Boston Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown offered their thoughts on taking on the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in four seasons.
The two teams first met in the NBA’s Orlando, Fla. bubble in the 2019-20 season, with Miami advancing to the NBA Finals. Then, they met last season, with Boston taking down the top-seeded Heat in seven games to advance to the Finals.
After Boston defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday, the two stars shared their thoughts on facing the Heat again.
Jaylen Brown on if the Celtics take take anything from last year's ECF vs the Heat: "Nothing about last year matters. I don't think Miami is thinking about last year, they're coming out ready to play basketball…I'm looking forward to it, I think it will be a great challenge"
— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) May 14, 2023
Brown makes a good point, as the Heat are in a very different spot than they were last season. Miami is the No. 8 seed this season, but it has upset the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks on its way to the Eastern Conference Finals.
The team clearly knows what it takes to win in the playoffs, regardless of where it is seeded.
Tatum offered some major praise for Miami’s coaching and how hard the team plays night in and night out.
Jayson Tatum's initial thoughts on facing the Heat: "A team we're familiar with. A very well coached team. They compete with the best of them. They play hard."
— Alex Barth (@RealAlexBarth) May 14, 2023
These teams both know each other extremely well, but Miami is down a key player in Tyler Herro after he injured his hand in the first round against Milwaukee.
That could make things tough on the Heat, as Boston has a plethora of offensive weapons to choose from. Herro was also injured during the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
While it’s hard to read into the regular season too much since Miami has turned things around in the playoffs, these teams did split their season series two games apiece. Miami won the last two matchups, but these teams haven’t faced each other since Jan. 24.
Boston survived a 3-2 series deficit in the second round, but it may not be as fortunate against Miami, who has yet to lose in the playoffs at home, going a perfect 5-0 against New York and Milwaukee.
The No. 2-seeded Celtics have been one of the favorites to make the Finals all season long, but they don’t seem to be taking Miami lightly given how often these teams have found themselves competing for a Finals berth in recent seasons.
The first game of the series is set for Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. EST.
