But the game undeniably turned right then. It wasn’t Williams’ fault that the Celtics lost. It carried all the way down the floor until a foul after Butler scored 1-on-1, ending with Butler appearing to scream “Let’s go!” at him once they were separated. Though he had been taken out of the rotation for much of the playoffs by coach Joe Mazzulla, Williams played quite well when called upon Friday night and was a big part of why Boston got some separation on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter.īut Williams’ urge to trash talk on his way by Butler after hitting a 3-pointer with 6:37 left was just not a very smart compulsion to act on. At a point in the game when Miami was just a handful of possessions from being too far behind to come back, he drew inspiration from his confrontation with Williams. And yet the gap with Miami in those areas was glaring. It’s so strange, too, because Boston has been in far too many big playoff games to lose on toughness and mental mistakes. And as a result, Miami is playing with the confidence of a 1 seed while the Celtics crumble like imposters under even a little bit of pressure. They’re just mentally tougher and more purposeful than the Celtics. Then the Heat drew the Knicks, a team with significantly less playoff experience.īut doing this in Boston shows it wasn’t a fluke. 8 seed after Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo got injured in Game 1. In retrospect, it was a bit of good fortune for Miami to land at the No. Would Miami be pivoting to a rebuild? Would it have anything to offer for Damian Lillard or another big star that might come on the trade market? Was it time to trade one of its key younger players like Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro?įive weeks later, it’s fair to say the outlook is a lot different. The next day, the national discourse surrounding the Heat focused largely on whether this iteration built around Butler, with an aging Kyle Lowry and a bunch of no-name role players, was still viable. 7 seed but got hammered at home by the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament. Keep in mind, Miami was actually supposed to be the No. But given what this team had done in the regular season - or more accurately hadn't done - this playoff run is almost incomprehensible. Sure, the Heat organization has an incredible pedigree. 8 seed that stands at the precipice of taking out Milwaukee, New York and Boston. In what was supposed to be the most competitive Eastern Conference playoffs in recent memory, it’s the No. u0MC3Mhysh- Hoop Central May 20, 2023Īnd now, with a 2-0 series lead heading home, Miami is heavily favored to reach the NBA Finals with a team that didn't figure to make it out of the first round. Jimmy Butler’s reaction to Grant Williams.
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