Previewing Boston Celtics-Miami Heat Game 3, Eastern Conference Finals
By Justin Quinn
The Boston Celtics face a critical Game 3 against the Miami Heat on Saturday, down two games to none in the Eastern Conference Finals.
While the games have been close, the final score has not captured the poise of the Heat in pushing past early big leads built — but not maintained — by the Celtics, who teeter near the precipice of the no-mans land of a 0-3 postseason deficit, unrecovered-from in the league’s seven-decade history to date.
There’s not likely any major tactical shifts coming from either team, as what the Heat have been doing with their length, zone defense, 3-point shooting and Jimmy Butler’s cutting has been especially effective.
And what has ailed Boston has not been tactics as much as focus.
The Heat return with the same cast healthy as in Game 2, while Boston will likely see wing Javonte Green return to the fold after a lengthy absence to repair a partially torn meniscus.
However, it is the recently-designated “Questionable” status and its outcome that could swing the game in favor of the Celtics; the Indiana native has been eyeing a Game 3 return, and it seems Hayward may be able to play.
If he can play well enough to impact the game — itself no minor issue — we would call the tilt in favor of Boston by a razor-thin margin.
For now however, we’ll pick against Boston for the first time in the postseason given the fallout of the postgame spat between Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown still casts a pall over Game 3.
With that in mind, we’ll call another close one, but in favor of the Heat this time, 99-97.
Most online sportsbooks tend to disagree however, granting Boston an average spread of -3.
Celtics injury update: Could Gordon Hayward return for Game 3 vs. Miami Heat? by Andrew Hughes After dropping the first two games of the series, could the Boston Celtics see the return of one of their top contributors for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat?
The Boston Celtics have lacked a certain something throughout the first two games–both losses–of their Eastern Conference finals matchup with the Miami Heat. While rebounding, ball-control and 3-point shooting have all been sorely lacking, the Cs have also been without their highest paid player and starting small forward in Gordon Hayward.
Brad Stevens could only hope that is exactly what has been missing from the equation for Boston, given the optimism the team has surrounding his impending return:
Now, before we get too excited anointing Hayward as the much-needed messiah that will come and erase all of the Cs’ problems in one fell swoop, we need to remember a few things:
1) These will be Hayward’s first minutes logged in a conference finals matchup. 2) Hayward is–at best–a third option for this Boston Celtics team and will likely be playing on a minutes restriction
Yes, it will help having an additional difference-maker in the rotation to–at the very least–offer additional rest to Boston’s overworked starting five. Hayward provides spacing, play-making and zone-busting driving abilities. His presence will help diversify Boston’s attack, which has often devolved into a Tatum/Brown/Walker isolation that results in them passing out of a drive for a contested 3-pointer.
But to think that a flip will be switched in this series because #20 is taking the floor is foolish. This team needs to remain disciplined, avoiding reaching that dreaded 20 turnover benchmark they achieved in Game 2.
More importantly, they need to find a balance between hero-ball and set plays leading to an open look. Hayward will help with the latter, with his creativity and versatility on the offensive end. He is no longer able to provide the former at the level he did in Utah, but he is another high-percentage shooter the team can employ against a Heat team that defends the paint better than it does the perimeter.
Hayward seems intent on suiting up in Game 3, and it couldn’t come any sooner. The team could use an emotional boost after a second straight blown lead, but to expect anything more than another working cog in what should be a well-oiled Celtics machine would be giving you false hope in a time where realistic expectations of what is next is much more appreciated.
Solving Miami’s 2-3 zone defense As Boston’s offense sputters against the zone, can Brad Stevens go deep in his past for answers? By CoachSpins Sep 19, 2020, 8:00am EDT
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Celtics have been an individual-based offense. Four main scorers all take their turn to go at their opponents, doing more to pre-determine who will create and which hot hand to ride than the read-and-react, flow-based offense Brad Stevens installed early in his coaching tenure. The approach, when combined with as much talent as the Celtics have, is effective enough to hurt most man-to-man defenses.
It struggles against zones.
The Miami Heat have hit all the right buttons against the Celtics through two games, shifting to a zone in long stretches over the second half of each contest. If the Celtics are to solve it, they’ll need to share the ball and create movement of their players, not just stand around and watch their All-Star-caliber talent make hero plays in big moments.
