Initially, nothing was right for the Boston Celtics. They missed their first 12 shots in Game 5 in the Eastern Conference Final on Friday, and they were lucky to advance by just seven points at halftime given the Miami Heat’s second chance and free throws.
And then they came alive. On the verge of extinction, Jason Tatum bought property in the paint and free throw line. Daniel Thiss was in one place on both ends, hitting challenging shots and fits. Kemba Waker went into the pick-and-roll, Marcus Smart hit a stepback 3, Jillian Brown filled the gaps and Boston went on a massive, season-saving race.
Tatum finished with a 121-108 win with 31 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, shooting 22-for-8 but scoring 12 of his 14 free-throw attempts. Brown had 28 points and eight boards. Waker added 15 points and seven assists, but his game-high plus 21 was no accident: much of the Celtics’ success was based on getting into Miami’s defensive teeth in the second half.
Goran Dragic hung the hit, finishing with 23 points in an 8-for-17 shooting, but four and a half minutes left. Duncan Robinson had 20 points, but 17 of them were in the first half. Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler had eight points and eight rebounds, but the Miami Clamps could not put them back once they left Boston.
Ushma made a poor shot by giving a run for the ball from the ball, and his offense collapsed when Boston’s rim defense improved. 19 led by the Celtics.
Miami leads the series 3-2. Game Sunday the 6th. There are three takeaways here since Friday night’s matchup.
1. The Celtics are here!
After the counterpunch, coach Brad Stevens told the team that it was the first time he had played Celtics basketball in a few games. His defense was offending, his 3s were finally falling and Heat’s defense was feeling the pressure.
When a reporter asked Stevens about Boston going to shore, he said it has been an emphasis since the training camp began about a year ago. He said the same thing when a reporter asked him about fighting Miami’s jump shots.
“It’s a big load for us, not just to stop the ball but then to fire out and play with a lot of effort and challenging shots,” Stevens said. “All this stuff is kind of in the basics.”
Brown said the Celtics had to attack the basket with intensity, although the length of the hit made it look like there were no driving lanes. Boston did that, and became more interested in crime.
There may be Celtics though Saw More actively, however, Brown channeled his activity into a way to improve, not to a lesser extent. At halftime, he said, Waker asked the team to compromise – the Boston flat didn’t come out, it came out tight.
Brown said the Celtics were “playing a little faster, a little bit anti” and once they got under control they shot the ball better, played better defense, and “looked like the team we all know and love.” We are. “
Through five games, the same parts of the series have been competitive and confusing. Miami zone-. Take Boston’s offense against Zone, for example: This Zone clearly beat the Celtics in Game 2, but in the opener they did very well against it. When they managed to get a dribble penetration into the paint a few days later and melt the pointile, they seem to have solved the problem. But since then the rhythm of both their games and during that has slowed down.
Boston has tweeted his lineups and his approach, but full time he runs high ball screens and trying to generate a touch of paint. The point of the zone is to mess with the Celtics system, make their playmakers run or be indecisive and keep Adebayo in the basket. As encouraging as this win was, that zone is still no more than it has worked many times over, and Boston has no guarantee. This Team again next game.
2. Big decisions
Stevens made all sorts of funky stuff out of his rotation – Gordon Hedward at Point Guard, Grant Williams next to Anne K. Counter in the frontcourt – while the Celtics were having trouble. His much talked about small lineup (Waker, Hayward, Brown, Tatum and This) had a short run but he didn’t bother with the hit.
“They haven’t really played a ton together,” Stevens said. “And I think most threats make a big difference to us in our crime. We will definitely have a chance to get back to him, but with big or small this is not the obvious answer. I think Miami does when you go small. “Then lower the screening so you can’t switch, shorten the screen, bounce against it. And then it’s hard to score because the balm doesn’t really lose anything in a small defense.”
Ideally, it would be nice to see the lineup get some more runs, but this is a perfect explanation of the downside. If the centerless Celtics stop and run, that lineup could be devastating. In this series, however, de Debayo is a matchup problem, so Stevens should be selective.
Counter played 10 minutes, almost full in the second quarter. Predictably, this was a balanced act – it helped push Boston’s offense forward, forcing Miami to withdraw coverage and on the other hand aiming tremendously at his back. Boston was a plus-3 in its minutes, which must be considered a success.
Under the pull, Stevens went with the guys he trusted. Brad Wanamaker did not play in the second half, and did not reach the floor more than the Celtics’ “six early” in the fourth quarter, although Walker cut through him almost half way.
This will be something to monitor on Sunday (and possibly beyond), especially considering how good Miami was in the second half until Friday. Hedward has hit the 30-minute mark in each of his three games since returning from a foot injury, and This often fouls to play heavy minutes. Typically, this is when the circulation is shortened.
3. Does Balm blame himself?
Adebayo was disappointed after the loss. He said he’s one step slower, he doesn’t anchor the team like he normally does and missed shots he made.
“The game is on me,” he said. “I played a terrible role. And it can’t happen. And I know that. And I think I’ve let my team down.”
This is admirable but questionable, and Butler certainly said he’s on the whole team. The Heat seemed to allow errors to snowball in the third quarter, and coach Eric Sposlatra suggested they allowed their cold shooting en masse in their defense.
The truth is that as long as de Debayo makes no mistake after mistake – and there will still be a game like this – Miami’s defensive struggles will never be alone on them. He’s a special defender, the kind of player who can clear up a ton of mistakes, but that’s not what happens if the hit ball does all the game with Rudy Gobert like the jazz that goes to him.
Adebayo is almost silly when it comes to switching guards and plays as an assistant defender, and Boston is smart enough to try to turn this positive into a negative. When it comes to creating a perimeter playmaker, the Celtics are trying to move the ball to someone else and take it away from the equation. They are also getting better at recognizing when they tend to overdo it with their help and when they are at the bottom of the zone giving time to their cuts. If I list the vulnerabilities of Heat, however, this stuff won’t be anywhere near the top of the list.
