Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo couldn’t help but take a playful jab at Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown after being asked to name the mustiest NBA player he’s faced.
Brown and the Celtics have played Adebayo and the Heat in three playoff series since the dawn of the decade.
First, the Celtics and Heat faced off against each other in the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals. Adebayo’s Heat came out on top that time around, as Miami eliminated the Celtics in six games before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals.
Fast forward two seasons, and the Celtics and Heat crossed paths once again in the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics avenged their loss in the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals by sending the Heat home in seven games, and Brown had himself a great series.
He averaged 24.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game on 48.8 percent shooting from the floor and 40.4 percent from 3-point range. Only Jayson Tatum averaged more points per game for the Celtics in the series.
In the most recent playoff matchup between the two teams in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat won in seven games after leading 3-0 in the series at one point. Adebayo averaged just the fourth-most points of any player for Miami during the series, but he did a little bit of everything for the Heat. The 26-year-old averaged 14.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.6 blocks per game while shooting 48.2 percent from the field.
The way the Eastern Conference postseason picture looks right now indicates that another playoff battle between the Heat and Celtics this season is a possibility. After all, the Celtics hold the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference at 43-12, and the Heat have the No. 7 seed and an identical record to the Orlando Magic, who sit as the No. 8 seed in the conference.
But it’s worth noting that the Celtics are arguably a better team on paper than they were a season ago. Boston added two stars in the 2023 offseason in Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday to complement Tatum and Brown.