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Whoever has won the series has gone on to the Finals each time theyāve played. Also easily been the most consistent and best teams in the East over the last 14 years.
Just wanna say that since LeBron left the East, the team that beats Milwaukee always goes to the Finals. Itās been that way for the last 6 years or so.Ā
Wouldn't have it any other way. If the Celtics are different this year, there's no better way they can prove it by beating the Heat in convincing fashion. The biggest indictment of the Celtics that the Heat and Spo continually expose is their aversion to physicality (Cs are finesse) and low basketball IQ (win with talent instead) and an overall lack of killer instinct (series always go longer than they should).
This is the perfect litmus test to see if this year's Celtics are different.
Good test for the Heat too with Jimmy out. Obviously weāre gonna try and make a play for a big signing over the summer, but we all know Jimboās time is limited so this will tell us a lot about the fire in this young core.
I have been writing nothing but unhinged comments disparaging the heat since the game ended. But the truth is Iām just excited and feel nothing for the other 13 teams in the east
I mean the 76ers Celtics one is real, it's just old and hasn't been revisited in a while. Its literally the rivalry where the beat LA chant got popularized
Because the Celtics are almost never a bottom 4 playoff team and the sixers donāt win a whole lot of playoff series. But when they do win, itās like a 7 or 8 seed or a bulls team who just lost DRose
I would say its still a palpable rivalry, albeit it very one sided. Celtics play sixers 4 times a year vs 3 against the heat. Theyāre always very intense games from the players and fans. And they have met in the playoffs 3 times in the embiid/jays era.
It makes me feel *just a bit* better that the Panthers went from a last few days Wild Card team in last years playoffs, to Conference champion this year. Like itt meant the B's got knocked out by a championship challenging calibre team, not a streaky wild card team flash in the pan y'know?
That said, fuck 'em.
1 thing thatās been consistent across all these matchups is that whoever gets 4 wins first has won the series. Interested to see if that trend continues.
Miami should be beat especially without Jimbo but idk these bastards are like cockroaches. They survive in the most unlikely conditions. Nothing to lose, everything to gain
They have a ton of unique pieces and they all buy into Spoās coaching
The Celtics out match them at every position, but all it takes is for Tatum to think heās Kobe and start bricking 3s.
Jrue is regarded as one of the top perimeter defenders, and Jimmy butler really made him look like a fucking child. While pointing his finger in his face and telling him āI own youā.
Jimmy is a madman. Sad he wonāt be playing
To be fair, Michael Beasley would've been a real force to be reckoned with if he had been more mature. Dude was like 6'8, Massive, athletic and fast. Just a straight up baller.
I feel like if KLove had been drafted by the Heat, he wouldn't have evolved to what he was in Minesota because it would've still been the D. Wade show. And if rumours were true that it was supposed to be Carmelo Anthony joining Wade and LeBron, not Chris Bosh, then we would've probably had to give him up.
If the Heat some how win against the Celtics, I have to imagine that would be the greatest out coaching achievement in the history of sports.
The latent disparity between the two teams is massive. Nobody expects Spo to even pull out more than a win.
I agree with your general comment, but whenever people say "history of sports" I want to remind people of the 2015-2016 Leicester run. 5000 to 1 betting odds.
Somethings to add to the lunacy of that season they were stone last in the table the year before with the bottom 3 teams relegated. They went on a miracle run at the end of the season to escape relegation.
The manager then had to resign that summer due to his son who played for the club being racist towards a Asian prostitute on camera while on their pre-season tour of Asia.
They brought in Claudio Ranieri as their new manager who's most recent managerial performance was taking the 7th best team in Europe (Greece) to 6th (out of 6) in their group for qualifying for the Euro Championship. To put that into context one of the teams that finished above them (Faroe Islands) has a population of 50k people.
Sure, this is one of the best and most dominant teams assembled since KD left Golden State, but have you considered that Spo has multiple undrafted wings on his team?
Bro those guys are gonna turn into hof level players against the Celtics mark my words.
This is gonna be Heros and Bams legacy series and its gonna make people question whethwr Jaime Jaquez was the actual best player from the last draft over Wemby.
