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Going into this series we knew the Boston Celtics would most definitely be the favorites, however, after two prime performances by Jimmy Butler and an unlikely cast of undrafted players proving their worth in the NBA, and some abysmally uninspired Celtics performances, we got to a 3-0 lead that really should’ve never happened. Although Miami was the better team in those first three games, Boston was its own downfall.

Photo Courtesy: CBS Sports

Live by the 3 and die by the 3 seemed to be etched into Boston’s mindset and so Joe Mazzulla sent his team out to see if they can outshoot Miami. Unfortunately this proved to be the Celtics’ own demise when the pivotal moments mattered. For example, Game 1 (10-29 – 34.5%), Game 2 (10-35 – 28.6%), Game 3 (11-42 26.2%), leading all the way up to Games 6 and 7 shooting a combined (16-77), including a 1st Qtr Game 7 that ended 0-8 from 3. That is not a stat line any NBA team deserving of a 2nd Seed would like to hear. Watching this series it felt like Boston’s strategy of playing simply through the 3 ball felt overall redundant especially against Miami’s killer zone defense. Boston had the upper hand when it came to continuously making Miami guess who was going to take the shot and moving the ball beautifully. However, it only meant so much as the Celtics seemed allergic to the paint, and it worked in games 5 & 6, but, the Celtics wanted to take a different direction that simply did not work at all. Jayson Tatum tried his best, yet felt semi-uninvolved in certain parts of the series, (Game 7 should not be considered his fault as he came down with a nasty rolled ankle in the very first possession which limited his play), Jaylen Brown showed signs of greatness, but it seems in the playoffs things are not to be taken lightly, or with doubt and so the turnovers and mistakes ensued. Marcus Smart played his game, yet felt like a turnover machine at times, Al Horford had solid defense on certain players but could not hit a 3 to save his life, Derrick White proved to be the hero of these last two affairs, hitting the game winner with 0.1 seconds left in game 6, yet Joe Mazzulla simply did not want to play through him, and that is where the issue starts that the Miami Heat are not afraid of doing.

Photo Courtesy: NBA

We could go on and on about what Boston could’ve done differently, but we will give them their flowers for almost doing the impossible, and wait to see what moves we see this off-season that may provide a lot of help for them. Let’s talk about the Heat. A great beginning of the series for Jimmy Butler and maybe it being fatigue mentally or physically, he seemed a bit shallow in Games 5 & 6, but was active when you need him to be, and we will see what version of Butler we get in the Finals. Bam looked good but not great, however, we will talk about the true stars of the show, the undrafted players. Caleb Martin scoring 26 in a closeout Game 7 and averaging a deadly 49% from 3 and 60% from the field in this Eastern Conference Finals, while Gabe Vincent averaging 15.8 PPG as well as 52% from 3 and 48% overall from the field in this series, as well as Duncan Robinson with an efficient 11.4 PPG with 48% from 3 and 56% from the field. These. Players. Made. The. Difference. I cannot stress enough the props Erik Spoelstra deserves for the fearless tactic of playing through other players, other than Jimmy Butler, a tactic that can backfire horribly, but worked beautifully against the Celtics.

Photo Courtesy: HEAT Nation

From night to day, their shooting was impeccable and deserves all the credit in the world, even when Jimmy and Bam aren’t having the best nights, it’s amazing to rely on the depth of the bench to finish the job for you, which definitely raises questions for a lot of teams in the NBA, are we really needing to see only a few stars to carry a team while average players sit on the bench awaiting their turn, or do you create carefully crafted teams like Denver and Miami that just so happen to have the efficiency they need to succeed. That is a question that will be answered with this Finals. It feels like the right teams are in it, Denver with their play that has remnants of a prime Greg Popovich led San Antonio Spurs that was never flashy but could easily beat you by 20 if needed, or the unlikely underdog eighth seeded Miami Heat that has toppled Giants this postseason in the 1 seeded Milwaukee Bucks and 2 seeded Boston Celtics. All we know is we are in for an absolutely incredible affair, and hopefully an NBA Finals for the ages as we crown a brand new champion.