NBA: Ranking the top 5 must-watch games from the 2023-24 opening week

3. Game 8 – Heat vs. Celtics – Friday, October 27 @7:30 p.m. ET)

In what will be an Eastern Conference Finals rematch, the Miami Heat will take on the Boston Celtics later this week. The Heat will be led by Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, and probably 10 other capable role players that they somehow discover every offseason. The Celtics are led by superstars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, with new all-around star Jrue Holiday joining the team to go with the stacked bench. This is the first season since 2012-13 that Marcus Smart is not on the team.

This game will surely be a good one, since it’s last year’s conference finals matchup which was plagued with drama, as the Heat led by 3-0, the Celtics fought back to 3-3 but ultimately lost in a decisive Game 7. This is the so-called “Game 8”, where the Celts’ have the opportunity to get back at the Heat. Miami finished last season with a record of 44-38 and made the playoffs through the play-in tournament. They were in fact the first NBA team to ever make the finals after playing in the play-in.

Ultimately, they lost in the finals against the Denver Nuggets. The Celtics finished the season 57-25, among the best in the NBA, finishing 2nd in the East. They were bounced by the Heat in the conference finals.

There is a bitter taste in Boston’s mouth, things will go south during this game, especially since this game is played in Boston. They have a lot of pressure to start the process of redemption with a win in this game. Miami has a tough and unpredictable task ahead of them, they have had championship aspirations since 2020 and Boston is not going to stop them. Who will win?