As the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, the Miami Heat are on the rise and may face the Boston Celtics again in the playoffs.
After moving up to No. 5 in the rankings, the Miami Heat are now the second-hottest team in the Eastern Conference.
The Heat are only one and a half games behind the Knicks. At least one home playoff series would be guaranteed for the fourth seed. It would also imply that the Heat’s opponent in the second round would probably be the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics have a strong chance of securing the conference’s top seed. With 24 games left, they lead the Cleveland Cavaliers by 7.5 games.
The current rivalry between the Heat and the Celtics in the playoffs has surpassed that of the Heat-Knicks in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since 2020, they have been in three conference finals. 2020 saw the Heat win, and 2022 saw the Celtics win.
During their most recent match, tensions flared. Following a fight two weeks prior, Celtics player Jaylen Brown and Heat forward Duncan Robinson exchanged expletives. Robinson was thrown into the stands by Brown as it came to a conclusion.
Following their 106-96 victory over the Portland Trailblazers on Tuesday night, the Heat have now won five straight games. During that time, they have triumphed over elite playoff teams including the Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans, and Philadelphia 76ers.
This season, the Heat have lost just one, to the Celtics, who have won all three of their games. The Heat’s 33-point loss on January 25 was among their worst of the year.
But the Heat and Celtics have to get ready for their rematch with the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals on Thursday before we can even discuss about them again.