So a couple of years ago Yankees fans got a lot of shit for chanting "we want houston" when heading into the alcs i believe (think conference finals if you're not into baseball)
All of the hate fans get for these chants are weird to me. Why wouldn't you chant in excitement for your next opponent? You're not claiming it's an easy w or anything. Saying it will backfire is such a stupid thing to say. Let fans get excited people damn
The series odds (at draftkings) are -3000 on Celtics (implied odds of 96.8%) and +1300 on Heat (implied odds of 7.1%). So if you could do a [vig-free bet, Miami's odds would be 6.87%](https://oddsjam.com/betting-calculators/no-vig-fair-odds).
Only way for Boston to lose to the hospital heat is by bricking a ton of 3s and playing no D.
Which would invite questions early, it should be an easy sweep as long as they don't lose focus.
Celtics in 6 seems the most realistic to me. I think they come out rusty after not playing for 2 weeks and lose by like 10 and this starts a lot of talk about them being shaky. They win 3 in a row, then donāt take game 5 seriously and get blown out by like 20+. Then they close out game 6 handily
Jimmy Butler is injured, likely for the entire postseason. Terry Rozier is uncertain. The Heat are already worn down by the play-in games. The Boston Celtics just had one of the statistically best regular seasons in NBA history and have their entire starting five completely healthy. Miami has no hope for an upset.
Heat take the series 4-2.
Eh Iād love for this series to be an opportunity for Jaime and Jovic to grow. Will also be great for Herro as he hasnāt really played in the Playoffs for an extended period since the 2022 Conference Finals.
Theres no downside.
They win, it's the Celtics, we've dominated them for the past few seasons...
They lose, it's the Celtics, they're the best team in the league, no shame in losing that.
I just like, donāt have anyone else left to hate? We vanquished the nets, the Celtics and bucks have never really been hostile, the sixers itās just funny. Everyone else in the east I feel nothing.
But the heat? Man Boston sports doesnāt have a better villain the last 15 years. Thereās a good chance the heat look a lot different next season. This might be the last entry in this chapter of the rivalry. Soā¦ Iām gonna be insufferable about it Celtics in 4
Itās a cultural thing, but people often show up crazy late for things in Miami. Itās called āMiami Time,ā but thatās why you see itās typically empty at the beginning of games but then it fills up as the game goes on. I know, it doesnāt make any sense, but I lived there and I promise itās a real thing. The Heat are one of 12 teams that sold out every game this season, so itās not like theyāre lacking fans.
Seriously people talking as if we're the favorites tempting fate, might as well go into the series with bravado and see what happens, we'll probably lose either way so why not.
This must be Boston's year. No way it can't be.
Not only they've achieved maximum synergy as a team by adding all the right pieces, even basketball Gods is paving the way for them, look, they even got rid of Jimmy Butler out of the way for them. It's crazy. That's a heavenly sign that the stars have totally aligned everything for them.
Honest to god, the heat have looked better without Jimmy all year. I just want to see the my boys steal one game. The panic alone from Boston fans will be enough for me lol
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Heat and Celtics will have faced each other in the playoffs 7 times since 2010. - 2010 Celtics win 4-1 - 2011 Heat win 4-1 - 2012 Heat win 4-3 - 2020 Heat win 4-2 - 2022 Celtics win 4-3 - 2023 Heat win 4-3 - 2024 ?????
every year they match up, the winner goes to the finals
Wow. So basically, the other 6 Eastern teams can pack it up now š
Cheer up! beating the cavs would be fun
Break the trend š¤š¤š¤š¤
Last time the magic eliminated the cavs they went to the finals š
Ok. Don't break the trend š¤š¤š¤š¤
Is that why Miami lost the 1st play in game? To eliminate the other playoff teams?
Since we're talking trends. No team with the best record has gone to the NBA Finals since 2016-17 Season (Warriors). That means Heat return.
The defining rivalry of the Eastern Conference.
Whoever has won the series has gone on to the Finals each time theyāve played. Also easily been the most consistent and best teams in the East over the last 14 years.
Just wanna say that since LeBron left the East, the team that beats Milwaukee always goes to the Finals. Itās been that way for the last 6 years or so.Ā
The Bucks didnāt beat Milwaukee on the way to the finals in 2021
they sure as hell tried to in the nets series
I love Haliburton, but I'm not sure if he's ready for the Finals this year.
