Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum described his team’s five-game first-round victory over the Miami Heat as an “easy” part of their NBA title journey. “They’re always easy,” Tatum told analyst Brian Scalabrine about the Heat before the Celtics’ championship parade. Full stop. Jimmy Butler didn’t play. Tyler Herro wasn’t 100%. Let’s knock it off.
This win came a season after the Heat had upset the Celtics in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, ending Boston’s title hopes.
In the first-round series, Tatum averaged 21.8 points and 10.4 rebounds, finishing with a decisive 118-84 win in Game 5 against a weakened Miami team. This marked a significant improvement from the previous year’s Game 7, where Tatum’s ankle injury limited him to 14 points and the Celtics were eliminated.
Immediately after last year’s loss, Tatum had called it a “tough” game, highlighting turnovers and poor shooting by Boston, while praising the Heat’s performance: “We didn’t shoot the ball well. They shot the ball extremely well.”
Reflecting on the 2024 first-round win, Tatum mentioned he wanted to face Miami for a greater challenge: “I wanted to play Miami… Knowing the history… how hard they play, how well-coached they are… we were going to have to be ready to play and be ready to fight.”
Tatum’s “easy” comment contrasts with his earlier respect for the Heat, but serves to energize Celtics fans and ensure the Boston-Miami rivalry remains one of the NBA’s most exciting.
Guess we have to endure this until the 2024-25 season begins in four and half months or so. Fun times.
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