The Miami Heat have already accomplished what very few eight seeds ever have in the NBA. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals to face the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics after dispatching the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks and No. 5 seed New York Knicks in the first two rounds.
Just like in the first two rounds, Miami has stolen home court advantage and taken a 1-0 lead in the series. The Heat aren’t your ordinary No. 8 seed as injuries during the regular season kept them from getting into a rhythm. They are still dealing with injuries in the postseason with Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo sidelined, but they are getting MVP-level production from Jimmy Butler to make up for it.
Butler continued his postseason rampage in Game 1, scoring 35 points to go along with five rebounds and seven assists in 43 minutes of play. He gave credit to the coaching staff and his teammates for performing at such a high level.
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat & Boston Celtics Updates
“I’m playing at an incredible level because they are allowing me to do so,” Butler said. “They are not putting a limit on my game. They are trusting me with the ball, on the defensive end. I think that’s what any basketball player wants.”
The work on the offensive side is what stands out in the box score, but he made sure that his imprint defensively did as well in Game 1. In addition to the gaudy scoring numbers, Butler added six steals, which was a playoff career high. He also made life difficult for whoever he was matching up with, whether it was Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown.
“One of the premier two-way basketball players of this association. … That’s what we needed.” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Down the stretch, Jimmy was able to do everything we needed – as a scorer and as a facilitator.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat & Boston Celtics Updates
Butler wasn’t the only player to find success against Boston in Game 1, as Bam Adebayo also had a very good game. He shot 9-of-13 from the field en route to 20 points, grabbing eight rebounds and handing out five assists.
As a team, the Heat shot the ball extraordinarily well. They made 54.1 percent of their shot attempts overall and 51.6 percent from 3-point range. Whenever the Celtics attempted to pull away or try cutting into the Heat’s lead, a timely 3-pointer would splash through the net.
“I don’t know why,” Tatum said of their home struggles. “You’ve still got to play the game, you’ve got to make plays, regardless of whether you’re home or away.”
NBA NEWS & PLAYOFFS: Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat & Boston Celtics Updates
The Heat have shown time and time again there isn’t a team or arena that intimidates them. They just go out and execute their game plan to perfection, leading to victories on the court. It is going to be hard to lose games when you are shooting the ball as Miami did in Game 1.
With Game 1 in their pocket, the Heat will be looking to take a demanding 2-0 lead back to South Beach with Game 2 set to be played Friday night. This is pretty much a do-or-die game for the Celtics who cannot afford to dig themselves into a hole this deep as Miami has shown they are more than capable of putting teams away this postseason.
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