Heat Recognize ‘Challenge’ Celtics Present In First-Round Playoff Series

BOSTON -- Before the NBA Playoffs commenced it was widely understood that whoever would be booked for a first-round date with the league-best Celtics would have their work cut out for them, and that's been the case exactly.

The shorthanded Heat, fighting to keep their season alive without the critical assistance of team leader Jimmy Butler, learned that the hard way during Sunday's Game 1 matchup. Boston out-performed Miami from the get-go, taking off on a 14-0 game-opening run and forcing the Heat to take a desperation timeout less than two minutes into the first quarter. From there, the Celtics stiff-armed their Eastern Conference foe and kept Miami from ever possessing a lead.

"This is the deal. If you want to win, you have to wrap your mind around doing tough things," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday night before Game 2 at TD Garden. "Every opponent presents a different kind of challenge. This is a challenge. They play a lot of five-out. They have guys that can really get it going from there -- they shoot a high volume of them. And then if you just stay at home, they also have a couple of guys that can put up big numbers. That's the deal and our task is figuring this out. It doesn't have to be perfect. We just have to do enough to win the game."

Last season, that wasn't a problem during the conference finals as Butler's toughness was thrown at the forefront of Miami's postseason game plan.

Now... the circumstances are significantly different.

Heat needed a timeout early 🤷 pic.twitter.com/ErWmbuAm6j

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— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) April 21, 2024

Considering how much the Celtics picked apart Miami's defense, from starting red-hot to notching their franchise's record in playoff threes (22) drained, the night was over well before the Heat had enough time to put forth a come-from-behind bid and compete. So Spoelstra's message, while optimistic, is much easier said than done.

Boston held four Miami starters to under 20 points and guarded the interior tremendously, resulting in a 44-24 scoring differential inside the paint. As desperation loomed and the Celtics remained poised for the larger portion of four quarters, the Heat also didn't find an answer in Caleb Martin's controversial foul on Jayson Tatum -- with under a minute left in regulation.

Martin's foul, which went unaddressed by the NBA, didn't faze Tatum or head coach Joe Mazzulla, even the slightest. Mazzulla mailed in a participation points response when asked if the play altered the team's perception of the physical line in place for both teams as the series progresses.

"Sure," Mazzulla said after chuckling at the question.

Mazzulla emphasized: "There's no difference between the regular season and the postseason besides physicality."

The Celtics carried their undefeated regular-season series record (4-0) against the Heat into the playoffs, doing exactly what they failed to do last postseason: defend the home-court advantage.

That, coupled with everything else the team's new-and-improved cast did correctly, from utilizing its diverse sources of offensive firepower to guarding the perimeter, could create a nightmare scenario (again) for the Heat in Wednesday night's Game 2 battle.