Star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum knows the Miami Heat like the back of his hand at this point. Speaking to the media after beating the Heat in Game 5 of their 2024 Eastern Conference first round series via CLNS Media, Tatum opened up about how he felt going into the series vs. the team that ended his club’s season in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals. “I think it’s like my fourth time in five years playing in the playoffs,” explained the St. Louis native.

“I was thinking when they were trying to figure out the standings in the last week or so, I just had it in my mind we were going to play Miami,” Tatum remarked. “I wanted to play Miami in a sense, maybe last year playing against Atlanta we might have relaxed a little bit.”

“Knowing the history with Miami and how they play and how well coached they are, for a first-round matchup regardless of the seed, we were going to have to be ready to play, be ready to fight.”

And, apart from an embarrassing Game 2 loss to the Heat in this series, the Celtics came out and handled their business and Miami’s physicality as well as anyone could have asked.

Sometimes, coming into a situation with the right mindset can make all of the difference in the world.

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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire