After securing their hard-earned spot in the playoffs, the Miami Heat faced the Eastern table topper Boston Celtics in round one of the seven-game series on Sunday. There was no doubt that the Heat would suffer without their star forward Jimmy Butler. However, NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins’ bold claim regarding their chances of failure is making headlines.
Perkins said, “The Miami Heat could go 100% from the field and 100% from the 3 and they’re still gonna get swept in this series.” According to the former Celtics champion, even if the Miami squad accurately shoots, they will not be able to withstand the supremacy of Boston. Knowing that his statements had often gotten him into trouble, the analyst did not hold back.
“The Miami Heat could go 100% from the field and 100% from the 3 and they’re still gonna get swept in this series.” 😳
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 21, 2024
– Kendrick Perkins pic.twitter.com/bRAf1EhVM7
Last year when the two teams met in the Eastern Conference Finals, the Heat won the clash, but the scenario is different this time. The Celtics showed their dominance from the opening frame and entered the final quarter leading by 32 points. The Heat finally got a chance to outscore them in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to win the game. The Celtics heavily relied on 3-pointers throughout the night to crush the Miami defense.
Celtics bombard Heat with 3s
The TD Garden crowd was thoroughly entertained by the constant threes that the Boston Celtics bombarded on Heat. After throwing several 3-pointers against other teams in the regular season, the Celtics poured some more of them during the post-season clash.
Showing their mastery from behind the 3-point arc, the Cs attempted 30 shots in the first half, out of which 12 hit the target. Whereas the Heat tried shooting 14 3-pointers and 11 of them stubbornly refused to get through the basket. The strategies remained the same in the latter half as well.
The Boston team attempted 19 more shots from deep and succeeded in converting 10 of them into buckets and finished at 22-for-49, while the Heat lagged with 12-of-37. Following the 114-94 win for Celtics in the game 1, the teams will meet for Game 2 on Wednesday at the same place.
