The Miami Heat and Boston Celtics will match up in the 2023 Eastern Conference finals.
This has become a trend over the last few seasons, with Boston and Miami meeting for the East's title in three of the last four seasons. The two squads have split their last two ECF meetings, with the Heat winning in 2020 on their way to getting crushed by the Los Angeles Lakers in the bubble NBA Finals and the Celtics winning in 2022 on their way to a crushing Finals defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors.
It's become one of the league's better rivalries, with familiarity breeding an even competition between the two sides.
That could be why Heat star Jimmy Butler, despite entering the postseason as the No. 8 seed in the conference, is so confident.
"This year is our year," Butler said Tuesday, per WPLG Sports. "We're going to go into this Game 1 and do what we're supposed to do and be the first one to four. We're very capable of it, we have enough, guys are playing incredible basketball. I like our chances, as does everyone else in this organization."
The Celtics are an overwhelming favorite entering this series, with ESPN analytics giving Boston a 97% chance to punch its ticket to the Finals. That much means next to nothing, but is representative of the prevailing thought that the C's will come away with the series win.
The Heat, on the other hand, were never supposed to make it this far. Miami lost the opening play-in game to the Atlanta Hawks, which forced them to scrap a win away from the Chicago Bulls to even qualify for the playoffs. The 1-1 play-in record matched them up with the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks in the first round, where they shocked the world and eliminated Giannis Antetokounmpo and company in five games. A quick trouncing of the New York Knicks in the second round and here they are.
Yes, the Celtics should win the series and play in their second-consecutive NBA Finals. Just don't count on Butler and the Heat to lay down without a fight.