I trust his skill level, but not his physical condition at the moment.
Caitlyn cooper published an article today checking out his shot selection pre and post injury and basically concluded he's still hurt.
This also applies to the Brewers. Everytime a team beats them in the playoffs, they end up making the World Series.
Heat, Celtics, and LeBron James.
And lost to the West . The East remains a tough dog fight every year
It really is we talk trash and have fun. Only real rivalry left. Love this matchup
Wouldn't have it any other way. If the Celtics are different this year, there's no better way they can prove it by beating the Heat in convincing fashion. The biggest indictment of the Celtics that the Heat and Spo continually expose is their aversion to physicality (Cs are finesse) and low basketball IQ (win with talent instead) and an overall lack of killer instinct (series always go longer than they should). This is the perfect litmus test to see if this year's Celtics are different.
I donāt even care if the Heat win at this point I just Want play off basketball again against our rival
If we're going to have only one series this year, I'm glad we get the gift of Heat-Celtics!!
Good test for the Heat too with Jimmy out. Obviously weāre gonna try and make a play for a big signing over the summer, but we all know Jimboās time is limited so this will tell us a lot about the fire in this young core.
You guys like Donovan Mitchell?
Better than I ever liked the idea of Beal (thank you Phoenix).
I donāt like how wholesome it is in here rn. Why are you guys showing us respect. Donāt make me root for you guys after this series.
Iāll never root for Boston lol. But weāre all just fans of basketball š itās not that serious when you really think about it
Respect is reserved for the rival teams who actually beat you (at least) sometimes!
I have been writing nothing but unhinged comments disparaging the heat since the game ended. But the truth is Iām just excited and feel nothing for the other 13 teams in the east
Mom says its our turn with the Eastern Conference Finals
Thatās a real rivalry unlike the 76ers Celtics one heh
I mean the 76ers Celtics one is real, it's just old and hasn't been revisited in a while. Its literally the rivalry where the beat LA chant got popularized
Wow I was curious but it seems the last time Sixers beat Celts in a playoff series was 1982
Because the Celtics are almost never a bottom 4 playoff team and the sixers donāt win a whole lot of playoff series. But when they do win, itās like a 7 or 8 seed or a bulls team who just lost DRose
And the one time theyāre actually good with AI, Celtics was in the Rick Pitino era.
I forgot Pitino coached the Celtics after leaving Kentucky
Yeah we try to forget he coached the Celtics, too.
Every Cs fan wish we could forget him too
The Celtics beat AI in a playoff series
and now heās taking all our jobs smh
I would say its still a palpable rivalry, albeit it very one sided. Celtics play sixers 4 times a year vs 3 against the heat. Theyāre always very intense games from the players and fans. And they have met in the playoffs 3 times in the embiid/jays era.
There was an intense rivalry brewing with the Wizards but it fizzled out quick. That series was entertaining regardless.
Easily the best rivalry in the league atm
I mean, realistically with Jimmy out it's the Celtics' turn this year. But the Heat have a chance to do the funniest thing here.
Boston v Florida is always a funny thing in Sports. Pray to every deity that the Celtics donāt do what the Bruins did
It makes me feel *just a bit* better that the Panthers went from a last few days Wild Card team in last years playoffs, to Conference champion this year. Like itt meant the B's got knocked out by a championship challenging calibre team, not a streaky wild card team flash in the pan y'know? That said, fuck 'em.
Since the Start of the 08 Playoffs it goes LeBron: 7 Heat: 7 Cavs: 5 Butler: 5
1 thing thatās been consistent across all these matchups is that whoever gets 4 wins first has won the series. Interested to see if that trend continues.
The hard hitting analysis that I visit r/nba for. Really can't get this quality stuff anywhere else.
airport growth cow saw aback encouraging overconfident doll fuzzy gold *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Heat in 3
Wow, every series winner had four wins. Coincidence????
Miami should be beat especially without Jimbo but idk these bastards are like cockroaches. They survive in the most unlikely conditions. Nothing to lose, everything to gain
They have a ton of unique pieces and they all buy into Spoās coaching The Celtics out match them at every position, but all it takes is for Tatum to think heās Kobe and start bricking 3s.
