Game 2 of the Boston Celtics’ first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat is scheduled to take place on Wednesday night from the TD Garden in Boston, and Jaylen Brown and the team are currently preparing for that matchup. While Brown didn’t exactly stuff the stat sheet, the fact that Boston was still able to win convincingly was a testament to the immense depth that Brad Stevens and company have assembled on the roster in 2023–24. The Celtics got off to a great start to the series on Sunday afternoon, blowing out the Heat by twenty points in a game that was never within single digits in the second half.
Still, the Celtics, who will face their South Beach pals for the third consecutive postseason, are the ones who know that the Heat are a formidable foe.
As for the Heat, Brown himself anticipates a fierce and tenacious team to come out in full force on Wednesday night for Game 2.
They will experience hunger. According to Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, Brown stated, “Desperate.” “They will initiate the figҺt with great speed and aggression, attempting to subdue us physically in any manner possible.”
“However, we’ll be prepared to take the same action.”
Naturally, the Heat are not at full strength because they are missing their greatest player, Jimmy Butler, as well as talented wing slasher Josh Richardson and point guard Terry Rozier, who were acquired before the trade deadline, all of whom are sidelined due to injuries.
That shouldn’t deter the Celtics from wanting to exert maximum pressure in this series.
The Celtics have now defeated the Heat seven times in their previous eight meetings, dating back to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals one season ago. Following their victory on Sunday, they are currently 4-0 this season.
That one loss, of course, was significant—after all, it was Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and a trip to the NBA Finals was at stake. In that match, Boston was completely outmatched as phenom Jayson Tatum twisted his ankle just before the game began, taking the enthusiasm out of TD Garden.
But the Celtics’ offseason purchases and trades paid off on Sunday afternoon in Game 1. Kristaps Porzingis, in particular, looked like the best player on the court for much of the afternoon, giving the offense—which stagnated far too often in the previous postseason—a little more versatility and unpredictability.
Fans will recall the 30-point lead the Celtics held at halftime against the Hawks in the opening playoff game of the previous season, which ultimately resulted in the series extending to six games when it should have ended in four. Of course, this is only Game 1.
The bottom line is that as the postseason goes on, Boston will need to demonstrate that it is a different team.