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Miami Heat reach 2023 NBA Finals

Per the NY Times:

On Monday night at TD Garden, the Eastern Conference championship trophy for the NBA had made its way to the other team’s locker room. The trophy, a sterling silver replica of a basketball, was displayed atop a few packing trunks with metallic trim. The Miami Heat had earned it through a humbling 103-84 victory against the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the conference finals.

Before a late-night flight to Denver, where they will play the Nuggets for the NBA title beginning Thursday, players and staff members stood in front of the trophy while wearing N.B.A. finals hats and T-shirts to commemorate the team’s heroic struggle.

Everyone except the Heat was stunned by their resurgence as the East’s No. 8 seed. Coach Erik Spoelstra stayed with his plan even though the team was struggling throughout the regular season and losing almost as frequently as they were winning. They could get better, according to Spoelstra, if they kept their attention on the tasks at hand. It consisted of getting together after discouraging defeats, watching movies, and working hard in the gym.

“I think probably people can relate to this team,” Spoelstra said. “Professional sports is just kind of a reflection sometimes of life, that things don’t always go your way. The inevitable setbacks happen, and it’s how you deal with that collectively. There’s a lot of different ways that it can go: It can sap your spirit. It can take a team down, for whatever reason.

“With this group, it’s steeled us and made us closer and made us tougher.”

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Celtics eliminated in Game 7 of 2023 NBA Eastern Conference Finals

Per Boston.com:

The Celtics’ season came to an end in the most ideal, microcosmic way possible: they were on the cusp of something extraordinary but were unable to make the decisive step into history.

The Celtics had the appearance of a squad that should have been outstanding but never quite achieved it after their disastrous start. They were surprisingly subpar when playing the Hawks. To defeat the 76ers, they needed seven games. They lost two games at home to a Heat squad that couldn’t match their firepower, as is only natural.

On some level, it’s hard to blame the Celtics for their inability to come back from a 3-0 hole, just as it’s hard to blame them for losing the championship. After all, doing both has historically been challenging. NBA teams have attempted to come back after falling behind 3-0, but none have ever succeeded. Every year, only one squad out of 30 may claim the championship.

However, Monday’s defeat will stay with this team for a very long time, as will the Celtics’ detour from the Finals as a result of it. In recent years, the Celtics have played in a couple of those contests.

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Jayson Tatum plays hurt, struggles in Celtics Game 7 loss to Heat

Per Boston.com:

On Monday night, a rowdy and fervent TD Garden crowd was quickly quieted.

Jayson Tatum, the Celtics’ star player, collapsed to the parquet floor in agony just 34 seconds into a critical Game 7 versus the Heat.

Tatum rose to his feet and rolled his ankle on the landing while attempting to euro-step past Miami point guard Gabe Vincent.

Even though the All-NBA forward continued to play, the damage had already been done.

“I saw the video, I saw it after the game that I came down on my ankle. It’s tough, because it kind of impacted me the rest of the night,” Tatum said following Boston’s season-ending 103-84 loss to the Heat. “It swelled up and it was just frustrating that I was kind of like a shell of myself. It was tough to move. It was just frustrating, especially that [expletive] happened on the first play.”

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Jaylen Brown struggles in Celtics Game 7 loss to Heat

Per Boston.com:

“Just a terrible game when my team needed me most,” Brown said. “JT hurt his ankle first play of the game and you could see it swelling up on him. He couldn’t move out there. It was tough on him. My team turned to me to make plays and I came up short.”

Brown shot 8–23 overall, including 1–9 from three, for the game. Three more turnovers than assists were his. While he was in attack mode, the Celtics’ offense sputtered and was unable to produce enough open shots to catch Miami.

The 84 points Boston scored were its fewest in a postseason game.

“Offensively, it just seemed like we couldn’t hit a shot,” Brown said. “It put more pressure on our defense. We had a bunch of good looks and nothing went in. We all have to sit back and reflect on that.”

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Derrick White hits Game 6-winning tip-in at the buzzer

Via the Boston Herald:

What a difference a year makes for Derrick White.

The Celtics guard was admittedly tentative when he arrived in Boston at last season’s trade deadline. He didn’t want to step on any toes. But he got over those initial jitters. He was confident and comfortable this season, and it showed in his performance as he became a full-time starter, one of the Celtics’ most important players and an All-Defensive team selection.

