Game day 7, crazy day for all orange ball fans and especially those who support Boston and Miami. A few hours before the start of this seventh round, we had fun listing the reasons why we believe in the qualification of each of these two teams. Episode 2: The Celtics.
For the arguments in favor of the Heat, follow the magic link.
# Because Boston still hasn’t lost two games in a row in these Playoffs
We can blame the Celtics for things but certainly not their strength of character and their ability to react to pressure. Boston has never had two losses in a row this postseason (5-0 record after a loss) and they were never afraid to seek a result in a hostile atmosphere. Game 4 and Game 6 in Milwaukee, Game 2 and Game 5 in South Beach, it took nerves of steel and not having shaky hands to get them. Boston has lived and above all, the clover band is sure of its strength. There have been badly negotiated turns of course (Game 5 at home against the Bucks, this Game 6 against Miami) but the green car has always arrived at its destination so far. Yes Miami will attack hard, yes the atmosphere is likely to be crazy and the pressure intense on the shoulders of Ime Udoka’s men but these Celtics have seen others and they are not the type to be intimidated. We also expect a Jayson Tatum in revenge mode and he has always responded when his backs were against the wall. Usually it ends with 35 points, sympathetic percentages and defenders who are tearing their hair out. If so, we wish the Heat good luck to stay alive.
# Because if Boston don’t mess up, they’re on top
We know that Miami fans may complain when reading these words, but that’s the overall feeling about this series. The Heat are very serious, Jimmy Butler is monstrous but we still have this impression that Boston is better when they give themselves the means. The worst opponent for the Celtics, more than Miami, is mostly themselves. Beantown players have this annoying tendency to scuttle each other for short periods of time and it can quickly hurt. Recent example with Game 6 where they are totally worth the start of the match but also the return from the locker room. Bis repeated in the money time when they had finally taken the lead and the momentum was clearly in their favor. If Boston had been able to manage its end of the game better, we wouldn’t be here writing these lines and we would already be preparing for the confrontation with the Warriors. If the defense is there, if the Jay Brothers are in good shape, if the ball is circulating again on offense, in short if Boston pulls out its classic recipe from the past few months, they will pass the Heat obstacle.
# Because Miami gave it their all at Game 6 and seem on their knees
We talked about it a bit in the paper dedicated to the Heat, this group has an impressive strength of character and they will leave the body on the ground rather than swing the white flag. That being said, we’re still curious to see what’s left in Miami’s engine after the last game. Kyle Lowry still doesn’t look 100%, Tyler Herro has been out for three games and a doubt for this one. There is Jimmy Butler of course, masterful at Game 6 and still expected in force this night. But what about the condition of that good Jimmy Buckets? We recall that his knee bothers him, he also hurt his ankle stepping on the foot of Al Horford at TD Garden and he played… 46 minutes with crazy intensity. Will he still be able to reproduce such a performance after having given so much? Sud Plage fans hope so, but it’s a hell of an effort that is once again asked of the local number 22 to save his family. We hope for him that he still has fuel in the tank otherwise it looks tense for Miami.
Boston is playing its skin on this Game 7 but betting on the Celtics does not seem like a bad idea, far from it. See you at 2:30 a.m. to find out if our arguments were justified… or not.