Jimmy Butler dropped 28 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, leading the Miami HEAT past the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. After the win, Butler was named series MVP, holding the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP award. But if you ask Jimmy Buckets, the HEAT has done nothing.
“I just know why Coach Pat and Coach Spoelstra wanted me to be here,” Butler said to ESPN. “And that’s to compete at a high level and to win championships.
“I know that the group that they put around me at all times is going to give me an opportunity to do so. … I know the work that we all put into it, so I know what we’re capable of. Nobody is satisfied. We haven’t done anything. We don’t play just to win the Eastern Conference; we play to win the whole thing.”
The HEAT will get guard Tyler Herro back in the middle of the NBA Finals but the team has made adjustments all playoffs long.
“When a guy goes down, the next guy could fill in that gap and do exactly what that guy that went down did — and do it at a high level,” Butler said. “Then be humble enough to know that when that guy comes back, you’ve got to take a step back and get back in your role. Nobody ever complains. They always do exactly what you ask of them to do, which is why you want to play with guys like that, which is why they are the reason we win so many games.
“I don’t call them role players; I call them teammates, because your role can change any given day.”
Who do you have to win the NBA Finals? Miami HEAT at Denver Nuggets begin on Thursday.
Kendrick Perkins is a huge Boston Celtics fan. Overall, this should not be a surprise to anyone. After all, he played for the Celtics and got to experience some great seasons with them. However, there is no doubt that his fandom has been ramped up a bit when you consider how they are about to come back from an unfathomable deficit. The Celtics were down 3-0 to the Miami Heat. Subsequently, they won three-straight games and now get to play a Game 7 at home. If they win, they will become the first team in NBA history to come back from an 0-3 deficit and win the series.
Heading into this game, most people believe the Celtics will end up winning. Overall, this is due to the fact that they have momentum on their side. Moreover, the Heat look pretty cooked right now. They can’t hit big shots, and Jimmy Butler has been outplayed. Not to mention, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown should be enough for the team to get over the hump and win. All-in-all, the pundits have the Celtics pulling off the comeback of the century.
This includes Kendrick Perkins, who spoke about Game 7 today on First Take. As you can see in the clip above, he is taking the Boston Celtics to win this matchup. Ultimately, that is not a surprise. However, it is worth noting just because he has been adamant about how good the Celtics are this season. Furthermore, he spoke about Jimmy Butler and Jayson Tatum’s legacies. In his mind, Butler has more to lose tonight, as he would be seen as the ultimate choke artist with a loss.
Legacy Talk
Considering how historic this comeback would be, you can’t help but agree with Big Perk. There is no excuse for losing this kind of series. Jimmy Butler’s talents would be put into question, and he would not be able to escape that, even if he tried. At the end of the day, he just has to go out there and win. Give us your big predictions on this game, in the comments section below.
When the Denver Nuggets swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, the Miami Heat were winning its Eastern equivalent against the Boston Celtics 3 to 0. As such, many NBA fans thought that another sweep was inevitable, but the Massachusetts team held on. After two victorious games, Game 6 tied the series thanks to an unbelievable play from Derrick White, clinching the win with just 0.1 seconds remaining. Sure, the shot was met with typical “the league is rigged” takes thanks to a clock controversy. Regardless, the Celtics are going back home for Game 7, a city that went absolutely ballistic with the Game 6 win.
Moreover, videos ran rampant online of Boston fans taking to the streets to celebrate. One clip in particular sees an athletic supporter climbing a street post and hyping up the massive crowd below him. From behind phone screens, one can’t even begin to imagine how electric the city must’ve been. “I’ve never been so excited to go back to Boston in my life,” Celtics star Jayson Tatum told press. Of course, the same applies to Miami, whose victory would’ve solidified the eighth-seed team’s absolute tear through the East- and lit their fans on fire. Still, given that both teams had their incredible moments and straight-up flops and fumbles in Game 6, anything could happen in the final game of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.
For example, Boston might have taken the dub on Saturday night (May 27), but it was their worst three-point performance of the whole season. On the other hand, Miami secured some truly remarkable clutch shots from the three-point line, but lost many chances to take the lead. On top of each team’s performance, the aforementioned clock controversy is a hot topic of debate in the NBA world right now. To sum it up, the Celtics were given an additional 0.9 seconds following their foul on Jimmy Butler (called with 2.1 seconds remaining) and his free throws, most likely due to refs maintaining that the foul took place at the 3.0 mark.