What better way to show that growth than on Saturday night, when his miracle tip-in at the buzzer saved the Celtics’ season in epic fashion?

“If you don’t know who D-White is, you know who he is now,” Marcus Smart said. “I mean, that dude has been phenomenal for us this whole, whole year. You know, just playing the way that we knew he could play when we picked him up.

“It’s been refreshing for us, and it’s been a joy to watch and a joy to be on the court with him.”

White’s humility has always stood out. The sixth-year guard has never been an attention-seeker. He doesn’t say much. He lets his play do the talking.

Betting odds for Heat at Celtics Game 7

Via Boston.com:

As they have found a way to tie up the Eastern Conference finals after trailing 3-0 in the series, the Celtics are viewed as a heavy favorite to win Game 7.

The Celtics are listed as 7.5-point favorites for Monday’s Game 7 on most sportsbooks as of Sunday afternoon. In addition, Boston has -320 odds to win straight up, while Miami has +265 odds to win Game 7.

The large spread favoring the Celtics isn’t too much of a surprise, considering they were viewed as such heavy favorites to win the series prior to Game 1. The Celtics had -525 odds to win the series, while the Heat had +400 odds to win the series ahead of Game 1.

Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon misses Game 6 vs. Heat

Via Boston.com:

Malcolm Brogdon won’t participate in the Eastern Conference finals Game 6 due to an injury.

About an hour before the start of the game on Saturday, the Celtics made the point guard officially ineligible.

Joe Mazzulla, the coach of the Boston Celtics, told the media that Brogdon will test the elbow on his shooting arm during warm-ups before Game 6 to determine if he could play.

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Nuggets await winner of Celtics-Heat series

Via the Miami Herald:

While the Miami Heat prepared for Saturday night’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics at Kaseya Center, the Denver Nuggets were already preparing for both the Heat and Celtics ahead of the NBA Finals.

The Nuggets earned that luxury after completing the 4-0 sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals on Monday night. Next up for the Nuggets is Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 1.

“Each round we have one coach dedicated to the opponent,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Friday. “So right now, obviously, we have two coaches, one working on Boston, one working on Miami. We have been talking about both teams every day.”

The Heat’s historic playoff run as a No. 8 seed has left Malone impressed. The Heat already became the sixth No. 8 seed in league history to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the first round and the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to advance to the conference finals after qualifying for the playoffs through the play-in tournament this year.

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2023 NBA Eastern Conference Finals head to Miami for Game 6

Via the Miami Herald:

Miami will host Game 6 Saturday night and it will (and should) have a must-win feel in order to avoid a Game 7 back in Boston.

“They let us get two,” said the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown, “so don’t let us get another one.”

It’s amazing/amusing how the national narrative had flipped entering this Game 5.

At 3-0, Heat: It’s done. Change is bearing down on the Celtics like a tsunami off Lake Charles. Joe Mazzulla can’t coach. Time to break up the Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown duo and retool.

At 3-1 entering Thursday: Whoa, Miami. Uh oh. Mighty Boston is back! The national media (Chowderhead Division) fell in love again during the third period of Game 4 and is convinced NBA history is happening.

Now, the Heat still is up 3-2 but it hardly seems so.

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A key stat from Celtics’ Game 4 and 5 wins versus Heat

Via Boston.com:

No team has ever rallied back from a 3-0 deficit. All three teams in NBA history who have evened a 3-0 series went on to lose Game 7. The Heat still have a home game, and even if they lose that one, they’ve won two games at TD Garden this series. They have a number of solid role players. They have Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Smart money would probably still bet on them to get back to the Finals.

But the Celtics have turned a lot of things around and applied a ton of pressure to a Heat team that looks shakier now than at any other point in the postseason. The Heat had a negative point differential during the regular season and were one of the worst 3-point shooting squads in the NBA. The Celtics had the league’s best net rating and were the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference…

One of the most eye-opening stats over the last two games has been the turnovers for the Heat. The Celtics forced 10 turnovers in the second half of Game 4. On Thursday, they picked up where they left off by forcing 16 and outscoring the Heat 29-17 off those turnovers.

The Heat were the more aggressive team by far in Games 1-3. The fact that the Celtics have turned that on its head is maybe the most important reversal aside from the 3-point shooting.

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