Is The Miami Heat, Boston Celtics Rivalry The Best Of The Modern Era?

In the past 20 seasons, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics have remained powerhouses in the Eastern Conference.

Every time these organizations face off, the rivalry between them only strengthens. It's hard to believe their first postseason matchup did not occur until 2010.

In this matchup, the No. 4 seed Celtics got the better of the Dwyane Wade-led Heat with a 4-1 victory. However, the tides of this rivalry would soon change after LeBron James and Chris Bosh joined Wade that offseason.

In the following two seasons, the Heat defeated the Celtics on the road to winning two consecutive championships.

Following that, a drought in the rivalry occurred as both teams struggled to make it past the first round prior to the 2020 season. The young All-Star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown took on the Jimmy Butler-led Heat in the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals, picking up the rivalry right where it left off. Miami took the series by winning in six games.

After their defeat, Boston got revenge during the 2022 Eastern Conference Finals, beating the Heat in a high-intensity seven-game series. Last year, Miami once again took the victory in their third Eastern Conference Finals matchup in the past four years.

The Heat have certainly taken the edge over Boston in this modern-day rivalry, with a postseason record of 20-17 and a series record of 4-2. It only expects to get better this season.

With the Heat on the verge of signing Damian Lillard and the Celtics acquiring Kristaps Porzingis, these two teams could meet again in the postseason.

Anthony Pasciolla is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He can be reached at anthonypasciolla36@gmail.com or follow him on Tik Tok @anthonysports_