From a theoretical standpoint, the Celtics play four guards/wings and one big at a time. Remove the big and think more about the zone being where you place the other four. If a the floor is cut down the middle, there’s a left side and a right side of the zone. If the Celtics keep two scorers on each at all times, the zone doesn’t really have to morph into something its not. Defenders stay where they want to, and breakdowns rarely occur.
That’s why Stevens spent so much emphasis talking about cutters and moving without the ball. If Boston is stationary, they’re easy to guard. They need random movements, unpredictability, and to overload one side of the floor.
Think about this Marcus Smart cut from Game 2: he sneaks out of one corner along the baseline and to the other side of the floor, throwing off the balance of the zone:
In order for these cutters to matter, Boston has to get past the aggressive top-line of the zone. Erik Spoelstra inverts his looks by putting longer defenders up top and hiding his guards on the corners and back-line of the 2-3. It’s effective at swallowing up driving and passing lanes, particularly on smaller guys like Kemba Walker.
For Miami, it makes a ton of sense to load up the front line of their zone with length and size. They’re armed with three strong wing defenders in Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, and Andre Iguodala. In his Game 2 post-game presser, Spoelstra said, “I know everybody wants to talk about a scheme but for us it’s disposition, effort, making multiple plays and multiple efforts.” That veteran trio embodies everything of that Heat culture.
To counter, the Celtics need to get the ball to the high post. They’re at their best when they punch to the heart of the defense. Once there, the overloads matter: if the middle man guards the high post, there are two defenders on each side of him. Overloading one side creates an advantage for Boston that the Heat cannot match.
Okay, that sounds great, but how do you get the ball to the high post? There are, in the simplest form, two ways. You pass it to someone standing there, or you dribble it there, most likely off a ball screen.
The Celts have used a mixture of both thus far. In the clip above where Smart gets a layup, Kemba was able to come off a ball screen from Daniel Theis and have daylight in the middle-third of the floor. That brought Kelly Olynyk away from the rim to challenge his well-respected pull-up, which got Smart open for the dump-down.
In the second-half of Game 2, Miami was a little more cognizant of the high ball screens against the zone (due in part to the monotony of Boston setting them every trip). Instead of letting Boston get penetration to that middle third, they would encourage kickouts to the corners and dare the Celtics to become a jump shooting team.
Watch Duncan Robinson in the clip below. He is so high into the driving lane that Kemba has no choice when using the ball screen but to pass it:
Without dribble penetration there, the Celtics need to fill the high post with a facilitator that can get others open quickly. When the ball goes to the weak area of the zone, it’s on the guy in the middle to be decisive and capitalize on the advantage while its created.
When put in the middle, Smart failed with his quickness and decisiveness. What’s worse is that the Heat simply wouldn’t guard him there. Bam Adebayo, chilling in the middle of the zone, practically dared Smart to shoot the 15-foot jumper. While he didn’t take the bait, Miami’s defense didn’t contort enough to get someone else open. Smart just stood there and played a game of hot potato for 24 seconds while the Heat chased Boston’s shooters off the 3-point line:
Yes, Jaylen got fouled on the play, but my takeaway was that
Smart may not be the man to put in the middle here. If the Celtics are to dismantle the zone from the middle out, they’ll need a strong scoring threat who is respected from the free throw line. Even if this isn’t the desired shot location, somebody a little more capable of attacking the middle and finishing at the rim when the Heat sag off is crucial.
The Celtics have used one simple cutter-based play to create an overload. They bring two cutters through to the corners, hoping to create a corner overload that distorts the zone and gets them an open look. It’s a fairly common zone offense principle.
Miami has come prepared. They have two different bumps around it, both of which consist of not guarding the high-post flash and passing off bigs to the top two guys in the zone rather than the middle man coming up:
At this point, it comes down to this for Boston. They need to either punish Miami for not guarding the middle, or put someone there that forces them to guard it, then creating open looks elsewhere.
After Game 2, Stevens said, ““It’s a hard zone to play against. We did play well against it in Game 1. We played with way better pace than we did tonight. So we’ll go back and look at it, figure out if it was a technical thing or a pace thing or an execution thing or just not-as-focused-on-the-important-stuff thing.” Stevens may not need to look anywhere other than his past playbooks for inspiration to dice the zone.
