Erik Spoelstra saw his bruised and battered Miami Heat squad give it everything they had in the Eastern Conference Finals, but they ended up falling just short in the end. The 100-96 loss in Game 7 ended their quest of making it to the NBA Finals for the second time in the last three seasons and their search for a first title since 2013 continues.
The Heat were understandably gutted after the defeat, but Spoelstra took some time to praise the Boston Celtics for reaching the Finals and how they have gone about these last few years.
Spoelstra on Boston's Finals berth: "They've probably done it the way that it's supposed to happen in this league: you build a team, you have frustrating losses, you stay together, keep your core together, keep your culture together, and then you eventually find a breakthrough."
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) May 30, 2022
Spoelstra on Boston’s Finals berth: “They’ve probably done it the way that it’s supposed to happen in this league: you build a team, you have frustrating losses, you stay together, keep your core together, keep your culture together, and then you eventually find a breakthrough.”
It would have been easy for the Celtics to listen to some of the outside noise and break up their roster but they stuck together and are now reaping the benefits of it. They have built this team from the draft for the most part and after frustrating playoff defeats to the Brooklyn Nets, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Heat in their last 3 playoff runs, they have beaten all three teams this time around.
This core has grown stronger after all those setbacks and they have finally broken through this season. All the talk about how Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can’t play together has been put to rest and the two will now look to cap off this season by winning the championship.
It would be a great story if they manage to pull it off, especially considering where they were earlier this season but the Golden State Warriors would be determined to play spoilsport on this occasion. It is set up to be an incredible Finals matchup and we can only hope it lives up to its billing.
