The Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat are set to take each other on in the Eastern Conference Finals, with Game 1 taking place on Tuesday in FTX Arena.
Boston is coming in hot after blowing out the Bucks in Sunday’s Game 7 thanks to the hot scoring of Jayson Tatum, who has emerged as a top superstar as he averaged 28.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists per game in 41.2 minutes per game. The man who will likely be taking on the challenge of guarding Tatum will be Jimmy Butler, who has reclaimed his spot as a top superstar, averaging 28.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game.
“Either team that we were to end up facing, whether it be Milwaukee or Boston, is a really, really, really good team,” Butler said per ESPN. “It is Boston. We’re looking forward to it. I guess you got to beat the best to be the best.”
Slowing down Tatum, who’s scored 30+ in four games and scored 46 points in Game 6 of the Boston-Milwaukee series, will be pivotal to Miami advancing to their NBA Finals since 2020.
Meanwhile, Butler has scored at least 40 points twice and dropped 30+ points three times.
Locking in on the two featured weapons of their respective weapons will be pivotal for the success of both Eastern Conference titans.
“He’s one of the best in the game right now,” Butler said. “As much attention as he draws on the offensive end — and then I think what’s really impressive is the way that he’s picked up his defensive intensity. You got to tip your hat to that and respect him; I think those are the guys that you want to go up against.”
