Image: (NBA/Celtics Page)
Article By: Mikael Rizvi-Syed
With the Celtics coming off an amazing Game 7 win against the 76ers, they look prepared and ready to play Game 1 against Miami. The Miami Heat are already considered underdogs in this series due to being the 8th seed and having only Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler as their top stars. However, despite Tyler Herro’s injury, they have been impressive, defeating the #1 seed Milwaukee Bucks and the #5 seed New York Knicks. One thing is certain: don’t let the standings fool you, especially considering Miami had to go through two play-in games just to beat the #1 seed and #5 seed. This is all because of “Playoff Jimmy.” When Jimmy Butler is in this mindset, he performs like he’s the greatest player in the world. He scored a career-high 56 points in Game 4 against the Bucks, and I can see him having another 50-point game against the Celtics.
But the Celtics are too stacked to lose to Butler. They have Jayson Tatum, who just had a huge 51-point game in Game 7, Jaylen Brown, who averaged 27 points per game, Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart, and many more. If Tatum can be efficient in his scoring and replicate his Game 7 performance on Sunday, I see a Celtics win. However, if “Playoff Jimmy” goes off in the first half, I can envision a Game 1 upset win by Miami.
Who knows what can happen in this league? We’ll have to find out soon on May 17, 2023, at 5:30 pm PST.