It looked as if the Boston Celtics would cruise to a comfortable win over the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the first round without much drama, but Caleb Martin’s hard foul on Jayson Tatum garnered some attention and a bit of a scrum late in the game. Tatum spoke about the foul from Caleb Martin after the game, and clearly did not want to fan the flames ahead of Game 2.
“It’s a physical game, playing against a physical team, s**t’s going to happen,” Jayson Tatum said, via Daniel Donabedian of ClutchPoints. “It’s not the last time my body will get hit like that or fouled in this series. I wasn’t hurt. You get hit like that. You just get up. And I knew we was in the bonus so, just go down there and knock the free throws in.”
It has to be a relief for Celtics fans to hear Tatum say that he is not hurt by the play with Martin. Last year, the Celtics nearly pulled off a series win against the Heat after trailing 3-0. But then early on in Game 7, Tatum got hurt and played through it. He was clearly impacted by the injury that he suffered early on in that game, and the Celtics went on to lose Game 7 after winning three in a row to force that game at home.
This year, the Celtics come in as heavy favorites to come out of the Eastern Conference, so it is expected for them to dispatch of the Heat pretty easily in the first round, especially considering that Jimmy Butler is out. Game 1 went according to plan.
An ideal start for the Celtics
The Celtics got off to an ideal start to this year’s playoffs, winning Game 1 over the Heat by the score of 114-94. Tatum recorded a triple-double, scoring 23 points while dishing out 10 assists and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Jaylen Brown scored 17, while Kristaps Porzingis scored 18 for the Celtics. Derrick White scored 20 as well. Al Horford and Sam Hauser also scored in the double figures for Boston. It was a balanced attack for the Celtics on offense.
The Celtics had a historic regular season, and it would be a massive disappointment if this spring does not bring at the very least a trip back to the NBA Finals, and many fans will not be satisfied without an NBA championship.
In the Eastern Conference, the Celtics should be significant favorites against anyone. If they advance past the Heat, then they would take on the winner of the Cleveland Cavaliers vs Orlando Magic series in the second round.
The stiffest competition could come in the Eastern Conference Finals, when the Celtics could run into a team like the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks or Philadelphia 76ers.
For now, Boston will look to move past Miami in swift fashion.
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