2022 Eastern Conference finals – Page 2

ESPN broadcaster Mike Breen to miss Celtics-Heat Game 7 after positive COVID test

The Celtics and Heat injury reports remain unchanged, however.

The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat‘s injury reports look largely familiar heading into their decisive Game 7 showdown in Florida this Sunday evening, but at least one familiar face will be missing from the broadcast once the game gets underway.

It isn’t Boston big man Robert Williams III (knee) or Celtics point guard Marcus Smart (foot sprain), nor Heat wing Tyler Herro (groin). Those players are all questionable along with a slew of Miami players dealing with notable dings and nicks and reserve forward Sam Hauser (shoulder) of the Celtics the only definite scratch. It is instead announcer Mike Breen according to the Boston Globe’s Chad Finn, who has reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 and will sit the contest out.

Mark Jones will replace him on the call per Finn, with an ESPN spokesperson relating that Breen feels fine and expects to be calling Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Finals on Thursday, June 3.

Both Williams and teammate Derrick White agree Boston can’t be looking past them to the finals if they want to win. https://t.co/X1S44Pr9DM

— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 29, 2022

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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‘Nothing has been easy,’ says Celtics coach Ime Udoka, who expects Boston to win Game 7 vs. the Miami Heat

Can the Celtics find a way to advance?

Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka was clearly hoarse after the team’s Game 6 loss to the Miami Heat at TD Garden on Friday night, likely for the same sort of shouting in frustration many fans in the arena and at home were joining him in doing.

A return of the avoidable turnovers, bad passes, and questionable shot selection that have driven the Celtics’ losses in this series so far was on full display Friday and squandered an opportunity to secure their spot in the 2022 NBA Finals playing the Golden State Warriors as a result. Yet, Udoka did not seem to lack confidence even as his voice lacked its usual timbre.

“We’ve been a resilient group, and overcome a lot of things this year,” he related.

Are the Boston Celtics the more likable team in the East finals?

Known more as a blue-collar basketball city than a franchise oozing NBA charisma, that might be changing.

Are the Boston Celtics getting so much love as a potential NBA Finals participant for how likable they are as much as their overall capabilities on the court? According to one analyst, that is at least part of the equation. Rich Eisen, host of the eponymous sports talk show on NBC’s Peacock platform and SiriusXM, makes such a case.

“With all due respect to Heat fans, I think Celtics-Warriors would be a much more enjoyable and competitive finals,” suggested Eisen on a recent show. “They are a very likable team,” he added, admitting the fact they were Celtics still bothers him as a New York Knicks fan still scarred by the original “Big Three” of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish.

Check out the rest of the clip to see why Eisen, despite his rooting interests, thinks that Boston would be the better team to advance.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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‘If it was easy, it wouldn’t be us,” says Derrick White of Celtics’ failure to close out Miami Heat in Game 6

He and his teammates remain confident they can win Game 7.

The Boston Celtics always seem to play their best when their collective backs are against the wall, and they managed to put themselves right back into such a position after squandering a chance to close out their 2022 Eastern Conference finals series against the Miami Heat on their home court of TD Garden on Friday night.

Now, instead, they will travel to Florida to play the Heat on their home court for a decisive Game 7, disappointing fans and putting their seemingly-certain trip to the finals in doubt. Can the Celtics win on the road against a gritty, disciplined opponent like the Heat?

“We’re frustrated,” explained Celtics reserve guard Derrick White after the loss. “But, if it was easy, it wouldn’t be us.”

Both Williams and teammate Derrick White agree Boston can’t be looking past them to the finals if they want to win. https://t.co/TAglcVB1aR

— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 28, 2022

‘The medical staff in the Miami Heat looked like they deserved the MVP,’ says ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith of Heat’s Game 6 win

Miami played like a very different team in Game 6 than in the prior contest that saw them hobbled by injuries.

“I’m sitting here shell-shocked,” related ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith after the Boston Celtics‘ Game 6 loss to the Miami Heat at TD Garden Friday night. “I was absolutely stunned by the spectacular performance that Jimmy Butler had — not because I thought he wasn’t capable of it if healthy.”

“I told you last game watching these guys over the last two games, it felt like an infirmary,” he added referring to not only Butler’s knee inflammation but injuries that had been hobbling five other teammates in recent games that magically seemed to heal overnight. “Somehow, someway, the medical staff in the Miami Heat looked like they deserved the MVP,” suggested Smith.

The Celtics could have punched their ticket to the 2022 NBA Finals with a win in Game 6 on Friday night. Now, this Sunday, they’ll have to try again in a decisive Game 7 showdown in Miami.

And with plenty of dings of their own, fingers crossed for a similar miracle from Boston’s medical staff as well.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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NBA, Celtics Twitter react to Boston’s 111-103 Game 6 loss to Heat

Miami was not ready to go quietly into the night.

