The Boston Celtics roared back into their Eastern Conference Finals series against the Miami Heat on May 23, registering a 102-82 victory to tie the series.
Yet, for some reason, Skip Bayless of Fox Sports remains unimpressed with Boston’s level of play throughout the post-season, noting that he believes Miami is the better team and will win the series in seven games.
“First, I’m going to take care of my Miami Heat, which will win this series in seven games…Here is the silver lining, the glass is half full that nobody is talking about; this is why I believe the Miami Heat will games five and seven at home because the Celtics are getting a pass because of the final score. And the deluge of a deficit in the middle of this game and late in the first quarter and so on.
But did you notice that Jayson Tatum is back with one-out-of-seven from free? Would you believe Jaylen Brown is at it again with one out of eight from three? Would you believe that Derrick White made all the difference in the world with one out of eight from three? Would you believe Grant Williams, the three-point bomber off the bench, went one out of five from three? And they still won by 20 points? That’s because the Heat quit to start the game,” Bayless said on a recent episode of The Undisputed, as he brushed off Boston’s big game four victory.
Ime Udoka Wants Celtics to String Wins Together
At this juncture of the playoffs, every team deals with minor injuries to multiple players. Post-season basketball is known for its increased physicality and short turn-around time between games – that’s why so many star-level talents are having off nights at the moment.
But, despite rosters being banged up and Robert Williams being a game-to-game decision due to knee swelling, the Celtics need to figure out how to string wins together – something that has alluded them for multiple weeks at this point, except for games six and seven against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The fact of the matter is that Boston players better with their backs against the wall – they like being the underdog. But if you want to progress out of the Eastern Conference Finals and make it to the big dance, asserting your dominance is a right of passage.
When speaking to the media on May 24, Celtics head coach Ime Udoka noted how his team needed to bottle their intensity and unleash it when coming into a game following a victory.
“But we’ve got two teams that will always fight and give themselves a chance. I’ve known Miami and Spo (Erik Spoelstra) for a while now, and that’s the epitome of who they are – toughness; both teams have matched that energy coming off of losses, but now it’s our turn to match that energy coming off a win,” Udoka told reporters via Zoom.
Game Five Holds Incredible Value
It’s easy to point at Boston’s game seven win against the Bucks and expect them to do the same in this series should they fall short in game five on May 25, but there is one huge difference – Miami owns home-court advantage for this series.
Sure, both Boston and Miami have secured wins on their opponent’s home court, but doing so in a do-or-die game to end the series is a totally different scenario. That’s why the Celtics will be eager to win game five before heading back to Boston, because not only does it pile the pressure on the Heat, it puts the team in a situation to close out the series at the TD Garden.
“When you lose a game, we feel like the next game is do-or-die, and then we come out and play how we did (in game four), and now, we need to have that mindset going into game five,” Tatum told the media following Boston’s blow-out victory in game four.
Put simply, if Boston loses game five, not only do they have to win the following two games, but they have to win the final game away from home – that changes the dynamic of this series, and that’s why whoever wins the next game, will become favorites to progress out of the Eastern Conference Finals.
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Skip Bayless Gives Disrespectful Prediction on Celtics Playoff Chances