“Celtics Face Pressure to Overcome Jimmy Butler and the Heat in Game 2 Showdown”

Failed by a huge Jimmy Butler, the Celtics have enormous pressure on their shoulders tonight. While they have already shown signs of weakness against the Sixers, here they are led 1-0 by the Heat, yet eighth in the East. If the men of South Beach want to do it again, the objective of the Clubs is to do everything to prevent them, at 2:30 tonight. But do they have the trunk?

A very complicated question. And for good reason, Game 1 between Boston and Miami revealed a lot of flaws in the green system. The most striking? Undoubtedly the image of Joe Mazzulla swinging his plate because of a clever mixture of annoyance, anger and despair. And for good reason, his players have laid the perfect first half, the one that allows fans to afford to go get a little snack at the break without worrying about missing the start of the second half. Unfortunately, and as happens far too often with the Celtics, they once again let go of all the effort they had built up in the space of ten minutes. Faced with an unleashed Jimmy Butler, of course, but it’s still a matter of professional misconduct.

Marcus Smart: “Joe’s real big on not bailing us out when we’re playing like s***. We’ve got to look at ourselves in the mirror… it’s on us” pic.twitter.com/o2KlwpeVTh

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 18, 2023

This evening ? Prohibition of flinching. If we have to give everyone a cereal bar when they leave the locker room, it will be done. In case of defeat, Boston would find themselves in a hell of a mess. The kind of situation that makes up for it, but that forces everyone to expend energy that is far, far from superfluous when you claim to go all the way. For Miami? It will of course be necessary, condition sine qua non, to count on a Jimmy Buckets of madness. Yes, his teammates did a huge job of assisting without any blunders, but still. The leader of Vice City is doomed to exploit, no matter what. Tonight, he will be expected, and it may be his chance: to put a huge knockout at the C’s just before leaving for Florida. Just imagine the impact of a Heat win tonight. Boston has never been down 2-0 this season, Boston has never been down 2-0 in the East last season. Seriousness among the locals, the same carefree madness among visitors. This is the recipe, not to announce a winner, but to let basketball deliver it to us after 48 minutes – maybe more – of a fierce fight!