Udonis Haslem, Shaq challenge the Celtics’ title repeat hopes

Jimmy Butler is 2-1 in playoff series that he has played against the Boston Celtics since joining the Miami Heat.

Over the last two decades, the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics have remained powerhouses in the Eastern Conference. Each team has sported different iterations of rosters during this time. The Heat were 2-0 against the Celtics during the Big Three era, and are now 2-2 against them during the Jimmy Butler era.

However, the one series loss during this more recent era came without the services of Butler, Terry Rozier and even a hobbled Duncan Robinson this past season. In what is viewed as a legitimate rivalry between the two franchises, this year’s series was essentially a wash. Somehow, the undermanned Heat were able to steal a game, but then went on to get gentlemen swept out of the first round while Boston would ultimately become champions.

In a recent podcast on Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller’s “The OGs Show”, they had Shaquille O’Neal on as a guest star where they went over the Celtics 2024 championship run:

“We all know Boston had the easiest run ever to that championship… can they back it up?
(- Shaquille O’Neal)

Haslem and O’Neal would go on to list a handful of hungry teams in the East that will be looking to end Boston’s title repeat hopes, including Miami.

The Celtics fortunately ran into a depleted Miami team without the services of Butler—the one guy who has proven he can take down Boston in recent years. It didn’t get any harder from there either, as they also faced a the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers afterwards without their own best players due to injuries. Earlier this summer, Haslem doubled down on the Heat’s ability on ESPN to match up with the Celtics when healthy:

“Duncan Robinson. Terry Rozier. Jimmy Butler. A young superstar in Bam Adebayo. A young superstar in Tyler Herro. Jaime Jaquez Jr. Niko Jovic. Why don’t nobody ever say the Miami Heat?

A healthy Miami Heat is the team that can challenge Boston, because we’ve done it four out of the last five years.” (- Udonis Haslem via ESPN FirstTake)

The 2024 Celtics super-team cake walked their way to an NBA championship, and deservedly so. They were the best team that had a bit of luck go their way in facing opponents on route to their chip. Miami on the other hand, had the opposite of good luck come their way throughout their entire injury riddled 2023-24 campaign.

But a fresh season always comes with a fresh start across the league, and Butler will be as hungry as ever to take down the Heat’s biggest rival once again.