2020 eastern conference finals series#

They desperately needed a centre, and got their wishes and more with Rob Williams. Since that series, Miami has only levelled up by adding players like Strus, Lowry and Oladipo, too.īoston has constantly fallen into the pattern of 'almost' - on the outside, they look like a team that could go up against the best, but something was always missing. The Celtics can get revenge for their 2020 season with a win over the Heat, with many familiar faces in Butler, Adebayo and Herro awaiting the boys in green.

2020 eastern conference finals series#

The Heat's starting perimeter rotation can also be lethal, and if they get Lowry back midway through the series like they hope to, they are adding another player with elite court-vision who is not only a scoring threat, but will draw in defenders and pass the ball to an open shot for easy baskets as the Celtics rely on a lot of switch defending. While his numbers dropped with Embiid back, the Celtics do not have an Embiid-calibre player in the paint to be able to stop Adebayo and will have to find ways to shut him out. Miami has a real chance to show that they are more than just Butler in this series as they have multiple players who can play on both sides of the ball and will present a different challenge to the Celtics than Milwaukee did.Īdebayo is the obvious first option, averaging 23.5 points and 10.5 rebounds through the first two games of the 76ers series with Joel Embiid out. There will be questions around an injury that dictates whether Marcus Smart will be a non-factor in the series, but with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown you still have the likes of Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Daniel Theis, who have all put up double-digit performances offensively while filling in the gaps on defence that make Boston such a threat to play against.

Players on the bench are able to play like the starting five, as Grant Williams showed when he dropped 27 points as a starter in Game 7 to beat Milwaukee.Įven Al Horford, at age 35, put up back-to-back 20-plus point games in Game 3 and 4 against Milwaukee, putting up 30 points and eight rebounds in Game 4 after posting three consecutive double-doubles in the first three games of the series. Not only does he have complete control, averaging just 1.7 turnovers, but also isn't afraid to be physical at the net.īutler had a 40-point night in Game 4 against the 76ers, and despite the loss, shot 65 per cent on 13-of-20 shooting and will be a threat to the Celtics defence - especially since, if they do go the route of trying to put two men on Butler, Miami has an array of starters who can also score with ease.ĭespite being home to one of the best defences in the league, if not the best, the true pulse of the Celtics is their depth.

Needless to say, Jimmy Butler has been carrying Miami since his arrival from Philadelphia, when the 76ers apparently chose Tobias Harris over him - and since then, his team has had a lot more success in the postseason in the Eastern Conference than Harris and company have.Īveraging 28.7 points per game in the playoffs on 52.5 per cent shooting, it's safe to say Butler is the heart of the Heat, controlling the offence and finding the rim when needed. Heat Bench: Kyle Lowry (GTD), Victor Oladipo, Tyler Herro, Caleb Martin, Duncan Robinson, Dewayne Dedmon, Udonis Haslem, Haywood Highsmith, Markieff Morris, Omer YurtsevenĬeltics Starting 5: Marcus Smart (GTD), Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams (GTD)Ĭeltics Bench: Derrick White, Grant Williams, Daniel Theis, Payton Pritchard, Aaron Nesmith, Nik Stauskas, Sam Hauser (Inj.), Luke Kornet, Juwan Morgan, Malik Fitts Tucker, Max Strus, Gabe Vincent, Jimmy Butler To win championship: MIA: +430, BOS: +210 (Courtesy of FanDuel at time of publication) To win series: MIA +145, BOS -175 (Courtesy of FanDuel at time of publication) 1 net ratingĬeltics: 4-3 win over Milwaukee | No. But if any Celtics squad has looked poised to do it, it's Ime Udoka's squad. They also are returning to the Conference Finals for the second time in three years.Īs for Boston, they want to make it out of the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2010, when they fell in Game 7 to their rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers. The Heat are looking to lift the Larry O'Brien trophy on the 10 year anniversary of the NBA Championship that LeBron James brought home when he took his talents to South Beach to join Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.

The reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks have been dethroned by the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat had no trouble taking Game 6 to clinch their semifinal series against the Philadelphia 76ers, meaning Boston and Miami will meet for a rematch of the 2020 NBA bubble Eastern Conference Finals.