During Stevens’ time at Butler, he routinely coached teams that shredded 2-3 zones and would take advantage of the high post, low post, and anywhere in-between:
Some of these may work better than others against an NBA zone, but Stevens clearly has no shortage of tricks up his sleeve. It’s just about finding the ones that work best against Miami’s odd front.
There’s a quick turnaround from one game to the next within the bubble, so large overhauls and new plays aren’t incredibly effective without a ton of practice time. What Stevens needs to preach as much as X’s and O’s adjustments is trusting each person on the floor. Zones are simple in what they encourage: jump shots. The Celtics can be more disciplined with which ones they take, but they still have to be fortunate with which ones they make.
Keep your eyes on the zone offense in Game 3. I’d expect something to change.
Smart may not be the man to put in the middle here. If the Celtics are to dismantle the zone from the middle out, they’ll need a strong scoring threat who is respected from the free throw line. Even if this isn’t the desired shot location, somebody a little more capable of attacking the middle and finishing at the rim when the Heat sag off is crucial.
Choices are obvious:
1) Hayward
2) Tatum
3) Brown
Red: "Basketball is like war, in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up."
Zach Lowe sees THESE 2 tweaks as vital in ECF by Mark Nilon Though there are many areas in which the Boston Celtics need to shore up, ESPN NBA writer Zach Lowe sees these two tweaks as vital to keep them alive.
The Boston Celtics find themselves in a bit of a rut heading into game three of these Eastern Conference Finals.
Though they handled the physically dominating Philadelphia 76ers in four games back in the Quarterfinals, round-two presented them with a much bigger challenge, as they took the reigning NBA Champion Toronto Raptors to seven grueling games.
Now, they find themselves in the midst of perhaps their biggest challenge yet, as they try to climb themselves out of an 0-2 hole dug by the scrappy Miami Heat.
Every game day, the Houdini discusses 3 keys to victory, and, heading into tonight’s outing, we pinpointed a few very specific areas in which they need to address.
This morning, ESPN also jumped into the “keys to victory” ring, as NBA writer Zach Lowe penned a piece entitled How the Celtics get back into the East finals. In the article, Lowe addressed two specific points of emphasis the Cs need to hone in on if they wish to enter the win column. His points were as follows:
1) Figuring out Miami’s zone 2) Stopping the Bam dunk parade
Point one is certainly at the top of Boston’s tweak list, as Miami has played 837 possessions of zone this season and is continuing to find success in this playstyle against the shamrocks. Because of their commitment to this defensive scheme, the Celtics’ pick-and-roll game and mismatch one-on-one plays are becoming harder and harder to come by (both of which are frequently run plays by Boston).
Lowe points out that a substantial way of combatting this zone could come with the return of Gordon Hayward.
You can bet Brad Stevens and his staff have spent the past couple of days going over every counter. Getting Gordon Hayward back would be huge. It is unreasonable to expect Hayward to bring peak explosion right away, but Hayward taking 18 minutes from backups would help.
His playmaking style is tailor-made for zones. He is good at making connecting passes in the flow. Hayward also is a threat to score, and a sneaky cutter. Another steady ball handler would reduce the chances of Boston barfing up anything close to the 20 turnovers it committed in Game 2. Boston ranked eighth in forcing turnovers; it needs to play the turnover game to at least a draw.
His second point of stopping Bam Adebayo from dunking, however, we believe is one that should be behind a few other areas of concern for the Boston Celtics, such as containing Goran Dragić, defensive pursuit of the 3-point shot, and keeping control of a lead.
While keeping Bam away from the rim will certainly be an important task to accomplish, the Houdini sees this as relatively simple, for we saw Boston force him into more mid-range shots than he’s comfortable with in game one (shot 42 percent from the field). They can easily do this again should they throw the right personnel his way — namely, Daniel Theis and Robert Williams.
The Celtics have a real shot of winning tonight should they shore up many of their easily mendable loose ends. It’s evident something has to change within this team. Hopefully, they figure out what needs to be done before it’s too late.
