Dual Boston Celtics duels should really test the Miami Heat’s mettle

The Miami Heat aren’t necessarily in a good place, yet, they aren’t necessarily in a bad place either.

Needing to still sort quite a few things out, such as rotations, a piece or so, consistent health, distribution of shots and responsibility, and consistent cohesion in all phases of the game, it does seem as though they have way more to fix than they have in one piece.

But that isn’t explicitly the case either. Having to rely on other guys during this most recent stretch of poor health, such as Kyle Lowry, Caleb Martin, or Bam Adebayo, the Miami Heat have actually found something that can be of extreme use moving forward.

The key is that none of those guys can concede, regress, or be less assertive due to the presence of Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro. But that’s something that will have to play itself out over the immediate yet elongated future, meaning it’ll reveal itself soon enough, but can only happen by playing more games.

The Miami Heat are looking to bounce back from early turmoil this year and look to be capable. Their next two games will tell them exactly where they are though.

Something that will be revealed in the most immediate of immediacy is exactly where the Heat are right now when it comes to their place in the NBA and the Eastern Conference.

They’ll have a barometer of where they are right now and how far they need to go to get to where they want to be after Friday night. Facing off against the conference and league-leading Boston Celtics twice in consecutive duels Wednesday and Friday, the Miami Heat’s mettle will really be tested as they battle it out twice with the Cs in TD Garden.

There are also a few other facts to consider with it all. These very same Celtics came into the Miami Heat’s place for the second game of the season to hand them a seven-point defeat, 111-104.

And of course, who could forget how these Celtics, well, most of them anyway, were the team that ended Miami’s season last year. The shot that just missed by Jimmy Butler was the one that ended a tough and hard-fought seven-game Eastern Conference Finals series.

And even beyond that, there’s the whole recent rivalry of the last few years, from many hotly contested matchups to the Bam Block in the bubble. You remember, this one.

So, yea, the Miami Heat should know exactly where they stand and where they need to be following Friday. And to be frank and at worst, that should still only mean a 1-1 split with the boys in Beantown.

Again, that should be the result—at the very worst.