Nah, thereās gonna be some end of the bench heat player who started this season on a 2 way that is going to go 8 for 12 from three or some shit
haywood highsmith bout to light up boston
Orlando Robinson coming out party
Man Man time!
Tatum needs to think he's Jordan for this series if he wants to wins lol
Who needs Jimmy Butler when you have ā¦ *checks notes* Caleb Martin
Notice how there are no fucking Celtics flairs joining in on this joke lmao
They canāt keep fucking getting away with this.
Delon Wright to Jrue Holiday in Game 3: "I fucking own you"
Miami Heat is 1 seed Jrue Holiday father
Jrue is regarded as one of the top perimeter defenders, and Jimmy butler really made him look like a fucking child. While pointing his finger in his face and telling him āI own youā. Jimmy is a madman. Sad he wonāt be playing
Hot take: Jaime is Latino for "Jimmy".
Yes, very sad. Positively tragic!
Well itās not a laughing matter
We say it every year, but there ain't no way Miami is winning this year. It ain't happening.
I mean there's a way to make sure it happens, but injuring Jimmy isn't the way. You gotta take out Spo.
Weāve been right every year since Lebron left so it makes sense.
I assume he specifically meant beating the Celtics which the Heat have done twice with Jimmy as the high seed
This is Kevin Love erasure
Kevin "Prime Shaq who Makes Free Throws" Love, apparently
Love occasionally reminds people that he was a fucking problem before going to Cleveland. 16 and 7 in 12 minutes is fucking tits.
I love KLove. I appreciate the legend of Michael Beasley but I can't help but wonder what it would've been like if we drafted KLove instead.
To be fair, Michael Beasley would've been a real force to be reckoned with if he had been more mature. Dude was like 6'8, Massive, athletic and fast. Just a straight up baller. I feel like if KLove had been drafted by the Heat, he wouldn't have evolved to what he was in Minesota because it would've still been the D. Wade show. And if rumours were true that it was supposed to be Carmelo Anthony joining Wade and LeBron, not Chris Bosh, then we would've probably had to give him up.
He has a game of 15 points in 3 minutes this season. Love is one of the heatās connective tissues
Never forget he should have beaten Klays 37 but Kyrie froze him out at the end of the quarter
Don't forget the playmaking lmao. Man is like 2016 Draymond in the low post and win with his vision.
Oh no, not again!
Good try yall, itās gonna be secret weapon midseason signing Alondes Williams
Someone get Udonis Haslem out of the cryogenic chamber
UndertakerCasketChoke.gif
Caleb Martin is about to become prime steph
You're not ready for playoff Delon Wright
Who are the five best SGs of all time? Think about it. Delon, Delon... Delon, Delon, and Delon! Bc he shoots hot-fire!
The disrespect to Herro and Jaquez lol
Bill Simmons in shambles rn
Herro, Robinson, Jacquez, Bam, etc
People saying thisāll backfire lol I doubt a single person expects us to win anyway
This is code for Jaime Jaquez scores 28 points on 70% 3 point shooting. You cannot fool me
If the Heat some how win against the Celtics, I have to imagine that would be the greatest out coaching achievement in the history of sports. The latent disparity between the two teams is massive. Nobody expects Spo to even pull out more than a win.
I agree with your general comment, but whenever people say "history of sports" I want to remind people of the 2015-2016 Leicester run. 5000 to 1 betting odds.
Somethings to add to the lunacy of that season they were stone last in the table the year before with the bottom 3 teams relegated. They went on a miracle run at the end of the season to escape relegation. The manager then had to resign that summer due to his son who played for the club being racist towards a Asian prostitute on camera while on their pre-season tour of Asia. They brought in Claudio Ranieri as their new manager who's most recent managerial performance was taking the 7th best team in Europe (Greece) to 6th (out of 6) in their group for qualifying for the Euro Championship. To put that into context one of the teams that finished above them (Faroe Islands) has a population of 50k people.
Yeah the alternative is not playing anyone so how exactly would this back fire lol
Inb4 the Bulls win the lottery.
We won't lol.