Erik Spoelstra getting credit for outcoaching Brad Stevens through two games
By JR
There's a lot of blame to go around for the Celtics falling down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals. There's always two ways to look at things, should the Heat and coach Erik Spoelstra get more credit for the wins or should the Celtics and Brad Stevens get more blame? Coach Nick from BBallBreakdown illustrates how so far in this series Spoelsta is winnng the "chess match" vs Stevens. Using that analogy, one could say it's a lot easier to lose a chess match when your down a key piece.
For example would that Heat zone defense be successful if the Celtics had Gordon Hayward? On the other hand, you play with the pieces you have, so Stevens needs to make the proper adjustments. Reality is the chess match isn't over until ther's a check mate and that doesn't happen in a series until one team wins four games. If the Celtics can pull out Game 3 tonight then all of a sudden we have a series.
The Miami Heat came back from a big first half deficit behind a defense that is taught at the lowest levels of basketball and is not normally associated with helping win key playoff games in the NBA. Erik Spoelstra continues to win his chess match against Brad Stevens, and if the Celtics don't do something to iron their issues both on court and off, this series will be over quick.
Waiting for Gordon: what Hayward could bring against the Heat It’s been over a month since Gordon Hayward saw the floor and the Celtics could use him now more than ever.
By wjsy
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
It’s been a month since Gordon Hayward suffered a Grade 3 ankle sprain against the 76ers in Game 2 of the opening round. He’s been back to Boston to rehab, returned to the bubble, quarantined and on Wednesday, the Celtics officially listed Gordon Hayward as doubtful for Game 2 and then eventually “out” before tip off.
Shuttling him between statuses might seem like cagey posturing by the medical staff, but it’s also an indication that Hayward’s return is close. His initial prognosis was 4-6 weeks and there’s optimism that he could be back in Week 5. Former CelticsBlogger and The Athletic’s Jared Weiss reports that Hayward is looking to return tomorrow after looking good post-practice on Wednesday. Yesterday, the team officially upgraded him to “questionable.”
His return couldn’t come soon enough. Without him, the Celtics have built leads of 14 and 17, but haven’t been able to close in the fourth quarter. It’s obviously conceivable that a healthy Hayward might have tipped the balance in Boston’s favor in Games 1 & 2 and the Celtics could be the ones with a commanding 2-0 lead in the ECF. Instead, his return seems critical to tying up the series.
Since Hayward’s injury on August 17th, a hierarchy has developed in the Celtics starting lineup. The newly minted All-NBA Third Teamer Jayson Tatum has become the alpha of the group. Kemba Walker has had ups and downs, in large part because teams have specifically game planned to take him out of games. Jaylen Brown hasn’t been as efficient as he was in the regular season, but he’s still a solid 20-point scorer and the team’s most versatile one-on-one defender. Marcus Smart remains, as always, a wild card.
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
They’re all different kinds of playmakers. Kemba Walker has been one of the league’s most prolific and efficient pick-and-roll point guards over the last few years (but Miami has specifically schemed against him). Jayson Tatum’s vision with all the added attention he’s garnered in the playoffs has exponentially grown after each series.
Hayward’s game, however, is more similar to Smart’s. They rarely drive and slash to the rim with speed. They’re probers, looking to carve out enough space for a mid-range shot or suck in enough of the defense to free up the perimeter. It’s a more patient and measured approach and with the Celtics struggling to find shots in crunch time, Hayward could prove to be the calming agent that he’s been all year.
Miami is armed with several sturdy wing defenders in Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, and Andre Iguodala. They’re all savvy veterans who will make it difficult for Boston’s younger wings. However, it’s rare that all three share playing time with Erik Spoelstra opting to keep some combination of Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro, and Duncan Robinson on the floor at all times. In Games 1 & 2, Tatum was Butler’s primary assignment; Crowder covered Brown. Throw Hayward into the mix and it’s Mismatch City.
In most cases, Hayward will most likely be defended by a smaller defender like Duncan Robinson or Tyler Herro; that instantly becomes a mismatch of 2020 Hayward being able to truck 2010 Hayward. Gordon’s game is very deliberate. He doesn’t dazzle defenders with his handle or quickness, but if he can get his shoulder around you, he’ll pull up from anywhere below the break for a mid-range jumper or barrel towards the rim for that slow motion fall away.
