The Celtics and Heat have had the best rivalry in the East this decade, and the latest iteration will come in the playoffs once again. The two teams will meet up in the first round of the NBA Playoffs after the Heat beat the Bulls in the play-in tournament to earn the No. 8 seed.
But this time, the matchup won’t be in the East Finals. The C’s and Heat have met up there in 2020, 2022 and most recently in 2023. The Heat have downed the Celtics in 2020 and 2023, though Boston won in 2022. Regardless, Heat fans are confident in the rematch as they chanted “we want Boston” late in the win over the Bulls.
Even if the Heat have won two of the last three, the Celtics should be heavily favored in the series. The Heat are going to be without Jimmy Butler because of an MCL injury that will keep him out for weeks.
The Heat also lost some key contributors from their NBA Finals squad from last season. The Celtics, on the other hand, brought in reinforcements like Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday to beat the Heat.
Regardless of the odds, though, the Heat have been a huge thorn to the Celtics’ side over the years. That includes last season, when the Heat were underdogs but raced out to a 3-0 series lead. Even though the Celtics were able to force a Game 7, they still lost in the series.
So the rematch will have plenty of storylines as the Celtics look to start a deep playoff push. Game 1 of the first round is set for 1 p.m. Sunday at TD Garden.