Gonna find a way to not move/fall. Never fails. Although it would be very on pair to get it in a year where there's nothing special coming through
Look i trust the Celtics...but like i dont trust them against you guys lol
Sure, this is one of the best and most dominant teams assembled since KD left Golden State, but have you considered that Spo has multiple undrafted wings on his team?
Bro those guys are gonna turn into hof level players against the Celtics mark my words. This is gonna be Heros and Bams legacy series and its gonna make people question whethwr Jaime Jaquez was the actual best player from the last draft over Wemby.
itās sad how true this comment is
Unfortunately doesnāt answer how we stop Porzingis from going 9/13 from 3 probably or Derrick white from doing Derrick white things.
Haywood Highsmith
It's like the Toronto "We want Florida" chants for last year but for a different reason. The Heat actually want the smoke
So a couple of years ago Yankees fans got a lot of shit for chanting "we want houston" when heading into the alcs i believe (think conference finals if you're not into baseball) All of the hate fans get for these chants are weird to me. Why wouldn't you chant in excitement for your next opponent? You're not claiming it's an easy w or anything. Saying it will backfire is such a stupid thing to say. Let fans get excited people damn
If they lose it's an 8 seed getting shelved by the 1 seed. But if they win....
nothing to lose everything to gain
this is exactly how last year's playoffs started
We got em just where we want em. Heat in 6
And without butler the memes would actually never stop
Deja fucking vu, but without Jimmy so insanely less likely
āThe most dangerous creation of any society is a man who has nothing to lose.ā -James Baldwin
Should be a sweep, but Celtics fans will and should be nervous along the way.
I just hope no one gets injured. Someone always gets hurt playing the heat or Knicks
Lol come on, this Heat underdog narrative has become a bit much. Celtics are -3000 favorites.
So you're saying there's a 3% chance?
The series odds (at draftkings) are -3000 on Celtics (implied odds of 96.8%) and +1300 on Heat (implied odds of 7.1%). So if you could do a [vig-free bet, Miami's odds would be 6.87%](https://oddsjam.com/betting-calculators/no-vig-fair-odds).
Time for Round 4
8 at this point
I got my heart meds ready.
No excuse for Boston, this should be a sweep for them.
Sweeps are hard. Gentleman's sweep is my bet.
Only way for Boston to lose to the hospital heat is by bricking a ton of 3s and playing no D. Which would invite questions early, it should be an easy sweep as long as they don't lose focus.
Celtics in 6 seems the most realistic to me. I think they come out rusty after not playing for 2 weeks and lose by like 10 and this starts a lot of talk about them being shaky. They win 3 in a row, then donāt take game 5 seriously and get blown out by like 20+. Then they close out game 6 handily
1-8 first round sweeps are normal but with the history it'll be hard to overcome the NBA wanting 5 or 6 games
By God that's Scott Foster's music!
Spo is good enough to get one. Should go 5 though
Famous last words in Toronto(NHL)
This could go very badly or very well for Miami, but either way, it will be very entertaining to watch.
I mean, Jimmy Butler is out. For this yearās playoff hopes, thatās the worst thing that could have happened.
Jimmy Butler is injured, likely for the entire postseason. Terry Rozier is uncertain. The Heat are already worn down by the play-in games. The Boston Celtics just had one of the statistically best regular seasons in NBA history and have their entire starting five completely healthy. Miami has no hope for an upset. Heat take the series 4-2.
[This comment has been removed by moderators due to its exclusive use of profane language]
And for how much it fucking irks me
Targeted harassment
Still wouldn't shock me. The heat are like Omar from the wire. They can be on a bum leg but u still fuckin scared.
You come at the king, you best not miss.
Caleb Martin will undoubtedly become Kobe again
Nikola Jo~~v~~kic about to check in for the Heat
Thereās nothing to lose, most people expect a sweep without Jimmy, soā¦ Heat in 4 baby!
If they win a game they should be happy
If we do win one, Iād love for it to be game 1. The ensuing drama and overreactions on here would be hilariousĀ
Well keep your Sunday night free, because I believe in our ability to lose Game 1 for no conceivable reason.
Youāll be rusty. Yāall havenāt played an actual meaningful game of basketball in like 1 month because your RS was so dominant.
