1. Well, that sucked.
The Boston Celtics had a chance to make it to the NBA Finals. They were at home. They didn’t get it done.
But all credit to the Miami Heat. They came out aggressively and they took this game. On the road no less.
Many are making the comparison to 2012, when the Heat came into Boston and LeBron James dominated to even up the series and send it back to Miami for a Game 7. It’s fair in the sense that a veteran Heat forward dominated on the road to keep his team alive.
Where that comparison falls short is on the Celtics side. That 2012 team was held together with duct tape, string and bubble game. The Big 3 were on their last legs, Rajon Rondo was hurt, and the Boston bench was bad.
These Celtics are better than those Celtics were. That 2012 group never really should have been there. They got there with veteran know-how, their championship pedigree and an overwhelming sense of pride.
This Celtics team should be here. Their time is now. It’s up to them to end the 2012 comparisons by winning a Game 7 in Miami, something those Celtics legends couldn’t do.
2. As we dive into the game, we have to start with Jimmy Butler. He was simply unguardable. He started off with 14 points in the first quarter, including hitting a couple of three-pointers. When those are going down, you have a sense it’s going to be a long night.
In the second quarter, Butler added seven more points and also did some playmaking.
He scored nine more points in the third quarter. But Butler missed a couple of jumpers and it looked like he might have been running out of steam.
Nope.
In the fourth, Butler was best of all. He scored 17 points and seemingly made every big play the Heat needed.
It’s hard from the Celtics point-of-view to appreciate what Butler did, because it hurt so much. If you can step back and look at Butler’s night as just a basketball fan, you’ll come away amazed.
3. At halftime, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were dialed in. They…
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