Would The Boston Celtics Have Fared Better Than The Miami Heat In The Finals?
The Miami Heat’s slow collapse against the Denver Nuggets has some deeming this Finals “one of the worst” in recent memory.
This could be because of the lack of headliners like Steph Curry and LeBron James, or maybe the fundamental team basketball isn’t as exciting to fans. But the disapproval for these Finals seem to stem from the one-sided nature of the matchups. The Nuggets are bigger in size and play as a more complete unit, which shows in how they’ve dominated so far.
Meanwhile, Miami has to rely largely on role players and a hobbled Jimmy Butler with no star help outside him and Bam Adebayo. Because of this, Boston Celtics fans are insisting they would be a better Finals opponent.
To be fair, they do make a point about having a better unit. Their team matches more favorably against Denver with their depth and superstar players. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, even for their inconsistency, are a superstar tandem. If they don’t perform up to standard, Derrick White and Marcus Smart can provide offensive production and solid defense.
Robert Williams, Grant Williams and Malcolm Brogdon give them playmaking in the second unit. Al Horford rounds out the starting five, giving them a slight size advantage over Miami.
But as some have pointed out, if the Celtics were really that much better, they’d be here instead.
So, there’s certainly an argument for Boston, but this question can only be answered in a theoretical scenario.
Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
