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Heat coach Erik Spoelstra speaks on matchup with Celtics

The Eastern Conference Finals series between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics starts tomorrow. The Miami Herald:

“You’re not expecting it to be easy,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said after Monday’s practice of this year’s series against the Celtics. “When you get to the conference finals, there are four teams left and it’s not like the NCAA Tournament, where you can just get hot for three weeks. You have to be a good team that has proved it for months, that you’ve earned that right. So the last four teams should be the teams that have the most complexity and we feel that way. Boston is a really good team. They’re talented. They play the right way. They defend. Really well coached. You can’t expect there to be pushovers when you get to this point.”

The Celtics took out the defending-champion Raptors — sure, Toronto is without Kawhi Leonard these days, but a series win is a series win. And the Heat took out the best-record-in-league Bucks. We should be in for a great series.

Dwyane Wade keeping a close eye on Miami Heat playoff run

Former Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade is an observer now spoke with the Miami Herald on the team, who stepped up and convincingly eliminated the Bucks to reach the Eastern Conference Finals.

Future Hall of Fame guard Dwyane Wade, who retired at the end of last season and already had his No. 3 Heat jersey retired by the organization, is watching Miami’s playoff run closely but from afar in his home in the Los Angeles area.

“Even though I played for this organization and we’ve done some incredible things and I know these guys, I’m just a fan,” Wade said during an interview with the Miami Herald. “I watch from afar and I’m coaching like they can hear me. I’m screaming at them like they can hear me and I’m texting them after the game the same way. Hopefully they can hear me. I’m just a fan that knows the game very well and knows the organization and the team very well who has access to the players. It’s like the ultimate fan.” …

“You still have your connection to the team. It’s still there because it’s immediate,” Wade said. “Being able to be connected with the players and still have that conversation and back-and-forth banter, and giving encouragement or watching the game and giving my inside on what I see. It has been great. As I’ve been told for many years, you enjoy the success of others. I’ve been able to sit back from afar and enjoy the success of the individuals who I know that play for the team now.”

Game 1 of the Heat vs. Boston Celtics Eastern Conference Finals playoff series is tomorrow night.

Now on Celtics, Kemba Walker ready for renewed shot at Heat

Game 1 of the Celtics vs Heat Eastern Conference Finals series is Tuesday. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel setting the scene on where Kemba Walker is coming from in approaching the series:

The Boston Celtics spent most of the past two weeks preoccupied with escaping the conference semifinals against the Toronto Raptors. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t taking note of what the Heat were accomplishing on the other side of the East bracket.

“Those guys, they balled last series, man,” Celtics guard Kemba Walker said of the Heat after Boston closed out Toronto in Friday’s Game 7 at Disney World. “Those guys are nothing but players.”

The Celtics took Saturday off to recover from going blow for blow with the Raptors. The Heat, by contrast, have been idle since closing out the Milwaukee Bucks in Tuesday’s Game 5 of that best-of-seven series, after sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the first round.

Walker’s only previous playoff experience prior to this season came against the Heat while with Charlotte, where he spent his first eight seasons. He was swept by the Heat 4-0 in the 2014 first round, then lost to the Heat in seven games in the 2016 first round.

Now in his first season with the Celtics, Walker, 30, is relishing the opportunity for payback.

A possible X-factor in the series could be Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, who is still healing from an ankle sprain but appears to be progressing. There’s no evidence suggesting he might be ready by Game 1, or Game 2, but it now seems possible that he could return sometime during the series. That’s not a prediction. Just a possibility.

James Johnson praises former teammate Jimmy Butler

It’s always fun seeing how NBA players discuss their former teammates. Usually, positive words are said. But even so, it’s always interesting to see the exact adjectives that get used. Here’s the Minneapolis Star Tribune reporting:

Timberwolves forward James Johnson only got to play with Jimmy Butler for a little more than half a season.

But when the Wolves visited Miami on Feb. 26 after Johnson came to Minnesota via trade from the Heat, the 11-year veteran had effusive praise for Butler.

“I loved him,” Johnson said. “I love his work ethic. I love what he stands for. It sometimes can be misconstrued. Me, personally, one of the best teammates I’ve ever had.”

It speaks to how well things were going for the Heat in Butler’s first year with the team. There were no leaks to the media about practice tirades or chewing out coaches in film sessions as there were in Butler’s previous stops with Minnesota and Philadelphia.

Butler and the Heat recently finished off the No. 1 seed Bucks in the second round of the playoffs, and are waiting the winner of tonight’s Game 7 between the Celtics and defending-champion Raptors.

Heat star Jimmy Butler speaks on next possible playoff opponent

The Miami Heat are waiting to see who their opponent will be in the Eastern Conference Finals. It’ll either be the Celtics or Raptors, who on Friday will play a Game 7. NBA players tend to not name a preference as to who they’re about to face. And as outspoken as Jimmy Butler often is, he took that route as well. Per the South Florida Sun Sentinel:

“We know either way it goes, we’ve got a really good team that we’ve got to play against,” forward Jimmy Butler said. “But we still have to play our style of basketball. We’re not discouraged. We’re not scared. We’re not running from any matchups. I think that’s what makes us us.”

Based on the regular-season series, the preference might be Toronto, with the Heat 2-1 this season against the Raptors, but 1-2 against the Celtics. But that script was flipped after the NBA’s four-month layoff, with the Heat losing their lone matchup against the Raptors at Disney and winning their lone bubble matchup against the Celtics.

As the No. 5 seed in the East, the Heat will enter as the “road” team against either the No. 2 Raptors or No. 3 Celtics. However, with all games played on the neutral courts of Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex, such homecourt advantage is removed. The only spectators allowed are a limited amount of friends and families of the teams.