Derrick White Took The Celtics One Step Closer To The NBA Finals
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 28, 2023
However, other fans argued that refs missed Butler’s double dribble in the first place. These are two incredibly determined and passionate teams, and their fanbases are no different. With Game 7 taking place on Monday night (May 29), we can assume that there will be much tougher calls to make, much crazier plays to praise, and a whole lot of angry people on Twitter on both sides. If the Celtics win, it would make them the first team in league history to reverse a 3-0 trail in a playoff series. For the latest updates and news on the Celtics-Heat saga and the NBA post-season, come back to HNHH.
The Boston Celtics find themselves in the same Conference Finals fate as the Los Angeles Lakers: a 3-0 hole. On Sunday night, Jimmy Butler and the Miami HEAT had it all going, blasting the Celtics 128-102, putting Jayson Tatum and his team on the brink of elimination.
Jumped out to a big lead in front of our #WhiteHot crowd and never looked back. Look back at tonight’s Game 3 win Through The Lens @MiamiHEAT // @Chain
Butler had 16 points, eight rebounds, and six assists for the night. Gabe Vincent dropped 29 on a game-high six threes, and Bam Adebayo had 13 points composed of highlight poster dunks over Celtics defenders. Superstar All-NBA duo of Tatum and Jaylen Brown had 14 and 12 points, respectively.
At the end of the game, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla took the blame for the performance on the court.
“I just didn’t have them ready to play,” Mazzulla said. “I have to get them in a better place to be ready to play, and that’s on me.”
He added, “Some of that defensive identity has been lost and we have to get that back.”
On the opposite bench, HEAT hae coach Erik Spoelstra spoke glowingly of Vincent’s performance, just one game away from the NBA Finals.
“I thought he had as much of an impact and put his fingerprints on the win in Game 2 as he did tonight,” Spoelstra said. “One of the games he had four points; another game he had 29. And he has that emotional stability to — you know, he sees guys like Jimmy and Bam [Adebayo], who are the perfect role models.”
With the conference semifinals finished, it’s time for an NBA Conference Finals prediction. Only four teams remain in the playoffs as each one searches for a crucial victory to get them to the Finals, where they can taste the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Ironically, these four teams are the exact teams that stood in these positions three years ago during the bubble: Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, and Boston Celtics. It’s been an upset-filled playoff as a seven and eight seed have somehow made it this far. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steph Curry, Ja Morant, De’Aaron Fox, Jalen Brunson, Donovan Mitchell, and others are eliminated, but Jimmy Butler, LeBron James, Nikola Jokic, and Jayson Tatum remain.
These star players have dragged their teams to the Conference Finals. Many of them are probably exhausted from the work they’ve had to put in to get here. However, as the late, great Kobe Bryant once said: “The job’s not finished.” These teams would like to have two more series and end with a ring to cement their place in history. Here’s which teams will actually be able to do just that.
NBA Conference Finals Prediction: It’s Denver’s Ring To Lose
By most metrics, the Denver Nuggets are the best team remaining. They have arguably the most complete roster. They also have, with ease, the best player left in Nikola Jokic. The Nuggets dispatched Kevin Durant and withstood a historic Devin Booker series to win against the Phoenix Suns in six games. While the Suns were missing Chris Paul and DeAndre Ayton in Game 6, the series wasn’t all that difficult for Denver.
On the other side, it’s a miracle that the Lakers are still standing. They took on the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies and ousted them, thanks in part to the disrespect Dillon Brooks (who won’t be re-joining the team) showed LeBron James. Waiting next for the Lakers was Steph Curry and the reigning world champions, the Golden State Warriors. They dispatched them in six games without struggling all that much, either.
Can The Lakers’ Magic Continue?
Anthony Davis and LeBron James are possibly a stronger duo than any other team in the league. However, they don’t have the depth to take on Denver. While Anthony Davis is a defensive threat, no one has been able to stop Jokic. Denver has come up short the past few seasons and Jokic has been arguably the best player in the world during that time. They’re due for a championship if there ever was such a thing.
Jokic is the kind of player who can carry a team all the way. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to do it alone. His complementary pieces in Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. give them a nice starting lineup. Even Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is playing well. The Lakers have been on a magical run. It’s one that would go down in history if it were to go all the way. Unfortunately, a juggernaut stands in their way once again.
