Celtics vs. Heat: Predicting the NBA Eastern Conference Finals

The Eastern Conference Finals begin on Tuesday night, and with the top-seeded Bucks out of the picture, the road to the Finals is wide open for the Celtics and Heat. Before Game 1 tips off, Mike Sykes and Charles Curtis made their predictions for the series.

Charles Curtis: “I’m taking the Heat, and I’m going to tell you why. Jimmy Butler! Who is stopping Jimmy Butler? Playoff Jimmy Butler is a thing. I don’t see necessarily there being a defender on the Celtics, maybe Marcus Smart gives it a shot. And I know the Heat don’t have a lot of experience, but that’s where Spoelstra comes in.”

Prediction: Heat in 7

Mike Sykes: “To me, are definitely going to the Finals. I think there’s no question they’re better than this Heat team. To me it just comes down to whoever coaches the best between Brad Stevens and Erik Spoelstra.

…. I just feel like the Celtics have so many players that they can throw at you don’t need one player to take Jimmy Butler out of the game, because you’re not going to do that. But Tatum’s a really good defender now, Jaylen Brown is obviously a good defender.”

Prediction: Celtics in 6