The Boston Celtics visit the Miami Heat tonight, hoping to have a similar performance as they had in Game 5 and secure their trip to the 2022 NBA Finals. The C’s were surprised by the Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, with Jimmy Butler putting on a show with his 47 points at TD Garden.
Now the venue is different, and the Greens know the job will be harder for them. Their star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown played poorly in Game 6, and it’s time for them to step up to try to lead their squad to the biggest series of all.
Everybody in Boston is hoping they can bring the fire to this game, and Stephen A. Smith urged them to do better than they did in the prior game if they aspire to face the Golden State Warriors for the NBA championship.
During a recent edition of SportsCenter, Smith previewed Game 7 of this series, explaining what Tatum and Brown need to do to make the hump once and for all:
“How not replicating your effort in game six. How about Jaylen Brown scoring more than two points in the entire second half? How about Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown not combining for a grand total of one shot in the first eleven minutes of the fourth quarter? That would help, that would help immensely. These are the two stars of the Boston Celtics, and now that Jimmy Butler has reminded you that there is a star on the Heat, and he’s coming for you, it’s incumbent on the stars to step up and answer the call.”
“We know about everything else they’ve gotta do defensively. Do your job as supplementary parts. But game seven’s come down to the stars, and the stars for the Boston Celtics have got to show up, otherwise, we’re going to remember them not so fondly for years to come,” Smith said on a recent episode of SportsCenter.
The Celtics have a tough task tonight, but they are the best team in NBA history when it comes to Game 7s. They already won a big one against the Milwaukee Bucks in the prior round. If there’s a team that can pull this off, that’s the C’s. Ime Udoka has a big job in front of him, but the C’s star players also need to challenge themselves, carry the team and beat the dangerous Heat team that is not giving up.