NBA Conference Finals Prediction: Denver Nuggets in seven games
NBA Conference Finals Prediction: Miami’s Luck Runs Out
The Miami Heat have had an impressive run to the Conference Finals. They withstood the play-in tournament to earn the eighth seed. They went on to dismantle the number one-seeded Milwaukee Bucks with relative ease. Jimmy Butler reminded everyone why he’s considered one of the best in the game in the process. They followed it up by dispatching the New York Knicks, too. They enter as major underdogs (+400 to Boston’s -525) in the series.
The Boston Celtics just had one of the more intense and enjoyable (from a fan perspective) series of the entire playoffs. They found themselves down 3-2 to the newly crowned MVP and his Philadelphia 76ers. Boston also trailed late in Game 6. They came back, Jayson Tatum said he was one of the best in the world. He followed that statement up with 51 points in Game 7 (a new Game 7 record) to seal it.
Will Boston Redeem Last Year’s Finals Loss?
The Celtics are a much better team than the Heat. Where the Heat is led by Butler and Bam Adebayo (two admittedly great players), the Celtics are led by two elite players in Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Both teams are extremely well-coached and this should be an entertaining series where everyone forgets that Miami is an eight-seed. Still, the Celtics’ talent should win out.
Tatum will be guarded by a top defender in Butler. Humbly, he is one of the best players in the world, though. If he’s being shut down, too, the C’s have other stars that can carry the load. They’re too deep and the Heat are too thin for their unprecedented run to continue. They should be applauded for making it this far, but it likely ends here. Both teams have been to a Finals recently (Boston last year and Miami in 2020 in the bubble). Ultimately, this means talent will win out.
NBA Conference Finals prediction: Boston Celtics in seven games
The Boston Celtics were expected to finish off the Atlanta Hawks in Game 5 of their first-round NBA Playoffs series on Tuesday, April 25, but the Hawks won, 119-117, and forced a Game 6 for Thursday, April 27. Free basketball is rarely a bad thing, but in this case, there was a cost.
Jayson Tatum felt bad for inconveniencing her. The Celtics later took care of the Hawks in Thursday night’s Game 6, 128-120. Tatum finished his on-court postgame interview by apologizing.
“I want to send an apology to the legend Janet Jackson,” the four-time All-Star said with a smile. “We were supposed to close it out in Boston. She had to postpone her show. I hope she sees this. I apologize for that, but we got it done today.”
“I wanna send an apology to the legend Janet Jackson… we were supposed to close it out in Boston. She had to postpone her show. I hope she sees this, you know, I apologize for that. But we got it done today.” – Jayson Tatum to Stephanie Ready
Jackson seems totally unbothered by the ordeal. She posted highlights from her April 26 show in Atlanta, the first of two nights, and captioned the Instagram post, “Atlanta, show 1 of 2 tonight! See you again Friday (congrats Hawks!) …swipe to see the band’s fave parts of the show. #TogetherAgainTour [basketball emoji].”
Jackson might run into another scheduling issue with the New York Knicks if a Game 5 is needed against the Miami Heat in their Eastern Conference semifinals series, which will begin this Sunday, April 30. A potential Game 5 would be at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, May 10 — Jackson’s second of two nights scheduled at MSG.
On Sunday, the Boston Celtics secured their third playoff win against the Atlanta Hawks to go up 3-1 against Trae Young and company in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Most people assumed that the Celtics would handle business on Tuesday when the teams returned to Boston to possibly close out the series with a Celtics. Unfortunately for the team up north, the Hawks snuck away with a game 5 win backed by Young’s 38 points to make the series 3-2 and force a game 6 back in Atlanta. That’s good news, right? Well not particularly. A short time after the game, fans noticed that the Hawks’ game 6 matchup was set to take place at the same time and place as Janet Jackson’sTogether Again Tour stop in Atlanta.
State Farm Arena double-booked the Hawks playoff game and a Janet Jackson concert for the same night
Yup, that’s right. A scheduling error by the State Farm Arena caused a double-booking of the Hawks’ next playoff game and Janet Jackson’s Together Again Tour stop. Games 5-7 in an NBA playoff series are usually marked as “if necessary” as they won’t be needed if the team accomplishes the coveted four-game sweep. So, the error could have been a result of a slight slip-up in remembering that these games could be needed. Then again, it could have also been an overly confident Hawks fan who believed that their team would sweep the second-rank Boston Celtics in four games. (As a Celtics fan, this reason would be great simply because of the “point-and-laugh” opportunity it gives me now that we’re up 3-2). Nonetheless, a slight error more times than not needs a slight correction.