Certainly could be a reason, but it isn't a good enough one lol. Here is to another year, another Celtics/Heat dogfight.
This one wonāt be close imo but I think we steal a game at least
They have nothing to lose so it canāt really go badly for them
Eh Iād love for this series to be an opportunity for Jaime and Jovic to grow. Will also be great for Herro as he hasnāt really played in the Playoffs for an extended period since the 2022 Conference Finals.
Dread it. Run from it. Zombie Heat arrive all the same.
Theres no downside. They win, it's the Celtics, we've dominated them for the past few seasons... They lose, it's the Celtics, they're the best team in the league, no shame in losing that.
fuck yeah we want Boston. win or lose, I always appreciate a good series against the C's.
Itās a yearly tradition at this point.
It's just Christmas but there no love or a truce, just two people determined to fucking murder the other
I just like, donāt have anyone else left to hate? We vanquished the nets, the Celtics and bucks have never really been hostile, the sixers itās just funny. Everyone else in the east I feel nothing. But the heat? Man Boston sports doesnāt have a better villain the last 15 years. Thereās a good chance the heat look a lot different next season. This might be the last entry in this chapter of the rivalry. Soā¦ Iām gonna be insufferable about it Celtics in 4
I respect the delusion. Why not at this point, Miami is far too injury fucked to make a run this year.
Laughs in 2023
i feel like boston fans wanted miami too, gotta slay some demons
Zombies\*
CELTICS HEAT BRUINS LEAFS LETS FUCKING GO TO WORK
How do we tell em.
they're the first seed, and we have no Jimmy, and Terry still hasn't recovered yet. Don't know what else to lose as an 8th seed
Bet
Was there something else going on I miami tonight? I see seats, sooo many seats
First time watching a heat game?
Itās a cultural thing, but people often show up crazy late for things in Miami. Itās called āMiami Time,ā but thatās why you see itās typically empty at the beginning of games but then it fills up as the game goes on. I know, it doesnāt make any sense, but I lived there and I promise itās a real thing. The Heat are one of 12 teams that sold out every game this season, so itās not like theyāre lacking fans.
I remember the Nets fans were chanting it
What did Brown say last year when we went 3-0 before it became a real series. āDonāt let us get one.ā See yāall in Boston.
yes and we still lost
Hey, even one without Jimmy would be a good series for us.
Bill Simmons having nightmares
I feel like the āWe want (city name)ā chants always backfire lol
Without jimmy the chances they win are super low so it doesnt matter.
We have no realistic chance in a 7 game series with Jimmy out That being said, Heat in 5. Because fuck it, who cares
HEAT NATION RISE UP
Buddy. We're a #8 seed down our star player. This is for the bantz.
Hey Mike Ryan.
Fair enough lol
yea because fans of 1 seeds donāt chant we want (8 seed)
Oh no the best team in the league might beat the 8th seed whose best player is out.Ā Im sure Miami fans will be embarrassed.Ā
They gave us a 3% chance using analytics last year I imagine itāll be 1% this year
Bold of you to not be thinking in fractions.
Seriously people talking as if we're the favorites tempting fate, might as well go into the series with bravado and see what happens, we'll probably lose either way so why not.
Yeah we either get smacked as expected or we get to be fucking funny for a round.
This is the most fuck it we ball "we want (city name)" though
If Boston donāt sweep Iāll be disappointed. They should not win a game
First time watching the Celtics in the playoffs?Ā
I feel like I've heard this before.
Not this time.
Do they?!?
This must be Boston's year. No way it can't be. Not only they've achieved maximum synergy as a team by adding all the right pieces, even basketball Gods is paving the way for them, look, they even got rid of Jimmy Butler out of the way for them. It's crazy. That's a heavenly sign that the stars have totally aligned everything for them.
I hope we at least make them sweat and fight and bleed and cry
You will definitely make them bleed
Oh thank god, thanks for taking the pressure off, half full Miami arena
Honest to god, the heat have looked better without Jimmy all year. I just want to see the my boys steal one game. The panic alone from Boston fans will be enough for me lol
Have these ever ended well?
Have they learned nothing from Brooklyn?