The Miami Heat simply refuse to go away, and after the Heat tied their playoff series against the Boston Celtics at one game apiece, one NBA coach reportedly wondered if the Celtics could potentially lose the series.
According to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com, one NBA coach asked a question that a lot of Celtics fans are likely asking themselves currently.
“They’re not going to screw this up, are they?” the coach reportedly asked.
The Heat stole Game 2 of the series earlier this week, winning 111-101 in Boston. While the Heat certainly helped their chances thanks to a scorching performance from beyond the arc, the coach was seemingly more concerned with what he saw from the Celtics in the loss.
“You can’t figure they’re going to shoot like that on 3’s again,” the coach said of the Heat. “But Boston has to do something to cool them down. Miami got too many open looks, because it looked like Boston was intent on protecting the paint.
“But I still go back to the offense. When you’re off on the offensive end, it can easily affect how quick and connected you are on defense. It shouldn’t, but it does. Every coach has had to deal with it. The best thing (Joe) Mazzulla can do now is b—- at them about their defense and then turn them loose at the other end.”
The specter of last year’s playoffs is surely still in the minds of many on the Celtics roster. Last year, the No. 8-seeded Heat faced off against the No. 2-seeded Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
In that series, Miami took a shocking 3-0 lead. The Celtics battled back in the series to tie it up 3-3 and force a Game 7.
However, heroics by Heat star Jimmy Butler and Caleb Martin proved too much for the Celtics to overcome in that game. Miami won 103-84 on the road in that pivotal matchup.
This season, Miami’s chances to win seem even smaller than last year’s. That is primarily because Butler is currently nursing an MCL sprain and expected to miss the remainder of the series.
Jimmy Butler suffered a 'severe' MCL sprain vs. the 76ers, per @ShamsCharania on @RunItBackFDTV
He will not play in the Celtics series. pic.twitter.com/kGRYKDH7JG
— Heat Nation (@HeatNationCom) April 22, 2024
He’s far from the only impact player currently dealing with an injury for the Heat, which is what made their Game 2 victory all the more impressive.
Going forward, it will be fascinating to see if Miami can continue its surprising success going forward. The two teams will face off in Game 3 on Saturday night at Kaseya Center.
If the Heat do manage to pull off the upset in Game 3, it stands to reason that the panic button will be pressed in Boston once again.