State Farm Arena will host Game 6 of Hawks and Celtics on Thursday, moving Janet Jackson’s concert to Friday. Both events were previously scheduled on the same day.
Chris Haynes, the Senior NBA Insider for TNT & Bleacher Report, reported that the Hawks-Celtics game 6 matchup would take place on Thursday, April 27 while Janet Jackson Together Again Tour stop in Atlanta will be moved to Friday, April 28. Just like that, all is well in Atlanta as the city’s week of entertainment can continue without issue. Let’s just hope the Celtics can finally bring this series to an end.
Paul Pierce built his legacy on the court. The former Boston Celtics star became “The Truth” when it was winning time. The Celtics legend even helped bring a championship back to Boston. After his playing days, Pierce became a fixture on NBA on ESPN. However, the NBA legend lost it all after an Instagram story resulted in his firing. Now Pierce is speaking about the incident publicly. However, Pierce isn’t sure the firing was justifiable.
On Monday’s episode of the I AM ATHLETE podcast, Pierce spoke about the incident. “I got fired for having some entertainment… It’s girls dancing and we blowing some tree, what did I do wrong?” Pierce seemed to insinuate that what happened in his personal life shouldn’t have caused his firing. However, ESPN is a public company. Situations like the one involving Pierce are considered a bad look for such a popular company. Also, the parent company being, Disney, should give Pierce all the information he needs on the situation.
Paul Pierce Doesn’t Believe His Instagram Post Should’ve Resulted In His Firing
Paul Pierce recounts being fired from ESPN on his day off:
“I got fired for having some entertainment. What did I do wrong?”
Pierce isn’t oblivious to the situation. He understands the public embarrassment that comes in a situation like this. The Celtics legend talked about apologizing to his daughter for his actions. Pierce felt the only apology he should do was to his family for displaying the moment to the world. Upon his reflection, Pierce stands strong in his beliefs on the situation. NBA fans have seen recently how public posts can hurt a reputation and even potentially ruin a career. Grizzlies star Ja Morant has seen his career take a massive turn with his recent Instagram troubles.
Paul Pierce will always be known as a legend for the Boston Celtics. However, the social media controversy will always be a part of his legacy. But the controversy doesn’t seem to affect who Pierce is today. In addition, it does feel as if Pierce feels he shouldn’t have been fired for his actions. Where do you stand on the situation involving Pierce’s firing? Do you feel he deserves a second chance in another media role? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section. For the latest NBA news, keep it right here at HNHH.
Jaylen Brown’s injury couldn’t have happened at the worst time. The Celtics star has suffered a hand injury from an accident that happened off the court. Brown told the Boston media he needed five stitches in his right hand after cutting it on glass. According to the former Cal Bear, he said he dropped a vase at home, resulting in the injury. The unfortunate injury will likely sideline the Celtics star for the rest of the season. However, he will be available for the start of the playoffs.
The Celtics are one of the top teams heading into the NBA Playoffs. Brown is one half of a superstar duo in Boston. Jayson Tatum and Brown have led the Celtics through an amazing season. The team will be the two seed in the Eastern Conference for the playoffs. The Celtics are the reigning Eastern Conference Champions. As has been noted, Stephen A. Smith believes the Celtics are the best team in the NBA. That is high praise coming from one of the most prominent voices in the game.
Jaylen Brown Says Celtics Fans Shouldn’t Worry
Jaylen Brown suffered a cut to his right hand while picking up a glass vase he knocked over, per @JaredWeissNBA.
The Celtics forward required 5 stitches, but is expected to be ready for the start of the playoffs next weekend. pic.twitter.com/0zuDoi523S
However, it would be hard not to worry as a Celtics fan. In the photo above, it seems Brown’s hand is heavily bandaged. The injury is a tough break for the young star. Recently, there have been discussions among the media that Brown may not like his role in Boston. However, according to Brown, those reports are all just smoke and mirrors. Brown is enjoying his time in Boston. Also stating he has enjoyed watching Tatum grow on and off the court.
The Celtics will not know their first-round opponent until after the play-in tournament. If the current Eastern Conference seventh seed were to stay in that position, the Celtics would meet Miami. The Heat are just a few years removed from their own Eastern Conference title. A potential meeting between the two would be a massive matchup. Do you believe the injury will affect the way Brown plays? Let us know your thoughts on the injury in the comment section. As always, keep it right here at HNHH for the latest news in the NBA.
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