Predictions: Celtics vs. Heat

[Surferdad]

It's the first series in a while where I have a really hard time predicting some tendencies or potential scenarios since it's such an unknown to me. Miami or Boston in 6 wouldn't surprise me, for example.

On one hand, I think that the adversity (and the great defense) faced by the C's against Toronto will be of a huge help against Miami which has basically faced little to none adversity so far (except for game 4 against the Bucks), in the sense that our players will probably feel like they are facing an "easy" defense compared to Toronto's. The Celtics know what to do and what to expect of each other in tough do or die situations while the Heat has been unproved so far on that side (and although Butler is playing great I still don't think he has what it takes to perform on that stage). On the other, what scares me the most about Miami is their spacing and ball movement, as well as a number of players who I could easily see go off against us (like Dragic and Crowder).

I guess the biggest key to the series might be how Bam Adebayo performs and how he impacts us with his rebounding and defense. But I'll gamble on the adversity and Hayward's comeback at some point to say Celtics in 6!

Good post, definitely comes down to match-ups and I feel like the Miami match-up is better than the one vs. the Raptors who I think had the edge at center.  I hope to see more minutes for Robert Williams though I am worried about him chasing Olynyk to the 3-pt line.

[Sophomore]

Prediction: Enes Kanter will play about as much as he did against Toronto.

Also: Celts in six.

[Surferdad]

Anybody else happy to not see that Toronto roster anymore, esp Lowry? 

Miami seems like a more like-able team.  I also think this could be a better match-up for the C's.  Expect Smart to draw the Butler assignment and will love seeing Timelord vs. Bam and Brown vs. Dragic.

Celts in 7.

[jambr380]

I know everybody is worried about Bam - and don't get me wrong, I am on the Bam-wagon - but I see him having more of a Siakam-like effect than and Embiid-like effect in this series.

My biggest worry is their shooters coming off screens and pulling up for quick 3s. That will be incredibly frustrating.

[BE-Celtic]

Prediction: Enes Kanter will play about as much as he did against Toronto.

Also: Celts in six.

Not 100% sure. Williams (and the others Williams) grew bigger, but transition was the key in this series. I think that on half court offense, this can be slightly different.

[BringToughnessBack]

Celtics Sweep..4-0 ....

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Boston will score much easier against Miami. Jimmy Butler is a good defender (not as elite as he once was), but their next best perimeter defender is Iggy or Crowder, both of whom are fairly slow-footed (although they are smart). Their only other good defender on the team is Bam.

I know they played well against the Bucks, but the Bucks didn't have athletes that could attack well from the perimeter. Walker is world's better than Bledsoe there. Matthews, Divencenzo, etc. cannot regularly attack off the dribble.

Plus, although Miami does play a little zone, they haven't practiced all the junk defenses that Nurse does on defense, which means the Cs are unlikely to have to face that.

[Green-18]

Celtics in 7.  Expecting this to have a very different feel than the Toronto series.  Miami is a joy to watch on offense and their shooting is going to give the Celtics some serious issues.  On the flip side, Kemba should have a much easier time generating scoring opportunities.  The Heat really dig in on defense but the Celtics athleticism matches up really well. 

 

[footey]

Given the problems Bam gave Theis in bubble seeding game, I would expect to see a significant increase in Rob Williams' minutes vs Heat.  I think Rob matches up pretty well physically with Bam.  Also Bam is not a significant 3 point problem like Ibaka.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Given the problems Bam gave Theis in bubble seeding game, I would expect to see a significant increase in Rob Williams' minutes vs Heat.  I think Rob matches up pretty well physically with Bam.  Also Bam is not a significant 3 point problem like Ibaka.

Bam was good that game, but the Cs dominated him in a game earlier this season. He ended with a stat line of 8-7-3 with a -16 for the game.

It's gotta be a team effort to keep him off the boards. Other than that, he mainly attacks from the perimeter by being the initiator of the offense or through DHOs. Theis does a decent job positionally on the perimeter, especially against non-shooters. Rob struggles sometimes on attacks from the perimeter. I could also see some Jaylen Brown on him, depending on matchups.

[wiley]

One of their biggest threats is Herro.  I'd like to see a lot of Romeo in this series....on Butler and Hero both..even on Iggy and Crowder a bit...Yes...no Semi....lots of Romeo.  Nothing wrong with clogging them up defensively.  Celtics in 7.

EDIT:  on Dragic too.  And Robinson. Jeeesh...the Heat are loaded with guys that can score who are of a size that Romeo could help with off the bench...

[Phantom255x]

I may be a little guilty of feeling overconfident here, but I actually think we'll win this series rather comfortably. Miami's tough but Toronto to me was a lot tougher overall.

I'm going to predict Celtics in 6

I think the Toronto series will prepare us well for this one, and also going forward beyond 2021. The series was filled with fierce competition, fantastic defense, some adversity, clutch moments, teachable moments, etc. Brad Stevens even admitted the Raps threw a lot of stuff out there that they didn't really know and it forced the C's to adjust many times. Don't forget, Nurse is COTY and even without Kawhi that Raptors team is great. Winning that Game 7 will do wonders for the young guys going forward and I think they all feel confident.

I'm hoping Kemba and Brown can for the most part at least neutralize the impact of Dragic and Butler, and Smart and others can defend the perimeter well. In theory Tatum should be the best overall player in this series and outplay their wings. He's the X-Factor, as is Hayward if he's able to return in the middle of the series.

[RodyTur10]

This is a series for Kemba to take.
Feels to me like Bam and Kemba are the guys that can dominate this series.

I also have Celtics in 6. Really happy that we don't have to face the Bucks.
Don't get me wrong, Miami is a really well constructed team, but they don't have an unstoppable guy like Antetokounmpo.

[gift]

Miami is probably good for making the Celtics look bad for a game or two. But overall I think the Celtics are more likely to win four games in the series.

[hwangjini_1]

i think the main two things are....

(1) celtics consistently play aggressive and hard defense, especially around the 3 point line.

(2) they don't stink up the joint with their 3 point shooting, as they did in game seven with toronto. tatum was 4-8 from 3 point land. the rest of the team was 5 for 30.  that is some truly craptastic shooting.

if they make their shots they will win the series.