Can Jimmy Butler and Heat push C's in Eastern Conference Finals? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat are set to face off in the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight postseason and the third time in three years.

Miami entered the 2021-22 NBA playoffs as the No. 1 seed but fell to the No. 2 seed Celtics in seven games. This time, the Heat are the underdogs. They're the No. 8 seed going up against a second-seeded Boston team that dominated most of the 2022-23 campaign.

Although the C's are heavily favored to win the series, the Heat are not to be overlooked. Jimmy Butler's postseason résumé speaks for itself and Erik Spoelstra has earned a reputation as one of the best coaches in the sport.

Is Miami capable of pulling off the upset? ESPN's Nick Friedell joined Chris Forsberg on a new episode of the Celtics Talk Podcast to discuss.

Celtics Talk: Can Jimmy Butler and the Heat push Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals? | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube

"I think the only way (the Heat) win this series is if you and I are sitting there Game 7 and each game that they've won is somebody's game. So two Jimmy games and 'Oh man, Bam (Adebayo) was unbelievable in Game 5.' That's the reality for Miami," Friedell said.

"Boston is deeper. They've got (Jayson) Tatum. They can switch on everything, and that is a huge part of this. That defense, when they want to actually play and they're locked in, is really good. We saw it at the end of that Philly series. When they want to play, and they switch all over the place there's not a lot of options for that other team."

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Friedell would be surprised if Miami advanced to the NBA Finals, but he admits the coaching mismatch could give the C's some trouble.

"The thing that would give me some pause is Spoelstra," he said. "He's just an awesome coach. Awesome. And the in-game adjustments he's able to make on the fly are really impressive. There's gonna be the storylines, Spoelstra vs. (Joe) Mazzulla, Mazzulla's going through it for the first time. I think there's something to that.

"There's no question that when you watch Mazzulla from a distance, while he has the respect from the room, there are too many moments still where this Celtics team, the focus is just all over the place. To me, as you watch the team, that's on the coaching staff."

Game 1 between the Celtics and Heat is set for 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday at TD Garden. Be sure to get ready for the action with Celtics Pregame Live on NBC Sports Boston at 7 p.m.

Also discussed in the episode: How did the Heat get back to the Eastern Conference Finals? Is there any way the Heat can beat the Celtics? Will we see a Tyler Herro return? And predictions for the Eastern and Western Conference Finals.

Check out the latest episode of the Celtics Talk Podcast on the NBC Sports Boston Podcast Network or watch it on YouTube below.