The Celtics have been considered favorites in the East for most of the postseason (once the Heat eliminated No. So we’ve just got to come out with a great fresh mind and execute.” I think they’re coming out and ready to play basketball. “I don’t think Miami is thinking about last year. “Nothing about last year matters,” Brown said after Boston’s blowout of Philadelphia at TD Garden. But don’t assume the storylines from a year ago necessarily will apply now, Boston’s Jaylen Brown said Sunday. Last spring, the Celtics led 3-2 before dropping Game 6 at home, forcing them to clinch in Miami to earn their Finals shot against Golden State.įor the permanent record, then, this is the rubber match. In the Orlando bubble playoffs in 2020, the Heat won in six games, taking advantage of the neutral court setting to advance. This marks the third time in four years that Boston and Miami will battle for a berth in the NBA Finals, and many of the fundamentals about each team remain. Then again, there’s a familiarity between these rivals that transcends the current calendar. That’s an eternity in an NBA season, the equivalent of nearly four months for both teams to morph, shift, stiffen and ideally improve. One hundred and thirteen days will have passed since the Boston Celtics’ and Miami Heat’s last clash back in January to when they tip off Wednesday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler headline a very familiar Eastern Conference finals matchup between Boston and Miami.

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