Celtics advance to face Heat in Eastern Conference finals. Here’s an early look at matchup
The next chapter in the Miami Heat-Boston Celtics rivalry is about to be written.
The Eastern Conference finals will feature a best-of-7 series between the top-seeded Heat and second-seeded Celtics for the second time in the last three seasons. It marks the fifth time Miami and Boston have faced off in the playoffs, and the third time the two teams have met in the conference finals.
The Celtics defeated the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks 109-81 in Game 7 on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden to win their second-round series 4-3 and clinch a matchup against the Heat in the East finals. Meanwhile, the Heat has had some time off after finishing its 4-2 second-round victory over the fourth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.
“For some of the guys, the extra days have been good to get a little bit healthier for sure,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, as the Heat returned to practice on Sunday morning at FTX Arena after taking Friday and Saturday off. “It doesn’t always play out that way. So you just have to play whatever hand you’re given. We also have a very professional group. We’ve been able to take advantage of the rest, but also stay sharp and keep our rhythm.”
The East finals will begin with Game 1 on Tuesday (8:30 p.m., ESPN) at FTX Arena.
Game 2 will be on Thursday at FTX Arena at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN, Game 3 will be on Saturday at TD Garden at 8:30 p.m. on ABC and Game 4 will be on May 23 at TD Garden at 8:30 p.m. on ABC. If necessary, Game 5 will be on May 25 at FTX Arena at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN, Game 6 will be on May 27 at TD Garden at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN and Game 7 will be on May 29 at FTX Arena at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.
The Heat has four days between series to prepare for the conference finals, while the Celtics have just one day off that will be used as a travel day to fly to Miami after their second-round series went to Game 7.
In the previous four playoff series between the Heat and Celtics, Miami won three of them. The Celtics won a first-round series against the Heat in 2010, but Miami won the next two playoff series against Boston during the Big 3 era (a second-round series in 2011 and the conference finals in 2012), and the Heat also eliminated the Celtics in the 2020 conference finals in the Walt Disney World bubble.
The Heat has opened the playoffs with an 8-3 record on its way to the East finals, but Boston represents Miami’s toughest postseason challenge yet.
The Celtics were one of only four NBA teams that finished the regular season with a top-10 offensive rating and defensive rating, along with the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies and Utah Jazz. Boston entered the playoffs with the league’s top-ranked defensive rating and ninth-best offensive rating.
Following a shaky 23-24 start, the Celtics turned things around behind an elite defense and improved offense to close the regular season with a dominant 28-7 record.
“They’re a physical team,” Heat guard Gabe Vincent said of the Celtics. “They’ve been pretty solid all season, especially in the new year. Since January, they’ve had a hell of a run. They’re playing good basketball and aggressive basketball. They do a great job switching and staying in the paint. Obviously, they have guys that can score and be electrifying. We know they’re a good team.”
The Celtics won the regular-season series 2-1 over the Heat, with two of the three games played in Boston.
In the teams’ first meeting of the season, the Heat fell to the Celtics 95-78 on Nov. 4 at FTX Arena. Miami’s offense struggled against Boston’s switching defense, scoring a season-low 78 points on 34.6 percent shooting from the field and 9-of-41 (22 percent) shooting on threes while committing 18 turnovers.
In the teams’ second meeting of the season, the Heat was blown out by the Celtics 122-92 on Jan. 31 at TD Garden. This is Miami’s most lopsided defeat of the season, as it was without three starters in Jimmy Butler, Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker in this game because of injuries.
The Heat’s only win over the Celtics came in the teams’ third and final meeting of the regular season, as Miami came away with an impressive 106-98 victory on March 30 at TD Garden. The Heat trailed by four with 6:28 to play, but closed the game on an 18-6 run to escape with the victory behind 64 combined points on 51.2 percent shooting from the trio of Bam Adebayo, Butler and Lowry.
Jayson Tatum (26.9 points per game in the regular season) and Jaylen Brown (23.6 points per game in the regular season) are the Celtics’ best two offensive players. But Boston’s biggest strength is its defense led by guard Marcus Smart, who was named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year this season.
This series is expected to be a defensive slugfest filled with low-scoring games, as the Heat and Celtics both use switch-heavy defensive schemes and finished the regular season with top-five defenses. The only team in the league that switched more screens than Miami this regular season was Boston.
“They make it challenging,” Heat guard Tyler Herro said of the Celtics. “They’ve got great defenders, top to bottom through their lineup. I think it’ll be a tough series.”
Both teams are dealing with injuries to key players.
The Heat has been without Lowry for six of the last eight games because of a strained left hamstring, including the last two games of Miami’s second-round series after he re-aggravated the injury in a Game 4 loss in Philadelphia on May 8. Lowry did not practice Sunday, leaving his status for the start of the East finals very much in doubt.
The Celtics were without starting center Robert Williams for the final four games of their second-round series against the Bucks because of left knee soreness. He was available for Sunday’s Game 7 if needed, but he did not play and his status for the East finals is unclear.
This marks the Heat’s ninth East finals appearance in the franchise’s 34 seasons — all coming during Pat Riley’s 27 seasons with the organization. Miami has also advanced to the conference finals in two of the last three seasons and six of the last 12 seasons.
The winner of the East finals will advance to the NBA Finals to take on the Western Conference champion, with the Golden State Warriors already clinching a spot in the West finals against the winner of the second-round series between the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks. The NBA Finals are scheduled to begin June 2.
“I’ll have to put my old video coordinator hat on,” Spoelstra said of his process for preparing for the East finals after learning Sunday that the Celtics are the next opponent. “But at least I didn’t have my last two days wiped out like [our video coordinators] have. They’ve been in here around the clock while I’ve been just hanging at the pool with my kids.”
This story was originally published May 15, 2022 at 6:10 PM.
