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The Eastern Conference finals are already living up to expectations. The Miami Heat rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win Game 1 in overtime. Bam Adebayo saved the game with one of the best blocks you’ve ever seen and Jimmy Butler was 2 of 2 on shots to tie or take the lead in the last minute of the fourth quarter or overtime, having shot 1 of 15 in those situations before. Tuesday.
Jayson Tatum was 0-for-2 shooting in the last minute to lead or tie, and the offensive stalemate was a problem for Boston. But the other end of the court was the biggest problem for the Celtics, as they blew that 14-point lead. The Heat scored 35 points in their last 20 possessions of the game, part of a crazy sequence of events where Miami was more than twice as efficient in the second and fourth quarters (72 points on 43 possessions, 1.67 percent) than in the first and fourth. third (34 over 46, 0.74 per).
> Game 2: Heat vs. Celtics, Thursdays at 7 ET on ESPN
This was actually the slowest-paced game of the Eastern Conference playoffs so far. So don’t be fooled by the low score (106-106 after regulation). Despite the anemic first and third quarters, the Heat scored 117 points on just 99 possessions, making Game 1 the Celtics’ worst defensive game in the postseason so far (30 games total), with the two teams combining to only 198 possessions in 53 minutes. .
Second quarter: a stretch of rhythm
The slow pace in general does not mean that both teams walked the ball across the floor for 53 minutes. In fact, the Heat’s 16 fast-break points in Game 1 were more than they had in any game in the first round and just two less than their record in the conference semifinals. It was his transition game that sparked his offense early in the second quarter and finally made a difference Tuesday.
But more surprising than the Heat’s success in the transition was that the Celtics allowed it to happen. One of the most important keys to Boston’s victory in the conference semifinals over the Toronto Raptors was the transition defense. After the Raptors led both the regular season (18.8) and the first round (18.5) in fast break points per game, the Celtics held them to just 11.4 per game in their seven-game series.
If you want to know why Pascal Siakam fought the Cs, start with the fact that only three (2.7%) of his 110 field goal attempts occurred in the first six seconds of the shot clock, according to Second Spectrum tracking. . In both the regular season and the first round, 20% of Siakam’s shots came in the first six seconds of the clock, but the Celtics cut off his transition opportunities and he’s not as efficient in the midfield as he is at. the open floor.
The Heat, in general, don’t run like the Raptors. They ranked second in transition efficiency according to Synergy tracking, but only 13.3% of the Heat’s regular-season possessions, the fourth-lowest rate in the league, were in transition. During the first two rounds of the playoffs, that number was just 11.2%.
Maybe the Celtics lowered their guard a bit? If that’s the case, your guard will return after watching the Game 1 movie.
After the Heat scored just 20 points from their first 25 possessions of the game, Kelly Olynyk started a nine-match scoring streak by throwing a reverse layup around Grant Williams. And then Goran Dragic got to work, teasing a stretch where five of Miami’s next seven scores came from swift attacks against a Boston defense that just wasn’t ready …
Game 1: After Kemba Walker feeds Semi Ojeleye for a dunk, he’s not ready for a dramatic shove. By the time Walker reaches the left side of the court, Dragic is going downhill on her way to a short corridor in the paint.
Game 2: After a fumble on the next possession, Walker is facing Dragic, but not in defensive position. Dragic abandons the set play (likely an entry pass to Adebayo on the left elbow) and attacks Walker again, getting an even better look than he had on the previous possession.
Game 3: Two possessions later, Dragic recovers a mistake from Brad Wanamaker and Wanamaker does a good job of stopping Dragic’s initial push. But he passes Tyler Herro, who immediately attacks Grant Williams from the dribble, receives help from Walker and passes Andre Iguodala in the corner.
Game 4: The Celtics call a timeout, but turn the ball over on their next possession. Butler pushes the ball across the floor and Tatum runs to the paint instead of identifying Duncan Robinson in transition. Wanamaker is a little late with his contest and then watches what happens next. When Butler recovers Robinson’s foul, Wanamaker is not there to contest the second chance 3.
Play 5: When Tatum hits the floor after a tough paint failure, the Heat have a 5v4 break. The other Celtics return, but Jaylen Brown lets Butler get between him and the basket and Herro hits Butler for a y one.
Give the Heat credit for pushing the ball. Effective field goal percentage is highest in the first six seconds of the shot clock and taking advantage of a defense that is not established is a great way to get some easier points.
But the Celtics will look at those earlier plays and realize they could have been better. Walker is not ready to defend Dragic, Wanamaker watches the ball after contesting Robinson’s starting 3 and Brown doesn’t take the extra step necessary to keep Butler out of the paint … Those are all mistakes that can be cleaned up with a best focus and effort.
