“Do all the dirty things they can”: Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis acknowledges team is ready for a rough Miami Heat
The Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat will be adding another chapter to their history of Playoff rivalries. Despite being favored to win against the eighth-seed Miami squad, Boston is not going to take the matchup lightly and is ready to put out all the stops.
The Heat are not going to go down without a fight and the Celtics know that. Erik Spoelstra's team is going to hustle, they'll play physically and they'll go after the win aggressively. Latvian big man Kristaps Porzingis acknowledged that the Heat won't be put away easily and that the team is ready.
"Of course, they're gonna be, we have to expect them to be ultra aggressive, ultra like handsy, and trying to do all the little dirty things they can," Porzingis said while speaking to members of the media.
The Heat is known for playing a physical brand of basketball. While not necessarily considered to be a dirty team, they are unafraid to put their bodies on the line to get the victory.
Even now that the Heat is playing without Jimmy Butler for their series, the Celtics look like they won't be taking this matchup lightly, lest we see a repeat of last season wherein the seventh-seed Heat stunned Boston and the NBA fandom by beating them in seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
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The Boston Celtics hold every advantage over the Miami Heat in their series
Once again, the Heat are the underdogs coming into the Playoffs. They once again, had to claw their way into a postseason berth by way of the Play-In tournament but unlike last year, they will have to be without Jimmy Butler after he suffered an injury against the Philadelphia 76ers after Kelly Oubre Jr. fell on his leg.
Because of this, Miami is placed at an even bigger disadvantage against the number-one-seeded Boston team. As if the two teams didn't already have a massive gap between them prior to the injury.
The Boston Celtics roster is arguably deadlier now than it was last year, boasting a collection of starters who all could have made an argument to make the All-Star team.
They added defensive specialist Jrue Holiday, who had already won a championship in 2021. Additionally, they upgraded their big man position with the addition of fringe All-Star Kristaps Porzingis.
Unlike the 2022-23 season where the Heat and the Celtics tied their season series at two apiece, Boston swept their Eastern Conference rivals 3-0 this regular season, showing everyone that they are indeed the better team.
Despite all these advantages, it appears coach Joe Mazzula and his squad are doing all the necessary preparations to avoid a repeat of last season.