Miami Heat "Believe" They Have A Chance In Series Against Boston Celtics

Shandel Richardson | Apr 22, 2024

Apr 21, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo controls the ball as Boston's Al Horford defends- Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports / Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The odds are no doubt against the Miami Heat.

They are without two of their top players, including their No. 1 scorer, against the NBA's best team. Still, they feel they can recover from Sunday's 114-94 loss to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden.

"They're going to look at us and be like, `We can't win because we don't have Jimmy [Butler],"' Adebayo said. "At the end of the day, you've got to play the game. You've got to go out there and compete. You can't say somebody is going to win over somebody. We haven't played the game yet."'

The Heat are playing without Butler (knee) and guard Terry Rozier (neck). There is no timetable on when either will return. So if the Heat are going to upset the Celtics for a second straight season, they will likely have to do it without those two players.

"From that standpoint, we know we're going into the game with people doubting us, people not believing in us," Adebayo said. "The guys in that locker room believe. As long as the guys in the locker room and the coaching staff believe, we always got a chance." 

To have any chance, the Heat need more from guard Tyler Herro. Herro had one of the worst playoff games of his career, finishing finishing with 11 points on 4 of 13 shooting.

"Just applying pressure and making things difficult and not really allowing me to get comfortable from the beginning," Herro said. "They did a great job with that. It's just one game. We're going to leave it behind us and keep it moving."