Playoff rivalry is set to resume
The Celtics found out Friday night about their rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference finals against the Heat, but Jaylen Brown said he had an inkling long before then that the teams were destined to meet again.
Boston and Miami have met in three of the last four conference finals. The Celtics won in 2022, and the Heat in 2020 and ’23. The Heat eliminated the Celtics in seven games last year.
On Sunday, the Celtics host the Heat in Game 1 of a firstround series at TD Garden.
“I knew it was going to be Miami. I knew it from a few weeks back,” Brown said Saturday. “Just coming from last year to this year, it just makes sense, so we’re looking forward to it. It should be a great challenge. Miami is a tough team, well coached, they play hard, and they’re physical. All the things that we need to emphasize. So, it should be fun.”
Kristaps Porzingis will get his first taste of the playoff rivalry. Boston swept the regularseason series, 3-0, but the Heat cannot be taken lightly because of their style of play, according to Porzingis.
“We have to expect them to be ultra-aggressive,” he said. “Ultra-handsy and trying to do all the little dirty things they can. Not dirty things, but to mess up the game a little bit to get some advantages. And, yeah, we have to be ready for that. It’s going to be a war.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla praised the Heat for their physicality, versatility, and willingness to mix up defensive coverages. Mazzulla said this series will test the Celtics’ ability to win in a variety of ways, as well as their toughness.
“I think both teams are openminded to doing whatever it takes to win that particular game,” Mazzulla said. “Sub patterns will always be different, but at the end of the day I think the biggest thing you take away are the margins. Those are more important than any other adjustment.
“I know that’s a word that’s thrown around, but it’s not as important as the physicality and the toughness. The margins are the most important thing and we’ve got to be ready to win those.”
Butler’s absence
The Heat will be without forward Jimmy Butler, who has an an MCL injury and is expected to be out for several weeks.
Butler averaged 24.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 6.1 assists during last year’s conference finals. He scored 35 points and grabbed nine rebounds during the series-clinching win at TD Garden.
“They obviously play a little more shooting, so they have different identities that they can go to,” Mazzulla said. “And then any time someone is out, other guys are going to take on the responsibility of playing.
The teams might look a little bit different, but the DNA is the same.”
Time to refresh
While the Heat were navigating the Play-In Tournament, the Celtics had a week to prepare.
The Celtics earned their rest by posting the NBA’s best regular-season record. Mazzulla said he plans to leave those results in the past.
“Right now, everyone is 0-0, so in my mind the seeding doesn’t matter, the regular season doesn’t matter, what matters is how we approach it,” Mazzulla said. “It started with the way we practiced this week. All we can control is the time that we have, and I think the guys have done a great job just honing in on all the details, the execution, the things on both sides of the ball.”
Porzingis said he enjoyed having a little downtime between practices.
“It was a good week. We had some time to disconnect. We went to the [Red Sox] game as a team,” he said. “Had some time off of basketball just to refresh the body and the mind. Then we were just waiting for our opponent and putting in work to keep improving as a team.”
Brown said he’s looking forward to facing the Heat with a fresh start.
“You don’t forget, but you do your best to live in the moment,” he said. “You learn from those experiences and you can’t bring those thoughts into it. You’ve got a new team, you’ve got new players, I’m a new player, so you just come and stay in the moment.”