The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics are set to face off against each other in the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in four seasons.
Boston seems to be the overwhelming favorite in the series after coming back from a 3-2 deficit against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
As the East’s No. 8 seed, the Heat were counted out prematurely in the first and second rounds of the playoffs, but they were able to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks.
Despite those impressive upsets from the Heat, it seems like one NBA scout doesn’t think things will go well for them against the Celtics.
“I’m picking Boston,” the scout said, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick, Darnell Mayberry and Josh Robbins. “They’re just better. They have home court. They’re deeper. Both teams are coming off very good series wins, I think Boston in particular, the way they won Game 6 and Game 7. Their defense has just been spectacular. I think Miami’s going to have real trouble scoring.”
The scout pointed out that the Heat are very reliant on superstar Jimmy Butler, who has arguably been the league’s best player during the 2023 postseason.
In 10 playoff games this year, Butler is recording 31.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game on 52.7 percent shooting from the field and 36.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
According to the scout, Butler is the only go-to guy on Miami’s roster, which might make things difficult throughout the series. After pointing out other many other key aspects of the series, the scout offered a very bleak outlook for the Heat.
“Boston’s got a better bench,” said the scout. “They’ve got two stars versus one superstar. I think if Miami won two games it’d be an accomplishment.”
Obviously, that’s tough to hear, but people inside the Heat organization likely are not paying attention to outside noise ahead of this matchup.
All season long, the Heat have been counted out by fans, media and others in the NBA world. However, their season isn’t done yet, and they have a real shot at getting back to the NBA Finals.
During the regular season, the Celtics and Heat each won two games against one another. However, the two sides haven’t played each other since late January when the Heat squeaked out with a 98-95 home win.
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals is set to take place on Wednesday night in Boston. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. EST.
