Heat vs Celtics: Miami emerge as new favorites to beat Lakers in NBA finals after Boston drubbing
The Eastern Conference has a new champion. Miami turned on the heat to cook the Boston Celtics 125-113 in Game 6 on Sunday. With the win, Miami now books a finals date with the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, September 30. It was Bam Adebayo starring for the Heat with 32 points with 14 rebounds and five assists. And after a tough series, the side now faces the formidable Lakers and from what fans have seen so far, the Heat emerged as the favorites to clinch the finals.
For one, it was more of a revenge game according to some of the fans. "The odds the Heat made it to the finals were 75-1 at the start of the season, plus this team is dying to meet Lebron in the finals. He left on bad terms with Riley and Arrison and is playing against the coach who took him to his first 4 NBA Finals," read one of the tweets.
The odds the Heat made it to the finals were 75-1 at the start of the season, plus this team is dying to meet Lebron in the finals. He left on bad terms with Riley and Arrison and is playing against the coach who took him to his first 4 NBA Finals.
— rory △⃒⃘🌙 (@rorybilmore) September 28, 2020
An astute observation by a fan was that the Heat was good on both sides of the court and didn't buckle under pressure speaking a lot about their gameplay. "The @celtics went cold on both ends of the floor when it mattered most. The @MiamiHEAT played better ball in 6 games & that’s why they move on."
The @celtics went cold on both ends of the floor when it mattered most. The @MiamiHEAT played better ball in 6 games & that’s why they move on.
— djsirvivor (@djsirvivor) September 28, 2020
"With that weather i have to go with team named HEAT it’s like they were built for this weather conditions," a fan wrote.
With that weather i have to go with team named HEAT 🤷♂️ it’s like they were built for this weather conditions
— Dado (@Dado3615) September 28, 2020
This fan had his stuff sorted: "Well I am officially a @MiamiHEAT fan! Lets go take out the @Lakers pleaseee!"
Well I am officially a @MiamiHEAT fan! Lets go take out the @Lakers pleaseee!
— Olympia Lowlife (@OlympiaLowlife) September 28, 2020
"Respect to Miami Heat. It's very hard to hate them especially Herro (still hating that Herro was drafted by The Heat first) but for the love of Basketball.. Please #BeatLA," reckoned one of the fans.
Respect to Miami Heat. It's very hard to hate them especially Herro (still hating that Herro was drafted by The Heat first) but for the love of Basketball.. Please #BeatLA
— rizky. (@kibokki) September 28, 2020
It is no surprise Adebayo will be integral for the Heat when they face-off against the Lakers. His accurate pinpoint passing and relentless attacking off the dribble made life difficult for the Celtics and the side will be expecting him to pull off more stunners to help the side win. For the Lakers, Adebayo isn't the only concern as they have an in-form Jimmy Butler along with Duncan Robinson and rookie Tyler Herro hitting the ground up and running.
In Sunday's game, Adebayo was richly complemented by Butler scoring 22 points and eight assists while Herro had 19 points and seven assists. For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown chipped in with 26 points while Jayson Tatum had 24 and 11 assists.
Miami's defense has been a talking point and one of the fans opined it would be a difficult task for the Lakers to penetrate the Miami blocks. "And also the Lakers will face a true defensive team and a great coach for the first time. Blazers and Rockets were trash defensively. Nuggets had some weak individual defenders and lost it a few times. The HEAT had to work hard vs Bucks and Celtics," his tweet read.
And also the Lakers will face a true defensive team and great coach for the first time.
— The Mad HEAT Fan (@TheMadHEATFan) September 28, 2020
Blazers and Rockets were trash defensively. Nuggets had some weak individual defenders and lost it a few times.
The HEAT had to work hard vs Bucks and Celtics.
With the opinions flowing in, the only question is will the Lakers get the better of Miami or will it be another nail-biting series? Guess we'll know when the two teams face-off on Wednesday, September 30, at 9 pm ET at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. The games will be televised on ABC.