The Boston Celtics have been sloppy against a Miami team that thrives on executing perfectly. Boston has turned the ball over eight more times and has been outrebounded by 11. The Heat seemingly want it more than the Celtics, who continue to sleepwalk through a postseason in which the path back to the Finals couldn’t seem more clear given a healthy Milwaukee’s elimination in the first round. Jimmy Butler’s continued across-the-board dominance, coupled with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown taking turns with disappearing acts, prove that point thus far through two games.
And yet, before the series even started, Miami was counted out to an extreme extent: the Heat were given just a 3% chance of advancing past the Cs in the Eastern Conference Finals by ESPN Analytics — a prediction that is now looking freezing cold in hindsight, bordering on satire.