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The Heat stunned the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals last season, taking a 3-0 lead and then blowing Boston out at the Garden in Game 7. They will meet again this season, but under much different circumstances. This first-round matchup features a reengineered Celtics team that is the top seed in East and has been the most consistent in the NBA. The eighth-seeded Heat have again reached the main draw via the play-in tournament. But they won’t have Jimmy Butler, whose injured right knee won’t let him match leading the Heat to NBA Finals runs in 2020 and 2023.

As the Boston Celtics prepare for what they hope will be their latest NBA title run, coach Joe Mazzulla had his team look to past NBA champions for inspiration. The list included sworn adversaries, like the Los Angeles Lakers and their 2010 run, as well as the last Boston team to raise the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2008. “Every path is different,” Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum said.

The Boston Celtics faced the Miami Heat in three of the last four Eastern Conference Finals series, including back-to-back seven-game series.

Boston’s first-ever director of nightlife economy starts today. The job of sprucing up Boston’s late-night scene is no small order.