The Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics’ epic battle in the playoffs has become an Eastern Conference staple. The two teams have met three times in the Eastern Conference Finals in the last four seasons, with Miami advancing to the Finals twice and Boston making it to the Championship series once. The two teams are set to lock horns once again in the playoffs this season, this time in the first round of what promises to be an absolute dogfight of a playoff series. However, the Heat could enter the series with a serious handicap, especially with the recent concerns regarding the health of their centerpiece, Jimmy Butler.
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The Celtics have finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA and their difference with the Miami side has never seemed more prominent. The Heat has had a disappointing, injury-riddled campaign, somehow making the playoffs following a win over the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament.
They were without superstar guard Jimmy Butler in the contest, who was sidelined with the MCL injury he suffered against the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this week.
The Heat took care of business against the Bulls without Butler and it seems like they’ll have to get used to doing that from now on. As per the Heat’s latest injury report, the veteran guard has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain and will be sidelined for ‘multiple weeks.’ He will be ‘out’ of the Heat’s Game 1 matchup at TD Garden tonight as well.
The odds were already stacked against the eight-seeded Heat against the deep Celtics squad. Butler’s injury could potentially be a fatal blow to their chances of beating the Celtics.
Do the Heat have a chance against the Celtics without Jimmy Butler?
Playing without Jimmy Butler is not unfamiliar territory for the Heat. The superstar guard missed 22 games during the regular season and the do-or-die play-in tournament game against the Bulls. Miami won 14 and lost nine of the 23 games they’ve played without their franchise cornerstone. However, of their 13 wins, only eight were against teams with a winning record – two of them against the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers.
The Heat will draw motivation from the one game they played against the Celtics without Butler and succumbed to a narrow 4-point loss. That game was an indicator of Miami’s unbreakable spirit when facing insurmountable odds and they’ll believe they can push Boston as far as they possibly could.
The Lakers have beaten the Celtics in the playoffs without LeBron and AD. So the Boston side is certainly not invincible. But we can expect them to up the tempo in the playoffs without holding anything back.
