Philadelphia 76ers or Boston Celtics: Who is the Miami Heat’s Preferred Opponent in the Conference Finals?

The Miami Heat either play the Boston Celtics or Philadelphia 76ers.

The Miami Heat are back in the conference finals for the third time in four years, with four games standing in the way of them going to the NBA Finals. They have to wait for the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics to wrap up their series to see their conference finals opponent. As Heat fans anxiously watch from home, who should they root for to advance?

The Sixers are headlined by 2023 MVP Joel Embiid, who is averaging 24.8 points, 10 rebounds and 2.9 blocks in the playoffs. His supporting cast is James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. Harden, looking to redeem years of poor playoff performances, has been a wild card this postseason. In the series against Boston, he has seemingly either been the Sixers’ hero or a liability. The Sixers also have former Heat forward P.J. Tucker for defense and intangible playmaking, but his scoring has decreased since leaving Miami.

Meanwhile, the Celtics boast the two-headed monster of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Tatum is prone to turnovers with a tendency for slow starts. However, he is still an All-NBA forward and a threat nonetheless. Even if Tatum has an all-around bad game, Brown is a star complement to hold Boston down. Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon leads Boston’s second unit with a solid 15 points off the bench every given night. Marcus Smart and Derrick White are a solid guard combination with scoring and solid defense.

With these factors in mind, Miami’s preferred matchup would be against Philadelphia.

The fact that we’re even talking about a potential championship is a testament to Miami’s incredible postseason. Like 2020, they were not expected to go this far into the postseason but are shocking the world. They travel to Philadelphia or Boston Wednesday night for Game 1.

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.