Last season, the Miami Heat shocked the NBA world by making a run to the NBA Finals. They emerged from the 2023 NBA play-in tournament and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics before losing to the Denver Nuggets. Two games into the 2024 playoffs, Erik Spoelstra’s team is threatening to embark on another mind-boggling run.
The Heat lost to the Boston Celtics in the opening game of their first-round playoff series on Sunday. Then they bounced back by hitting 23 three-point shots on Wednesday, tying the series in the process. Suddenly, the Celtics look like they could be in danger.
Speaking to the media at his postgame news conference, Heat center Bam Adebayo urged his team to adopt a cage-fighter mentality for the remainder of the series.
“We’ve been doubted a lot through our playoff runs, people saying we couldn’t do a lot of stuff that we did,” Adebayo said. “So for me and my team, why lose belief now? Our backs are against the wall. Everybody’s against us. So just use that as fuel. Our guys believe we can win. So let’s make it mano a mano — a cage fight. Let’s hoop.”
The Celtics boast arguably the most talented roster in the NBA. They’re clear favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference. However, the Heat have consistently found ways to gain an edge against their rivals. They defeated them in the Eastern Conference Finals last season and came within one game of sending them home in 2022. Miami knows how to get under the Celtics’ skin.
Spoelstra’s team shouldn’t win another game in this series. They’re down three players, and the Celtics are too deep. Basketball isn’t played on paper, though. Adebayo knows his team can be a thorn in Boston’s side. He knows that if they hang around long enough, they could have a chance to cause another massive upset in the first round.
Miami’s key to success is playing physical, well-coached basketball. They showed their blueprint on Wednesday. Now, they need to be ready to roll with the punches if they want to force a Game 6 or even a Game 7.
