The Miami Heat don’t yet know who they’ll be facing in their next playoff series, but an unnamed scout envisions two different outcomes for the series.
The anonymous scout was asked for his opinion on the Heat’s pending series by Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel, with the veteran NBA watcher indicating that the Heat should prefer the Milwaukee Bucks instead of the Boston Celtics:
“Q: OK, predictions, in your view: Heat vs. Bucks?
“Scout: ‘Heat. I’d say six. I can’t see Milwaukee winning four games against them.’
“Q: Heat vs. Celtics?
“Scout: ‘Seven-game series. I’m going Boston. They were the best team from midseason on. They’ve showed great resilience. That would be a hell of a series.'”
The Heat have already defeated the Atlanta Hawks in five games and Philadelphia 76ers in six games during the current postseason. The winner of Sunday afternoon’s Game 7 matchup between the Bucks and Celtics will help determine their opponent during the conference finals.
Boston avoided elimination on Friday night with a clutch 108-95 road win over the Bucks. However, despite the fact that Game 7 will take place in Boston, the Bucks likely have plenty of confidence after picking up two of their three wins in the series on the Celtics’ home court.
The Bucks are the defending NBA champions and remain a formidable team. Meanwhile, the Celtics’ midseason shake-up has put them in a solid position for a deep playoff run.
Both the Bucks and Celtics have major superstars that would pose stiff challenges to the Heat. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo is the main man to watch while Jayson Tatum of the Celtics continues to be a force on the court.
The Heat have the luxury of getting a short breather before the conference finals gets going next week. That will certainly help when it comes to the team’s players nursing injuries that might make their statuses questionable.
Regardless of which team the Heat ends up facing, the battle to get back to the Finals will require every bit of effort by Erik Spoelstra and his team.
