Sport Linkers 2
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Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat, 19:00
Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Clippers, 21:30
But it also provided way too much time to forget how outrageously good this team is, and fall back into the anxieties of years past. Less than one year ago, the Heat were responsible for one of the great crimes against peace since Taylor Swift released Reputation in 2017. They caused more than a little strife in my household and for Celtics fans worldwide, bending the space time continuum to oust Boston in a psychologically destructive manner.
It’s only natural to worry that might happen again, and I’m not going to sit here—grapes in hand—and tell you that it can’t. There’s always the chance Caleb Martin turns into his alter ego named Michael Jordan again, and I guess Nikola Jovic could unlock his inner Dirk Nowitzki or something. Maybe Haywood Highsmith finally uncorks his Paul George two-way upside?
All I’ll tell you is that it’s really, really, really… like really really really really… unlikely that it will happen again. The Heat will likely be without the crown prince of clutchness Jimmy Butler for the entire series, and fancy trade-deadline addition Terry Rozier may miss the start. This leaves their projected top nine looking like this: Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Caleb Martin, Nikola Jovic, Duncan Robinson, Haywood Highsmith, Kevin Love, and Delon Wright.
Are you kidding me? On paper—a place I know basketball isn’t played—the Celtics have the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, eighth, and ninth-best players in the series. The Heat have, like many years, been fairly mediocre the whole year, but now they’re without two of their top-4. They do not have home court advantage, and they’re facing a Celtics team that just beat the brakes off the East for the whole season.
As a kid, I used to get mad at tiny, often silly problems and blow them completely out of proportion. At one point, my dad would just start repeating the words “emotional intelligence” in a demand that I actually think about the things I was losing my marbles over and if they were actually a big deal. Naturally, I would then get mad whenever he said “emotionally intelligence,” but now I see that he was just preparing me for a slew of traumatic Celtics playoff runs later in life.
It’s okay to be afraid of the Heat, but I’d implore everyone to look at this with as level a head as possible. This is a ridiculous—some would argue unserious—mismatch, and this year’s Celtics was truly one of the great teams of the century. It’s important not to let the 12-game grape-eating session blind us to what came before.
Instead of fear, I for one will be sharpening my energy into a sword of vengeance, eager for this opportunity to cut the head off the demon from a year’s worth of nightmares. With this blade of righteous fury, I hereby condemn thee to He—
(Producer buzzes my earpiece) Apparently that metaphor was a little too much for network television.
Fear is not the same thing as caution, which I’d argue the Celtics should be chock-full of going into this and every series. You can never take any outcome for granted, and even beating a ludicrously overmatched Heat team will take serious work and pointed focus.
But fear is counterintuitive. Last year’s team definitely was afraid of Miami after about a game and a half, and it wound up neutralizing their talent advantage and leveling the playing field. To fear your opponent is to give them power over you, and the Celtics should be hoarding every advantage they can get.
The Heat have, however, earned tremendous respect from the Celtics and their fans, and have proven plenty of times that they cannot be taken lightly. Respect is the right idea, and is much more emotionally intelligent.
But we must not fear. Fear is the mind killer.
