In 2019, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving tackled Golden State and Boston to chase the titles together with Brooklyn. Their departures might have pushed their respective “ex” to panic. In an era of quick-rise and tear-down “super teams,” the Warriors and Celtics have chosen to keep building. Tonight, the stars of the Nets (who didn’t make it past the second round) will watch Game 1 of a high-profile final between the Warriors – three titles and five finals between 2015 and 2019 – and the Celtics, co-holders, on TV. , with the Lakers, the most NBA trophies (17).
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Ime Udoka (Boston) does not see his group embarrassed or intimidated by the final
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
Ime Udoka: “I think in general we have a very mature group, especially with our youngsters. But Al (Horford) and Marcus (Smart) and our veterans are always very calm and keep us on the straight and narrow. I’m not really worried regarding Jayson (Tatum)Jaylen (Brown) and the others, who do not yet know this experience. Like I said, they’ve been to the Eastern Conference Finals multiple times and made it through that stage, so we know what’s in store for us.
We know what we are here for. And I don’t think any of our guys are embarrassed or intimidated by this moment. We understand what it is. We know the adversary in front of us. And for us, as usual this year, it’s the usual work, going on the road. It doesn’t scare us at all. We are really looking forward to it. So not a lot of anxiety and nervousness. And we have this time that we are going to take advantage of to rest and prepare and be ready for the first game. »
Jaylen Brown and Al Horford (Boston) learned through adversity
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
Jaylen Brown, following Boston qualified for the NBA Finals: “That’s us. We have responded all year, all season, to adversity. Today was the biggest test, not only of the year but also of our careers, to mentally show up to an away game 7 following losing on our home ground, which was difficult, and we we did. It’s hard to win in this league, especially in the play-offs. Every night things can be different, but a good team is capable of reacting.
A good team is capable of giving its best every night. We felt like a few matches slipped away from us, and instead of carrying them as a burden, we carried them as a sign of experience to help us prepare for the next match. We have been tested. We have been through a lot of hardships. We’ve learned a lot over the years, and now that the show is at its peak, we need to apply everything we’ve learned in those times. »
Al Horford: “This journey is not easy. We had a difficult journey. Brooklyn, Milwaukee, the defending champions, and Miami, they’re a team, look what they’ve done, they’ve pushed us to the brink. For our group, it’s resilience, it’s changing pages, moving on, and we’ve done that all season.
I really noticed it, and I was telling JB, it was February, early February, when I noticed how we started to click. People were saying, you beat teams that don’t have players, who are injured and all that, and I was saying, it doesn’t matter, I see something different in the way we play. That’s how we’re going to continue, and that’s what we did. »
Worn by Jimmy Butler, Miami offers itself a match 7 against Boston
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
With their backs to the wall following their home defeat on Thursday night, Miami was able to transcend itself, like an exceptional Jimmy Butler (47 points), to clinch Game 7 in the Eastern Conference final of the play-offs.
Yet pushed by the fans of the TD Garden, Boston has never been able to gain the upper hand over Miami. ” We know what we are capable of. We knew we were going to get a win here. And we know we’ll win the next one too “Reacted Butler followingwards. A great architect of his team’s victory, Jimmy Butler, author of 47 points, achieved the best performance of his career in the play-offs (16/29 shooting, 9 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals).
In the wake of its leader, the entire Heat collective has raised its level to compensate for the absence of Tyler Herro (groin). A Miami team certainly recovered following the words of Draymond Green, Golden State winger, who assured Thursday evening, following his team’s qualification for the final, that the Warriors would face Boston on June 2.
For the Celtics, he lacked consistency throughout the game. Like Jaylen Brown, author of 18 points in the first period and only 2 in the second. The 30 points of a too lonely Jayson Tatum were not enough.
The Heat therefore offered themselves the right to dream of an NBA final. Butler’s teammates will have the advantage of the field, on the night of Sunday to Monday, to hope to join the Warriors in the final.