Jayson Tatum. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Celtics' Jayson Tatum has surprising take on Heat win over Bucks

By Victor Barbosa | Last updated 4/27/23

The Miami Heat became just the sixth No. 8 seed in NBA playoff history to defeat a No. 1 seed, as they knocked off the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. It was the first time an eighth-seeded team eliminated a top dog since 2012 when the Philadelphia 76ers pulled off the feat against the Chicago Bulls.

Still, Boston Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart aren't convinced that the Heat's series win over the Bucks was actually an upset.

Marcus Smart seemed to agree. He said he’s not as surprised as everyone else that the Heat won. The Celtics have seen Miami in the playoffs. They know that team is dangerous regardless of the regular season.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) April 27, 2023

More Tatum on this: “Miami is a really good team. Really great coach. Obviously they’ve got some great players. And they just made plays. I guess people weren’t expecting them to win but I wouldn’t call it like an upset.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) April 27, 2023

Fans may argue that Giannis Antetokounmpo's Game 1 back injury (which forced him to miss Games 2 and 3) cost Milwaukee the series, but it's impossible to ignore that Miami forward Jimmy Butler has now entered himself into elite territory with his epic Game 4 and Game 5 performances. The Heat have gotten just enough from Butler's supporting cast and still have one of the most underrated head coaches in the game in Erik Spoelstra.

Sure, the Bucks finished the season with an NBA-best 58-24 record (compared to Miami's 44-38 mark), but the teams split their four regular season games, with each team winning their two home contests. Butler and Spoelstra are plenty familiar with upsetting Antetokounmpo and a top-seeded Bucks team too, as the Heat similarly eliminated No. 1 Milwaukee in five games during the 2020 Eastern Conference Semifinals in the NBA Bubble as a No. 5 seed.

Fortunately for the Bucks, they were able to get revenge in 2021, when they swept the Heat in the first round of the postseason on their way to an NBA title.

As for Boston, they remember how dangerous Butler's squad can be in the playoffs. They were next in line for an upset in 2020, as Miami took out the third-seeded Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games, before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in the championship.

Like Milwaukee, Boston was able to get revenge (though not until 2022), when they beat the Heat in last year's Eastern Conference Finals in seven games.

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