The Miami Heat can claim the mantle of the best team in the Eastern Conference after beating the Boston Celtics 125-113 on Sunday to advance to The Finals.
Even though Miami entered the postseason with the NBA's 11th-best winning percentage and the East's fifth seed, Celtics coach Brad Stevens believes the Heat have proven themselves deserving of being one series victory away from the franchise's fourth Larry O'Brien Trophy.
"Miami deserves a lot of credit," Stevens told reporters postgame. "They're super physical, super tough, very, very savvy. And I think they're the best team in the East and deserve to be representing the East the way that they've played."
In particular, Stevens cited the play of third-year big man Bam Adebayo, whose ability to drive to the hoop put the Celtics "in a real bind." The 23-year-old finished with game highs of 32 points and 14 rebounds in addition to five assists and a steal in 39 minutes of action.
"I thought we did a lot of tough things, too," Stevens added. "I thought our guys tried to play physical. I thought our guys tried to do that, but I think that, ultimately, it's more of a credit to them.
"It's nothing against our guys at all. They gave it everything they had."
