Celtics

Former Celtics star Kevin Garnett sees a whole lot of potential in this team after watching Boston blow out the Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference ...

But to Garnett's point, the Celtics' best might be better than any other team's best. They're still prone to shooting slumps and lapses in focus, which led to Miami's 22-2 third-quarter run in Game 1. Garnett knows what's it's like playing for an unbeatable team, as his 2007-08 Celtics won the NBA title 14 years ago.

After splitting a pair of blowout outcomes, will the Heat and Celtics play each other closer as the Eastern Conference finals shifts to Boston?

He was an irritant all night to the Heat, flexing his Kia Defensive Player of the Year chops while managing details and situations in his team’s favor. They hit 20 of 40, including 9-for-11 in the first quarter to crack open the game en route to a 70-45 halftime lead. The last thing the Celtics want is for Smart’s foot to flare up or some new ailment to appear, because there’s little recovery time in this round. He rolled his ankle in Game 1 but surprised some onlookers by returning to action. His worth was never more apparent than in the shift from Game 1, which Smart missed with a right foot sprain, to Game 2. Adebayo may miss Lowry more than some of his teammates do, too, as far as when and where the ball ends up in his hands. Marcus Smart was around then, wrapping up his rookie season after arriving as the No. 6 pick overall from Oklahoma State. Then and in the ensuing seasons, Boston always had other guys in mind for the point guard position. But he’s sputtering along at 13.6 points and 7.5 rebounds in these playoffs, compared to 19.1 and 10.1 in the regular season. Two years ago in the bubble, Daniel Theis and Jaylen Brown manned the center and power forward spots for the Celtics. Now Adebayo’s contending with Robert Williams III, Al Horford and various helpers from a tougher, stingier Boston defense. “I think I got a bit selfish on the offensive end,” said Butler, who has scored 41 and 29 points in the two games, respectively, while shooting a combined 23 of 37. We remember Adebayo from the Heat’s bubble run to the 2020 Finals, right? They have been there for me all year long, and I got to get back to that because whenever they are scoring, whenever they are aggressive, we are a much better team.”

Al Horford and Marcus Smart were both back for the Celtics in Thursday's Game 2 win over the Heat. Derrick White missed the game for personal reasons.

Smart, who missed Game 1 because of a midfoot sprain that he suffered in Game 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks, was listed as probable to play. He had to rush home today." "Derrick is having a baby," Udoka said.