One thing seems to bring NBA Twitter together: Hating the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics undoubtedly went into the first-round series against the Miami Heat feeling confident. Jimmy Butler, Miami's playoff hero last year, was out injured. Boston won Game 1 by 20 points. Was a sweep inevitable?
Well, the Heat had an answer. Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Caleb Martin evened up the series as Miami knocked down 23 3-pointers, shooting better from beyond the arc than the field.
Heat fans sure enjoyed that, but they weren't alone. Fans from around the NBA had a go at the Celtics and their fans...
Best memes and tweets as NBA Twitter roasts Celtics
Lakers fans, 76ers fans, Knicks fans and all the rest joined in with the Heat to demolish the Celtics on Twitter.
Celtics fans were you going?? pic.twitter.com/e9jt9rwO5m
— Ryan Cortes (@Ryan_Cortes) April 25, 2024
Celtics fans seeing their team trailing to the shorthanded Heat late in the 4th 😳 pic.twitter.com/x2GjaUJ6Wc
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 25, 2024
Me watching Celtics fans flocking for the exits at the TD Garden down 11 with 2 minutes to go against a Jimmy-less Heat team pic.twitter.com/FgmcDlbI1U
— Alejandro Solana (@AlexMSolana) April 25, 2024
Best team of all time Boston Celtics didn’t sweep through the East? 😆 pic.twitter.com/YouB8tbVjx
— Oluwajomiloju (@JomiAdeniran) April 25, 2024
CELTICS ARE SO LUCKY JIMMY AND ROZIER ARE INJURED 😂😂😂🔥 pic.twitter.com/aFGc76CACA
— Jai (@Jai_305_) April 25, 2024
Celtics against the Heat without Jimmy Butler pic.twitter.com/7r31HVMgkf
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) April 25, 2024
Heat in Game 1 against Celtics vs Heat in Game 2 pic.twitter.com/gY73QjfePC
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) April 25, 2024
The Heat every time they play the Celtics pic.twitter.com/JYuyE2JaQE
— Ferb Fletcher’s Conscience 💭 (@Waun____) April 25, 2024
The Heat and Celtics have faced off in the playoffs in four of the last five years. Miami won two of the three series that have been settled thus far, including last year's 4-3 series. Butler joined in the trolling on Instagram with a reference back to Jaylen Brown's "Don't let us get one" declaration.
The Celtics rolled to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. It's just that 64 wins and a 14-game lead in the standings doesn't mean much if you can't win playoff games. One loss isn't the end for Boston but them ceding home-court advantage isn't something anyone expected.
The duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown delivered with 28 and 22 points respectively. They collectively hit 53 percent of their attempts. The rest of the Celtics were 14-of-37 or 37 percent.
The series will head to Miami next with games on Saturday and Monday. If the Heat defend their home court, they could put Boston on the brink of elimination. NBA Twitter would love that.