3 Reasons Miami Heat Should Be Favored Over Boston In ECF

Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat and Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics look on(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Jimmy Butler #22 of the Miami Heat and Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics look on(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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Miami Heat
Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics looks for an opening against the Miami Heat during the second quarter at TD Garden (Photo By Winslow Townson/Getty Images)

3 Reasons Miami Heat Should Be Favored Over Boston – Both Have Progressed

The last time the Heat faced the Celtics in the playoffs, both teams were a lot younger.

Then And Now

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were just growing into stardom. Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro were also rising stars at the time.

All four players are a lot better now than they were in that series. It is worth noting that although Tyler Herro had a breakout postseason and played very well in that series, his game has expanded since then, with him becoming a more well-rounded player than just the pure shooter we saw in 2020.

The Celtics have added a lot of great defenders such as Al Horford and Robert Williams to strengthen their roster and make them one of the top teams this year. The Heat added experienced vets in Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker as well.

Both have a championship pedigree and increase the overall defensive versatility for the Heat, allowing them to switch things with practically any defender. Both teams clearly got better.

But the edge should go to the Miami Heat because of how special Jimmy Butler has been in these playoffs (more on that later).