NBA Playoffs – playoffs – working day fifteen
For the Heat, some playoffs without Jimmy Butler they are not the same. The Miami team has not been able to count on its star, who thrives in direct crosses, in its first round tie against the Boston Celtics. Without him, they have not been able to put up any resistance, despite the mirage of the second game of the series. This Wednesday, the Celtics comfortably won a game in which they did not even need to work hard to defeat Miami by a scandalous difference of more than 30 points (118-84). With this, they close the tie with a 4-1 and become the first semifinalists in the Eastern Conference. Along the way, yes, they have left their starting center, Kristaps Porziņģis, who they may miss in more demanding crosses.
The Celtics and the Heat met in the playoffs for the third consecutive year. This year’s tie has not had, however, the epic of the previous two, in which both played in the Eastern Conference finals and the series extended until the seventh game. In 2022, after Miami finished first in the East in the regular season, the two teams experienced a vibrant conference final until Jimmy Butler missed the decisive basket in the last game in his pavilion. In 2023, the decisive confrontation was played at the TD Garden in Boston, where those from Miami consummated their revenge, delivering a monumental surprise.
This year there has been no excitement. Except for the three-pointer festival that gave Miami victory on a day when the stars aligned in their favor, the superiority that the Celtics have shown in the playoffs game after game has confirmed what they had exhibited throughout the regular season, who closed as the best team in the competition.
This Wednesday it was the Celtics who sharpened their aim from outside the three-point line. A series of consecutive triples gave them an 18-point lead at the end of the first quarter (41-23) that almost sealed the game. The Celtics extended their lead at halftime (68-46).
In front, only Bam Adebayo gave them the answer, while Tyler Herro did not accompany him. In addition to the losses of Butler and Terry Rozier, Miami’s team was also without Jaime Jaquez Jr., also injured, who was playing a good series this Wednesday. In the second half of the game, Boston’s team lived off their income, widening the gap almost by inertia in the face of Miami’s impotence.
The Celtics have shown during the league and in the first round playoffs that they are a team with abundant offensive resources. Their two main stars, Tatum and Brown, combine power, skill and outside shooting. Derrick White has established himself as an effective alternative in attack thanks to his accuracy from the three-point line and, like the previous two, he has averaged more than 20 points per game against Miami. Jrue Holiday provides defensive strength, while Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard allow the team’s figures to give minutes of rest. However, their starting center, Kristaps Porziņģis, has been injured.
The Latvian suffered a strain in the soleus of his right leg in the fourth game against Miami. He noticed the strain on an attacking play and immediately limped out of the game. With his 2.22 meters of height, Porziņģis had become an intimidating presence in defense, but he has also been the third player with the best scoring average during the regular season, combining his interior game with a more than decent success from the three-point line points.
The team has another guaranteed center, the Dominican Al Horford, but his 37 years raise doubts about how many minutes per game he can play in the playoffs at full capacity. The replacements, Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman, are a few steps below. All in all, during the league, the Celtics have had very good results when Porziņģis has been out and continue to be favorites in the East, with and without their center, who will be out of the field for at least a few weeks.
The Celtics, leaders of the regular season, become the first semifinalists in the Eastern Conference with their victory this Friday. They are waiting for the winner of the tie between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic, which is currently 3-2 in favor of Cleveland. The other Eastern qualifiers are also still open. The New York Knicks also lead the Philadelphia 76ers 3-2, while the Indiana Pacers have the same advantage against the Milwaukee Bucks who have suffered the losses of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, their two most decisive players.
In the West the opposite happens. Three of the four Conference semi-finalists have already qualified. The Oklahoma City Thunder swept the New Orleans Pelicans and the Minnesota Timberwolves ruthlessly dispatched the Phoenix Suns, in both cases 4-0. The defending champions, the Denver Nuggets, lost just one game against the Lakers. The only tie that remains open is the one between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers.
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