In two regular season games against the Heat (including most recently a loss in the bubble during the seeding games and late-January win in Miami without Tatum), Hayward tallied only four total assists, but that’s a little misleading. Per NBA Stats’ tracking, the Celtics took 26 shots off of Hayward passes, including 3-of-14 from behind the arc.
Six of those shots were Walker three-point attempts (made two). On catch-and-shoot threes this year, Kemba is shooting a robust 42%. When and if Hayward returns, that could alleviate the pressure on Kemba to be a playmaker and feed him easier opportunities off the ball. And while the overall percentages are low, the aggregate attempts is not and the small sample does indicate Hayward’s ability to capitalize on his size advantage and be a scorer/playmaker.
According to Second Spectrum tracking, Boston had only twelve paint touches in all of Game 1. Miami had nearly double that with 23 and outscored the Celtics 48-26 in the paint. The Celtics were able to flip the script to start Game 2 (outscoring Miami 32-18 in the paint in the first half), but that dried up after halftime when the Heat went zone.
Hayward isn’t exactly an intimidating presence, but he’ll take it into Miami’s kitchen and could be the zone buster that Boston has been missing. He’s strong enough to attack the gaps, penetrate the paint, and either find shooters or score. The Heat invert the traditional 2-3 by putting their stronger wing defenders above the break and their smaller guards working the baseline. As CelticsBlog’s Adam Spinella noted, the key to beating Miami’s zone will be getting a willing passer and shooter around the free throw line. There isn’t a better player suited for that task on the Celtics roster than Hayward.
Incorporating Hayward shouldn’t be too difficult. Even if he’s not starting and can only go in short spurts because of his conditioning, those 15-20 minutes gives Brad Stevens a unique five-tool player that Boston hasn’t had for most of the playoffs and frankly, it’s now when they’ve needed him the most.
Can our guys recognize the variation of defenses Spo is throwing at them ... 2-3, 3-2, 1-2-2, trap, etc.
If the ball handlers don't then they waste clock trying to figure out what to do or worse attack the new defense with what was being deployed the last time. Maybe Kemba & Marcus know but do JT, Maker & JB?
And do those ignorant have time to learn and remember correct plans of attack to counter what they face?
Given only one day between games it's highly unlikely. Gordon can help and between this game 3 and game 4 they will have more time as game 4 won't be until Wed which gives them three days off to practice and study.
Speaking of days off ... I understand that Brad had no practice Friday ... they were given the day off. That's can't be correct but that's what I heard.
3 keys to victory in must win game 3 by Mark Nilon
The Boston Celtics head into a must-win game three after finding themselves falling to 0-2 in this best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals.
A series that started out with such promise finds itself on the brink of despair as the Boston Celtics are in an 0-2 hole against the Miami Heat in this best-of-seven Eastern Conference Series.
Though the Heat had proven to be an unequivocal overachiever heading into this series, many believed the Eastern Conference crown could be easily had by the Cs, as they came into round-three battle-tested having beaten the reigning NBA Champion Toronto Raptors in a hard-fought game seven and held the regular-season series record over Miami at two games to one.
Now two games in, however, we find Boston heading into a must-win game three with far more question marks than previously anticipated.
In short, it has appeared as though this South Beach squad just wants it more than the Celtics do. From their breathtaking teamwork to their relentless effort on both ends of the court the Heat have put forth an effort for the ages in these 2020 playoffs and it’s shining right on through into this year’s Conference Finals.
While Boston did find success against Jimmy Butler and co. throughout the 2019-20 regular season, this Disney postseason has shown a whole new drive for Eric Spoelstra’s team that has seen them boasting an 11-1 record, all of which came against higher seeds than them, including the league’s number one seed in the Milwaukee Bucks in the Semifinals.
As we’ve said time and time again, this series will absolutely be a challenge for the shamrocks, but one in which they can certainly come away victorious from should they connect all the pieces together.
At this point in time, however, the Boston Celtics will need to take things one game at a time in an attempt to claw away at this 0-2 deficit. In regard to tonight’s game, should they wish to attain win number one, they’ll most certainly want to hone in on these 3 keys:
(Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Boston Celtics key to victoryNo. 1) Finish strong in all four quarters
Thursday night marked yet another squandered third-quarter lead for the Boston Celtics in this year’s postseason. Up by as many as 17 points in game two it appeared the shamrocks simply wanted this game more than Miami, as they were hustling on both sides of the ball, creating looks for others and battling for the boards for second-chance opportunities.
