Erik Spoelstra still believes the Heat can overcome the Celtics

The Miami Heat have become a genuine thorn in the Boston Celtics side. They eliminated the Celtics in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals. And they almost stood in the way of Boston’s trip to the NBA Finals in 2022. Now, they’re tasked with slowing down Joe Mazzulla’s roster in the opening round of the postseason. Boston currently leads 2-1 following their win on Saturday (April 27). When speaking to the media following his team’s latest loss, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra refused to accept that his team is outmatched. Miami is missing its star player, Jimmy Butler, along with Terry Rozier and Josh Richardson. To make matters worse for the Heat, Boston is arguably the best team in the NBA this season.

“We have our guys, we have enough to get the job done,” Spoelstra said. “We understand the challenge and that’s what our competitors love about this series. We know we have to play hard and we also have to play well.”

Boston has dominated the Heat in two of their three meetings. They will undoubtedly be expecting to have similar success when the teams face off for game four on Monday (April 29).

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However, Spoelstra believes his team will be ready to rise to the occasion and even out the series.

“We’ll get to work and work on getting a better version for ourselves for Monday night, which we’re fully capable of,” Spoelstra said. “We understand that. We have competitors. Nobody feels good about this in our locker room. But we also respect Boston, what they’re capable of.”

Spoelstra may be the best coach in the NBA, but his confidence is likely misplaced. Boston is the more talented team in this matchup, and that should shine through in the upcoming games. Butler’s absence has hit the Heat hard. Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ [lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=590969556]