Boston Sends Miami Fishing

Curry Looking For First Finals MVP

Photo: Special to the NY Beacon

By Andrew Rosario

 

Jimmy Butler carried the Miami Heat for most of the playoffs and wanted to be a hero in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Boston Celtics came out strong to start the game behind Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart and won for the third time at FTX Arena Sunday night 100-96 as Butler’s 3-point clanged off the front of the rim with the Heat trailing by 2.

 

In typical NBA fashion, the Miami Heat went on a late run that saw them erase a 13-point lead with 3 minutes and 35 seconds. Instead of taking the ball to hole, Butler pulled up for the trifecta only to see the shot come up short. “My thought process was go for win,” said Butler afterward. “Missed a shot but I’m taking that shot. My teammates liked the shot that l took. So I’m living with it.”

 

Miami’s head coach Erik Spoelstra did not have a issue with Butler’s attempt. “I thought it would have been an incredible storyline for Jimmy to pull up and hit that three,” Spo began. “I love that about Jimmy. That was the right look and l just though as it was leaving his hand, l thought for sure that was going down. It was a good, clean look.” 

 

Tatum finished his night scoring 26 points and added 10 rebounds as he was named the first Larry Bird Eastern Conference finals MVP. The last 3 years the Celtics lost in the playoff s to Milwaukee, Miami and Brooklyn. They got their revenge dropping all three teams this year. Said Tatum of getting even, “we’ve all been through tough times and we remember how that felt. We didn’t want to have that feeling again leaving here tonight.” Tatum paid homage to his idol Kobe Bryant by wearing a purple band on his left elbow with the number 24 on it.

 

It will be the first time that the Celtics will be in the Finals since 2010. They will be looking to win their 18^th title when they traveled to San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors Thursday night. The Warriors will be well rested having not played for a week after eliminating the Dallas Mavericks in 5 games. Golden State’s roster has 123 Final game experience as compared to zero for Boston. 

 

The Warriors have home court advantage but the Celtics have won on the road in the postseason including the series clincher. Boston will need to keep their defensive intensity as the Splash Brothers of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson can light it up on a hurry. Thompson missed the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 due to a torn ACL and Achilles’ tendon. Thompson talked about the long journey to not only get back on the court but to get back to the Finals. “This time last year, I was just starting to jog again and get up and down the court. And now to be feeling like myself, feeling explosive feeling sure of my movements, I’m just grateful.”

 

After Butler, Bam Adebayo scored 25 for Miami as no other Heat player scored more than 15 (Kevin Lowry). Tyler Herro did make an appearance but because of his groin problem only played 7 minutes. Smart and Brown scored 24 each helping the Celtics get out to the big lead.

 

In his first year as head coach for Boston, Ime Udoka guided the team to the Finals. It didn’t look like the Celtics would even make the playoffs after losing to the Portland Trailblazers in late January that saw their record to 23-24 as the team was bickering and point fingers at each other. Udoka held a meeting and the team responded by playing the best defense for the remainder of the season. “I couldn’t be more proud to be part of an organization that’s pushing for winning and championships,” he said after. “There are only 30 teams and l get that but to not be in a rebuild and being in an expectation, pressure filled situation, l wouldn’t trade that in any day.”

 

The New York Beacon sees the Golden State Warrior winning another title in 6 games. Look for Curry to take home his first Finals MVP.