The Miami Heat looked like a broken team after the trade deadline, dropping ten straight games after dealing away Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors. Slowly but surely, Erik Spoelstra has managed to put fit some of his new pieces together in the wake of the blockbuster deal that gave him four new player additions.
The Heat arrived in Boston Wednesday night having won five straight games overall, which has suddenly put them back in the mix as a first round opponent for the Celtics. Their momentum continued at TD Garden as they led by as many as 22 points on Wednesday night before holding off a second half Celtics rally to pull away for an impressive 124-103 win.
The stage is very much set for the Heat to continue their climb up the East standings after their upset win in Boston amid a six-game winning streak.. They currently sit in the No. 9 spot, just 1.5 games back of the Magic and Hawks for a spot in the East 7 vs. 8 play-in tournament game that will determine Boston’s first round opponent.
The Heat close with a very soft schedule, with four of their final six games coming against sub .500 teams including three tanking squads in Philadelphia, New Orleans and Washington. Miami also will likely end up with a tiebreaker edge over the Hawks in the standings via division record.
With two head-to-head meetings still looming between Orlando and Atlanta in the final week of the regular season, the door is open for Miami to have the opportunity to play their way into what has been the NBA’s biggest playoff rivalry this decade.
The Celtics and Heat have faced off in four of the last five postseasons, with the only missed season coming during the 2021 playoffs when Boston lost to the Nets in the first round. The Celtics beat the Heat in last year’s first round and also in the East Finals during the 2020, 2022 and 2023 East Finals. The two teams have split those four series overall with Boston winning in 2022 and 2024 and the Heat winning in 2020 and 2023.
Despite the years of battles, there remains a level of respect between the two franchises, particularly for Heat coach Erik Spoelstra after he spent time coaching Jayson Tatum, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday on Team USA this summer.
“That entire experience was an incredible blessing,” Spoelstra said Wednesday. “I mentioned to all of the Celtics that summer: I hated myself for actually liking them. And then admitting it, I hated myself even more. Just quality human beings. Great competitors. Great basketball players.”
The Celtics would stand out as overwhelming favorites in any potential Heat matchup given the massive talent discrepancy between the two squads. However, Spoelstra always finds creative ways to test Boston in the postseason. One more potential showdown to the rivals would add an extra layer of intrigue to what would otherwise be considered a walkover series for Boston.