“It just gets harder from here,” center Kelly Olynyk said of either of the Heat’s potential opponents.

In disposing of the Bucks, who had the best record in the NBA this season, Heat sent the entire NBA a loud message, that they’re as much of a championship contender as any squad in the league.

Down 3-0 in series, Bucks star Giannis speaks on Heat

The Heat are up 3-0 on the Bucks, who had the best regular season record in the league and were favorites in the series. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting:

As for the state of the Bucks’ mental state, perhaps this from Giannis Antetokounmpo after Game 3 summed it up best:

“Miami is a great team. You know they are going to play hard. They play hard for 48 minutes. To be able to beat them, you have to match that. You can’t play hard for 36 minutes, you can’t play hard for 24 minutes, you have to play hard for 48 minutes to beat a team like that. We knew that coming into this series. They were playing harder than us. We’ve got to play harder and we’ve got to play better. That’s it.”

The Bucks face an incredibly uphill battle in keeping their championship hopes alive.

Pair of Heat players finish second in NBA award voting

It’s awards season in the NBA, as winners of the league’s regular season awards are announced during the playoffs. Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel reporting on how Miami Heat players fared in the results:

With Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant on Thursday being named NBA Rookie of the Year, the Heat’s two finalists for 2020 NBA awards have had their second-place fates settled, Kendrick Nunn for Rookie of the Year and Bam Adebayo for Most Improved Player (behind New Orleans Pelicans guard Brandon Ingram). While the Heat have had previous Most Improved winners in Rony Seikaly (1990) and Ike Austin (1997), the franchise remains without a Rookie of the Year in its 32 seasons. As a matter of perspective on Nunn’s finish, consider that Dwyane Wade placed third in the 2004 Rookie of the Year vote (behind LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony), Caron Butler third in the 2003 Rookie voting (behind Amare Stoudemire and Yao Ming), with those the top previous Heat finishes. (Michael Beasley placed seventh in 2009 as the No. 2 pick in 2008.)

Heat look good in Game 1 playoff win vs Bucks

The Heat were impressive yesterday, taking a 1-0 series lead against a Bucks squad that was missing starting guard Eric Bledsoe but was otherwise at relatively full strength. Here’s the Miami Herald reporting:

Even before the start of the Miami Heat’s playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks, it had already become a popular take.

The Heat matches up well against the Bucks.

Top-seeded Milwaukee did little to disprove that thinking in an 11-point loss to fifth-seeded Miami on Monday in Game 1 of their second-round series. The Heat is the first team to defeat the Bucks three times this season, as Miami also posted a 2-1 record against Milwaukee in the regular season.

The Heat is one of the most efficient three-point shooting teams in the NBA and the Bucks’ defense allowed the most three-point attempts in the league in the regular season. That’s certainly part of Miami’s perceived matchup advantage, with Game 2 of their best-of-7 series set for Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.

The Bucks rely so heavily on production from Giannis Antetokounmpo that any team that can limit him even a little has a shot to win.

And while Giannis did put up 10 points and nine assists in Game 1, he scored a modest 18 points, and also committed six turnovers. While in the win for the Heat, Jimmy Butler was stellar, scoring 40.

Bledsoe’s status for Game 2 is not yet known.

On key injuries in the Pacers vs Heat series

We made it. The playoffs tip off today. Here’s the Miami Herald reporting on the injury situation ahead of the start of the Heat vs Pacers first round playoff series:

The Heat could be without one rotation player entering the series. Forward Derrick Jones Jr., who was expected to play off the bench, has not practiced since sustaining a neck strain in Friday’s loss to the Pacers to close the regular season. Rookie guard Gabe Vincent (right shoulder sprain) and rookie forward KZ Okpala (personal reasons) might also be unavailable for the start of the playoffs.

For the Pacers, they are without a starter. All-Star center Domantas Sabonis left the bubble and has not returned because of left foot plantar fasciitis. Also, Jeremy Lamb, who was a key contributor before his February injury, remains out because of a torn ACL. Warren is dealing with plantar fasciitis, but he said Sunday that he will be ready to play in Game 1.

The Pacers and Heat were incredibly close in the standings this season, with Indiana finishing 45-28 and Miami 44-29.

But Sabonis is definitely the best player on either team’s injury list.

Game 1 is tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET, televised on TNT.

Heat guard Kendrick Nunn reportedly temporarily leaves NBA bubble for personal reasons

The Heat on Saturday will face the Suns without the services of guard Kendrick Nunn. Here’s the Miami Herald with a report:

Heat guard Kendrick Nunn will miss Saturday’s game against Phoenix for personal reasons and has left the NBA bubble, according to multiple sources. Erik Spoelstra did not mention any issue with Nunn during a Zoom session earlier in the day.

Nunn – who previously confirmed he tested positive for COVID-19 in June – has left the bubble for reasons unrelated to COVID-19, according to a source. He’s expected back soon, according to another source, but it’s undetermined how many days he would be required to quarantine when he returns.

Length of quarantines are up to the discretion of the NBA and depend on access to testing, where a player was during his absence and other factors. Nunn is expected to have access to testing while he’s away.

The Heat are currently 4th in the Eastern conference, one game above the 5-feed Pacers.

Nunn has started all 66 games he’s played this season, averaging 15.2 points and 3.3 assists.

The Heat are an unusual team in that their starting forwards average far more assists per game than their starting guards. But Nunn’s scoring and overall hustle is important.

We’ll presume that Nunn is expected to return sometime soon, since the playoffs aren’t far away. But there’s no official concrete info from the Heat on this just yet.