Miami Heat do not believe the Boston Celtics are ‘old’ – NBA News
The Boston Celtics will renew their rivalry with the Miami Heat when the two giants meet in the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night.
The Celtics finished their Semi Final series against the Philadelphia 76ers with a game 7 victory on Saturday night. But a long 7 game series against the young and athletic Sixers might have done more harm than is visible as the
Celtics have no rest between the two series and now need to get ready for game 1 against the Heat in Miami.
The Celtics packed up and left for Miami without having a practice session. They will play a game every other night in the Eastern Conference Championship round, adding to the already tough schedule they have had this season.
But the Miami Heat refuse to believe that the Celtics are fatigued and will have trouble keeping up with them in the series.
“Get out of here with that. I don't believe none of that. No feet hurting, no (one being) tired, nothing. This is the Boston Celtics. They're all 100 percent to me. When they play the Miami Heat, it's a different ball game. And
vice versa. No storylines. No excuses” said Dwyane Wade when asked about the Celtics being old and not fully rested.
Both teams seem to be focused on the game and are not bothered about schedules or injuries, calling them excuses that they are not going to use.
Boston is missing Avery Bradley, the defensive specialist, who has just undergone shoulder surgery and has been sidelined for the rest of the post season. Ray Allen is dealing with a sprained ankle that has slowed him down. He
might need surgery for it as well in the off season. Pierce is also banged up, though he seemed to be playing without discomfort in the game 7 against the Sixers.
For Miami, their star forward Chris Bosh is still out with a strained abdominal muscle. He suffered the injury in game 1 against the Indiana Pacers and has not played for the Heat since then. He continues to recover from the injury
but the team has not given any date for his return.
The Celtics are not making excuses for the lack of rest before the series against Miami. In fact, Paul Pierce said that he actually prefers it this way.
"I kind of like it for us. It keeps us in rhythm. It keeps us playing. We're an older team so we get kind of stiff when we sit around for too long. We like the fact that we're going to go right into it” said Pierce.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said that his team will be ready come Monday night for the challenge.
"We'll be ready. It's going to be a tough turnaround, but listen, we're not an excuse team. We'll be ready on Monday” said Rivers.
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