The Boston Celtics could have been taking some time off to rest while punching their ticket to the 2022 NBA Finals, but instead had to sort out why they found themselves on the wrong side of a 111-103 box score in their Game 6 matchup with the Miami Heat instead.

Fans of the Boston Celtics were of course quite displeased with the egg laid by their team at a potentially critical juncture, playing like a club that assumed their victory before even stepping on the court, their lack of hunger capitalized on by a Heat team not ready to go into the night quietly.

Let’s take a look at how Celtics and NBA Twitter responded to Boston blowing Game 6 of the East Finals on Friday night.

Heat at Celtics: Boston collapses late in Game 6, fall to Heat 111-103

Some of the best plays from Game 6 captured in images.

The Boston Celtics were in a position to close out their Eastern Conference finals series against the Miami Heat at TD Garden on Friday night, but failed to seal the deal with the Heat surviving to force a Game 7 on their home court with a 111-103 win.

Boston simply did not have an answer for a relatively healthy looking Jimmy Butler, who scored a playoff high 47 points to steal a road win on Boston’s home court. The Celtics saw solid games from forward Jayson Tatum (30 points, 9 rebounds), wing Jaylen Brown (20 points, 6 boards, 5 assists), and reserve guard Derrick White (22 points, 5 assists), but couldn’t seal the deal in the end.

Let’s take a look at some of the best plays from Game 6 captured in images.

Both Williams and teammate Derrick White agree Boston can’t be looking past them to the finals if they want to win. https://t.co/TAglcVB1aR

— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 28, 2022

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

Which Celtics player would most deserve the Larry Bird East finals MVP?

The award could realistically end up being fittingly given to a Celtics player — but who has the best claim on it if they do win?

The very first Larry Bird Eastern Conference finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) award could very conceivably end up being awarded to a member of the team that Hall of Famer played for with the Boston Celtics currently up 3-2 over the Miami Heat in the 2022 Eastern Conference finals.

But as poetic as that might end up being, there has to be a specific Celtics player to award it to in a series that has seen several Boston players make major contributions. All-NBA star swingman Jayson Tatum has been the team’s defensive engine for all but one contest, and fellow star forward Jaylen Brown a critical source of points as well. Big men Al Horford and Robert Williams III have both been key defensive backstops, while veteran point guard Marcus Smart an absolute warrior playing through not one but two sprains at the same time.

Which Celtics starter most deserves the award, should Boston be in a position to win it?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast recently debated this contentious issue with comedian and Celtics fan Gary Gulman. There’s certainly more than one good option — which argument do you favor?

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green thinks his Dubs will face the Boston Celtics in the 2022 NBA Finals

Boston has a closeout game to take care of first, though.

While the Boston Celtics seem focused on the team in front of them in a potential closeout game in the East finals, at least one member of the team that won the West finals already has his sights set on the Celtics. After his Golden State Warriors beat the Dallas Mavericks to clinch a spot in the 2022 NBA Finals, center Draymond Green was asked by “Inside the NBA” host Shaquille O’Neal which team coming out of the East he’d like to play.

Green attempted the diplomatic reply, but Shaq kept the heat on (pun intended) until the Dubs star relented and said “You’re asking me who I want to play, I’m going to tell you who I think we’re going to play,” said Green.

“We’re going to play Boston, okay?” he added. “That’s who we’re going to play.”

Celtics Lab 115: Diving into whether Boston can close out their East Finals series vs. the Miami Heat in Game 6 with Gary Gulman https://t.co/R3g6LMLSgC

— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) May 26, 2022

While it might be too early to say for certain that the Warriors big man has the matchup right, the star power and styles of play would indeed make for an exiting series pitting a rising force in the East against the West’s signature dynasty of the last decade.

But the Celtics need to win one more game against the Miami Heat first.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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How the Boston Celtics solved the Miami Heat’s swarming defense in the 2022 East finals

Can they replicate this approach in Game 6 to close out the series?

The Boston Celtics may not have made any major changes to how they played against the Miami Heat in the 2022NBA Eastern Conference finals series they are currently leading 3-2, but with a series of small changes to how they played the Heat managed to take away one of Miami’s most important advantages.

How did the Celtics find a way to play against the Heat without turning the ball over as much as they had been earlier in the series? Game 3‘s 19 steals by Miami evidently was enough to force Boston to re-evaluate their approach on offense, and the way head coach Ime Udoka and the Celtics responded was the subject of a recent video by “Thinking Basketball’s” Ben Taylor.

What adjustments did Udoka make to give Boston the upper hand in the series? Check out the clip embedded below to hear Taylor’s take on how the Celtics found success against one of the league’s only defenses in the same neighborhood as theirs.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

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