The Miami Heat had to wait a bit before finding out their opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Whereas Miami breezed through the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in five games, the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors took it to the limit.
For Heat guard Goran Dragic, the Celtics will pose a different challenge because of the number of scorers they possess.
Dragic said Milwaukee's offense primarily revolved around Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the Celtics have a trio of guys who can fill it up at any time:
“I still think Giannis doesn’t have so much help,” Dragic said, via Jay King of The Athletic. “Tatum, if you look, he’s got around (him) Kemba and Brown. He’s the leader of that team, no doubt. We need to prepare for him, but we cannot just throw out the whole defense at him and forget about other guys.”
The Heat had success against the Bucks in part because they packed the paint and threw help defenders at Antetokounmpo, cutting off straight-line drives and daring him to shoot from beyond the arc.
But the Celtics have wings who can shoot it in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, plus a lethal pick-and-roll combination in Kemba Walker and Daniel Theis.
Walker struggled from the field in the last two games against the Raptors, but he can duck behind Theis screens or get to the rim. Additionally, Theis has excelled as a pivot man capable of making the extra pass or starting Boston's ball movement to find open shooters and cutters. Marcus Smart has also proven capable of giving Boston a boost with some scoring spurts of his own.
In any case, Dragic and the Heat will have their hands full against a Celtics team with a number of scoring options.
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