured and absent. So sorry that won't cut it, Heat were literally missing their 3rd and 4th best player and still got the job done. Reality is Reality, we know how much history could've changed if Durant took a millimeter step back to take the 3pt shot amongst a lot of things in history

Fact of the matter is, Celts and fans should be confident. The talent is overwhelmingly on their side. Fortunately coaching and mental acumen matters just as much in the playoffs.

Similarly to Heat vs Dallas '11, Heat had far more star power than Dallas but were completely out coached and were just more mentally resilient than .Miami (particularly Lebron) who shrank that series. IMHO Celts co-stars aren't that mentally tough and one in particular seems to lose his dribble when the pressure is on and the other resorts to chucking shots.

Last year Heat were given a 3% chance to win the series vs Celtics so color me shocked that the same sentiment of them winning convincingly is peddled. If Celts do ultimately lose, well I can envision there being a chunk less Celtics contingent appearing on GB and other social media platforms for a while.

[Special_Puppy]

If the Celtics can't beat the Heat then they have no chance against whatever team comes out of the West

[BodieB]

Celtics are better than they were last year and the Heat are worse than they were last year. They should be taken seriously, but no reason to be overly concerned about them.

[Eagle4]

Celtics are better than they were last year and the Heat are worse than they were last year. They should be taken seriously, but no reason to be overly concerned about them.

They lost Struss who got his minutes replaced by Duncan who is the superior player this season and Gabe who is out for the season. They gained Jaime, Jovic, Rozier, Bryant etc.
Celtics are indeed the better team talent-wise (as they were last year) but this Heat team isn't worse than their squad last year, in fact this is probably the best team Butler has had in this era. You have no clue what you're talking about.

[King4Day]

As if this is the same Celtics team as years past. They are becoming more hardened. Chemistry is there. Battle scars making them strong too.
I expect them to take care of Miami fairly easily should they meet in the playoffs.

I'll say this though... IF Miami were to knock them off again, Boston would need to take a long look at the team and determine if they just don't have it.

[GiannisAnte34]

What I know almost for a fact is Milwaukee is scared of them.

Look what hot shooting from Bryn Forbes did to the Heat. It's Dame time

[NyKnicks1714]

If the Celtics can't beat the Heat then they have no chance against whatever team comes out of the West

A 0% chance since they wouldn't be playing them.

[GrandTheftRondo]

The Celtics fumbled the first few games but the Heat playoff narrative is way out of control. They beat up an injured Bucks team last year, and as stated, the Celtics fumbled the first 3 games.

Jimmy is also WILDLY overrated as a playoff performer but that's somehow blasphemous on this forum.

It’s amazing how often it gets ignored that Giannis missed multiple games in that series last playoffs.

Pretty big deal I would have thought.

Well he played games 4 and 5 and they lost both. Had he not, you’d have more of an argument. They should have won game 5 in a blowout and put pressure on Miami in game 6 to close it out.

They took a 2-1 lead with Giannis out and got all the momentum in that series because of it.

It left them with zero margin for error when he returned against a team full of confidence.

[BodieB]

Celtics are better than they were last year and the Heat are worse than they were last year. They should be taken seriously, but no reason to be overly concerned about them.

They lost Struss who got his minutes replaced by Duncan who is the superior player this season and Gabe who is out for the season. They gained Jaime, Jovic, Rozier, Bryant etc.
Celtics are indeed the better team talent-wise (as they were last year) but this Heat team isn't worse than their squad last year, in fact this is probably the best team Butler has had in this era. You have no clue what you're talking about.

The Heat's record against +.500 teams this season is worse this year. Previously they had a knack for stepping up when playing top teams. That has not been the case this year.

[NyKnicks1714]

The 7-8 seeds in the East right now are so much scarier than the 5-6 seeds.

[ChipotleWest]

If the Celtics can't beat the Heat then they have no chance against whatever team comes out of the West

A 0% chance since they wouldn't be playing them.

How can you say this definitively? Miami is in 7th right now with how play in works they could easily end up 8th if they lose the first play in and win the 2nd play in then they play Boston, there's more than a 0% chance of that happening.

[goodboys lats]

Heat had a 3% chance to win last year and by the end of it all Celtics fans could say was how bad Miami's fans are. Just like they do every year.

[Joshyjess]

If the Celtics can't beat the Heat then they have no chance against whatever team comes out of the West

A 0% chance since they wouldn't be playing them.

How can you say this definitively? Miami is in 7th right now with how play in works they could easily end up 8th if they lose the first play in and win the 2nd play in then they play Boston, there's more than a 0% chance of that happening.

I believe he's saying that if Boston loses to the Heat, then they would be out of the playoffs, therefore, they would have a 0% chance of beating anyone else.

[fansse]

No contender is scared of the Heat.

[chrisab123]

I'm very nervous about this team playing the Heat. If the Heat gets knocked out early, I can't see another team beating the Celtics.

[Homerclease]

On the contrary, I want them early, and I want to go through them to erase any doubts. Celtics have the chance to quell all the naysayers and doubters about their postseason performance in one fell swoop this season. It would almost feel a little cheap if the Celtics managed to get a chip and didn’t have to go through Miami

[ConSarnit]

On the contrary, I want them early, and I want to go through them to erase any doubts. Celtics have the chance to quell all the naysayers and doubters about their postseason performance in one fell swoop this season. It would almost feel a little cheap if the Celtics managed to get a chip and didn’t have to go through Miami

If I were Boston I would rather have them late. The last thing you want is to face Butler after he's flipped his playoff switch and is still healthy. I don't know if Butler can keep up his performance throughout an entire playoffs (age factor + we saw him fall off after the ankle injury in the 2nd round). I sure as hell wouldn't want to see him in the 1st round when he is fully healthy. He's proven he's one of the few guys that can win a series on their own.

If I were an East contender I'd rather see Miami late because I'm not confident Butler can keep up his pace through 3-4 playoffs rounds. He sure can for 2 though, and that's really dangerous.