The Heat lastly know who stands between them and a visit to the NBA Finals.
With a 109-81 decimation of the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Sunday, the Boston Celtics superior to the Eastern Conference finals. Boston will face Miami in Game 1 on Tuesday at FTX Arena in Miami at 8:30 p.m.
Whether the Celtics or the Bucks had gained, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra stated it wouldn’t make a lot distinction to the highest seed within the East.
“At this point, whoever it is, both sides are familiar with each other just from regular season and how much we’ve played against each team in the playoffs,” Spoelstra stated.
The Heat and Celtics are not any strangers to one another. The Heat made it previous the Celtics within the Eastern Conference finals in 2020 earlier than falling to the Lakers within the NBA Finals within the COVID-necessitated bubble postseason close to Orlando.
Miami performed Boston thrice within the common season, dropping two of three video games. The Heat gained the latest matchup on March 30.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum has averaged 17.7 factors, 8.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists in opposition to the Heat in these three video games this season. In 15 profession video games in opposition to Miami, Tatum averaged 20.3 factors, 6.5 rebounds and three.3 assists.
“Just experience,” Bam Adebayo stated. “I feel like that’s the biggest thing. You start to figure out a guy’s tendencies after playing them year after year. And then you see them improve or go the other day, depending on his work ethic. You watch guys progress in this league after two, three years of going against each other. You kind of get a feel for their game and how they play.”
Miami has the benefit over Boston by advantage of getting time to get better. Miami ended its sequence in opposition to Philadelphia with a win in Game 6 on Thursday, giving the Heat 4 full days to relaxation and put together for the convention finals. Meanwhile, the Celtics must regroup and journey to Miami for the beginning of the subsequent sequence on Tuesday.
“It’s important,” guard Tyler Herro stated. “Between the Atlanta series and the Philly series, we got a couple days and now we’ve got a couple days until the next series. I think it’s good for our group to get a couple days of rest, get into the facility together, get a practice in and get ready for the next series.”
Eastern Conference Finals schedule
Game 1: Tuesday, May 17 — Boston at Miami, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 2: Thursday, May 19 — Boston at Miami, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 3: Saturday, May 21 — Miami at Boston 8:30 p.m. (ABC)
Game 4: Monday, May 23 — Miami at Boston 8:30 p.m. (ABC)
Game 5: Wednesday, May 25 — Boston at Miami, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)*
Game 6: Friday, May 27 — Miami at Boston, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)*
Game 7: Sunday, May 29 — Boston at Miami, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)*
* if crucial
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Source: www.bostonherald.com