Erik Spoelstra - 'No easy way' to stop Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown - ESPN

BOSTON — As the Miami Heat get set to face the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals for the third time in four seasons, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra knows that one of the biggest keys to the series will be the same as it ever was: Slowing down Celtics All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

«It's easier said than done,» Spoelstra said after Wednesday's shootaround in advance of Game 1. «You have to do your work early. Weakside defenders have to be in their spots early… they're a very good driving team because of those two guys [Tatum and Brown] collapse your defense and then have spacing, and they're very disciplined with their spacing, with a bunch of 40% 3-point shooters. You got to scramble and make multiple efforts — there's no easy way, but there is a way. You have to commit to those kinds of efforts.»

While defense will continue to be the prevailing key for both of these teams over the course of this series, Spoelstra wants his group to appreciate the fact that they have reached this level yet again — against the same team. The Heat beat the Celtics in the 2020 Eastern Conference finals in six games, while the Celtics beat the Heat in the 2022 Eastern Conference finals in seven games.

«I think you want to embrace all those things,» Spoelstra said. «You get to this point, you really treasure these opportunities, to face a team three times in four years, you don't get that very often. We have great respect for them, we've had some really good battles with them. It all ends up being in the past, so it's really good for the fans and it's good for the fan bases. I think there's good narratives for all of you, but we have a big task we want to get accomplished this postseason and Boston's in our way.»

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