Celtics Playoff Preview: Did The Celtics Kill The Miami Heat?

Not only did the Boston Celtics expel last year’s post-season demons with their round one series win over the Miami Heat, they might have also set a torch to the future of Miami’s franchise. Franchise star Jimmy Butler made a fool of himself during the Heat’s series against Boston, producing various viral clips in which he trash talked the Celtics, and other eastern conference competition. Butler even went as far as to mock Jaylen Brown with a public instagram post on his personal account.

The antics did not end here for Butler, who, after the conclusion of the series (and the near-sweep of his Heat), stated, “If I was playing, Boston would be at home, New York would damn sure would f---ing be at home.”. This quote rubbed many NBA fans (including Miami Heat fans) the wrong way. If that were the end of the story, then this might not be as big of a story. Fortunately for us though, this story appears to be far from over…

Miami Heat president, and NBA legend Pat Riley recently gave his ‘end of season’ press conference, in which he was asked about Butler’s comments, and the possibility of an extension with Miami’s franchise player. Throughout the press conference, Riley made it VERY clear that he hated the conduct of Butler, even showing disgust towards the actions of his team’s biggest star.

"If you're not on the court playing against Boston or on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut on the criticism of those teams.", Pat Riley told reporters when asked about Butler’s comments and future with the franchise. Whether or not this spells the end of Jimmy Butler in a Miami Heat Uniform has yet to be seen.

One thing that I know for certain, is that Celtics fans like myself have long awaited the next iteration of the classic Jimmy Butler ‘Blow Up And Skip Town’ move which has been a trademark of his NBA career. Now, on a different note, let’s take some time to preview the Celtics next matchup against players who will presumably be on the court, and not barking from the sidelines….

Tonight, the Boston Celtics kick off their round two playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are a franchise that has caused Celtics fans great pain over the years. The Boston Celtics fell to Cleveland in each of their last three postseason meetings. However, a lot has changed since then….

The Celtics are no longer the scrappy team of defensive minded role players trying their best to contain the stars of the league. They now are the team with the target on their back. This time around, the roles have been completely reversed.

Aside from star guard Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs are a scrappy bunch of young players with chips on their shoulders and something to prove. Unlike in 2015, 2017, and 2018, the Cavaliers have no Lebron James to carry them through the playoffs with ease. This Cavs team presents an entirely different challenge to those of the mid to late 2010’s. This Cavaliers team is well built, with a lot of blossoming young talent. Young impact players like Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and Isaac Okoro have been supplemented with reliable veteran talent. Cleveland has gone out and acquired Jarrett Allen, Caris Levert, and Max Strus (who I cannot stand). This combination of talent may not represent a championship favorite, but they produce a sum that is greater than their parts. The Cavaliers are not a team that is built to dominate, but instead, are a team built to compete with anyone on any given night. They will not make things easy for the Celtics.

On the other bench, the Celtics are coming off a gentleman’s sweep of their recent rivals, the Miami Heat. This Celtics team is one that we have seen operate like a well oiled machine all season long. Despite the early loss of Porzingis, we still saw the statistical dominance of Joe Mazzulla’s three point oriented offense. While I have my gripes with his preferred style of play, it is undeniable that it can be effective when all the players aren’t having an off-night.

I would like to see the Celtics struggle with shooting at some point in this series. I still would like the team to prove that it can win a playoff game on a night where three point shots are not falling. I believe the Celtics might struggle at points in this series, but, at the end of the day, the Celtics roster has too much talent to lose the series.

With all of that said, I will end this blog here. Go Celtics.