Fourth quarter and overtime – Slow to react
Transition defense can be reduced to reaction time, because one step can be the difference between a contested shot or an open shot. One second can be the difference between staying glued to an opponent running down the court and that same opponent running free.
The Heat found more transition opportunities coming back from that 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, and again they got help from the Celtics …
Game 1: At first glance, this is just one case where the Heat have numbers after a loose ball. But look where Dragic and Wanamaker are while Tatum’s pass is in the air …
Yes, Dragic has the inside lane, but he also reacts faster. In fact, he gives up that inside lane to run wide, but he still has three steps on Wanamaker (which doesn’t exactly have Usain Bolt’s steps) by the time he crosses to the front track …
Game 2: After Brown hits a 3, he thinks he’s defending Adebayo. And by the time he realizes he’s supposed to be defending Jae Crowder, it’s too late and Crowder gets a layup.
Game 3: Daniel Theis picks up Crowder in transition, but behind Crowder is Robinson, and Wanamaker is slow to find him for path 3.
Game 4: Walker hits a float hard to put the Celtics up three with just over a minute to go in regulation, but the Heat get the ball to the ground quickly. Walker stops Tyler Herro from throwing a quick pull-up 3, but then leaves it for a split second as Marcus Smart (who lunged to deflect Dragic’s pass) rallies back to Dragic. Herro reloads and drains a big shot to make it a one-possession game.
Play 5: In overtime, Adebayo leaks after contesting a Tatum step back 3 and lands an easy dunk. How do you stop that? Well, while Tatum was throwing the ball, Walker was standing above the 3-point line on the left side of the floor, and he didn’t move until it was too late …
According to Second Spectrum, the Heat were 12 of 16 in the first six seconds of the shot clock in Game 1, and the 16 attempts were more than Toronto had in the first six seconds in any of the last five conference games. . semifinals. Dragic had five more shots in the first six seconds on Tuesday (6-of-8) than Siakam in seven games against the Celtics (1-of-3).
“The transition defense really stands out,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said of the Celtics’ collapse in the fourth quarter. “That Herro three with one minute in regulation time was a killer.”
The Celtics’ mistakes weren’t limited to transitional situations. Failed trades led to a dunk for Butler midway through the fourth quarter and an open triple for Jae Crowder in overtime.
“They ran very well down the stretch,” Smart said. “We didn’t, especially on the defensive end. Lack of communication from a lot of guys. And in the transition, we let them do what they do best, and that’s going out and running.”
Whats Next?
Given the number of bugs they’ll see in the movie, the Celtics will likely lean toward “We need to play better” rather than “We need to make changes” for Game 2. The Heat, with their movement and versatility on offense, will continue to test them. More than Toronto on that end of the floor, but the Celtics are a better defensive team than they showed in Game 1. Hell, they showed it in the first quarter.
“We could not do anything [early] and that’s a huge credit to his defense, “said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.” They took us out of our normal rhythm. It wasn’t about us. That’s what they do, and Goran was able to break free a couple times and put some points on the board. “
Both teams will take a closer look at how the matchup quest worked for them. Miami often looked to Walker to trade Butler, while the Celtics became very iso-heavy in the fourth quarter and in overtime. Overall, his offense wasn’t much of a problem (this was just his third loss of the season scoring more than 115 points per 100 possessions), but the Celtics will certainly look for ways to get the ball moving against the change of everything. of the Heat. defense (or zone).
The Heat caught some of Walker’s pick-and-rolls, and he handled it well, creating a pair of open 3-pointers. The Celtics were changing a lot too, and both teams have already tried to get off the screens to surprise defenders off balance.
Gordon Hayward’s status will continue to be a topic of conversation. He hasn’t played since spraining his ankle in the first game of the first round, but he’s been increasing his activity over the past week. Hayward taking minutes from Wanamaker and Semi Ojeleye will be a huge improvement when it happens.
It can be tough for the Heat to shorten their rotation after an overtime game in which five guys played 39 minutes or more, but they played 10 on Tuesday and Kendrick Nunn’s minutes were a struggle. They could eventually return to their nine-man first-round rotation, without Nunn.
A 1-0 series lead won’t stop the Heat from making their own adjustments.
“I don’t think you can set the tone in a long series,” Spoelstra said. “Obviously, it’s much better to get the win and work on your teaching points from there, but we understand that we can’t get carried away by just one win.”
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John Schuhmann is a Senior Statistics Analyst at NBA.com. You can email him here, find his file here and follow him on twitter.
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