The Inconsistency: Real Reason Boston Celtics Lost to Miami Heat in Eastern Conference Finals

The Boston Celtics are out of the playoffs once again in the Eastern Conference Finals. This marks their third Conference Finals defeat in four years! But what went wrong for the team? They were one of the favorites to win it all. In simple terms, the Miami Heat happened.

The Miami Heat continue their Cinderella run and have advanced to their first finals appearance in six years. Jimmy Butler and the Heat completely overpowered the entire Eastern Conference in this postseason run.

After eliminating the Bucks in five games, the Celtics were their next target, and what an amazing series it was. The Celtics managed to push Miami to six games, and in Game 6, it was a neck-to-neck battle until the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Celtics completely choked in the last nine minutes of the ball game. NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor highlighted the biggest mistake by the Celtics down the stretch. He said, “Unreal finish by the Heat: outscored Celtics 35-17 in the final 9 minutes. Showed why they’re in the NBA Finals. Everyone played tough, connected defense. Jimmy Butler facilitated. Tyler Herro & Duncan Robinson drained shots. Bam Adebayo did it all. Miami has one hell of a team.”

In the scoring slump during the dying minutes of the game, the Celtics failed to drain shots time and time again. They seemed to have approached the game in a wrong manner and tried to win it by hitting contested threes. But the three-point stroke was missing for the entire team. In the end, the Heat’s zone defense was too much for Boston. It was a completely inconsistent effort.

What’s next for the Boston Celtics?

The Celtics will be heading home to Boston and it will give the organization some time to look back on this season. Since the Bucks were eliminated in the second round, the Celtics were the favorites to make it out of the East. Moreover, they already crushed the defending champs, the Toronto Raptors, in seven games in the previous round. Considering they have two blooming stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, it should have been quite easy for them.

Things are going to get even tougher next year, with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving returning to the NBA.

Can the Boston Celtics make it to the finals next year? Or will they struggle once again?