Then, unfortunately, the third quarter came about.
Outscored by a point total of 37-17, a period in which the Cs started things with a 13 point lead (60-47) saw them trailing by the end by seven points to the tune of 84-77.
A putrid performance at this juncture in a game is nothing new in the 2020 postseason for the Celtics. As pointed out in a recent publication, of all seven games played in the Semifinals against Toronto, six of their third quarters were won by the Raptors — registering in at a combined point differential of 208 to 178.
The third period seems to be the Achilles heel for the Boston Celtics. Starting off hot is nice, but if they can’t finish things off strong, what’s the point of a great beginning to a game?
If they wish to attain their first win of this Eastern Conference Finals series, they’ll need to play well for ALL four quarters, and not just three.
(Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Boston Celtics key to victory No. 2) Stick Smart & Wanamaker on Goran Dragić
Heading into this Eastern Conference Finals showdown, we as fans and spectators all had the idea that Miami was this two-headed monster of All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. However, as this postseason has progressed, we’ve found that the Heat actually find themselves in somewhat of a Hyrda form, with Butler, Adebayo, and Goran Dragić serving as the beast’s three heads.
While it’s a well-known fact that the former All-Star is still a quality starter in the NBA — as he averaged 16.2 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game on 44 percent shooting from the floor and 37 percent from 3-point range –, his play during this incredible run by Miami is reminiscent of his 2017-18 self.
Through 11 games played, Dragić finds himself leading this star-studded team in points with 22.2 per game to go along with 4.6 assists, and one steal on 48 percent shooting from the floor and 40 percent shooting from deep.
His streak of 28 playoff games with double-digit scoring outings trails only LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in regard to the longest streaks in franchise history.
The Boston Celtics are finding out his impact on the team first hand, as he currently finds himself boasting averages of 27 points, and 4.5 assists on 46 percent shooting from deep in 36 minutes a night against them.
Throughout these first two games, Dragić has been one of the main offensive catalysts for his team and, in turn, they have a 2-0 lead. While there are already many players to gameplan around on the defensive side of the ball heading into game three, the Celtics must add Dragić to their “watch” list, and one can certainly argue he should be right there at the top with Butler.
To combat his excellent offensive play moving forward, Boston should commit to throwing Marcus Smart and Brad Wanamaker — who has been playing stellar one on one defense during this series thus far — at him for extended periods of time in an effort to slow down the Slovenian native.
(Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Boston Celtics key to victory No. 3) Another leader must emerge
This key plays a bit off of slide number one where we talk about their third-quarter tribulations throughout this year’s postseason but, at the heart of it, it would have a massive impact on this Boston Celtics team as a whole moving forward.
As we’ve said a plethora of times throughout this year’s campaign, the shamrocks are a team with enough talent to beat virtually anyone. That said, we always tend to follow this statement up with “including themselves.”
Oftentimes throughout the season, when they weren’t exploding upon their opponent, they were imploding amongst themselves due to the fact that there is no all encapsulating leader on this squad.
Sure, we go about stating Marcus Smart is the lifeblood of Boston Celtics basketball, and we absolutely mean that. With this in mind, however, his leadership has only led to just enough success to guide them to this point, but not enough to thrust them confidently into legitimate title contention in these playoffs, let alone as the top team in their respective conference despite being the higher seed over the Heat.
Smart has given his all in these playoffs and Boston has still managed to just scrape by. Because of this, should they want a legitimate shot of winning in tonight’s exhibition, another leader will have to emerge to help Smart in galvanizing these troops — keeping them hungry even when in command of a double-digit lead, holding them accountable when mistakes are made, and keeping their heads high in times of adversity.
Ideally, it would come in the shape of their best player Jayson Tatum, but one of their other main providers in Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker, or even the now questionable to play Gordon Hayward would suffice.
Smart wants to reach these NBA Finals bad, and it has been evident based on both his on-court performances as well as his locker room antics — though, some may question the means in which he expressed his emotions.
Celtics optimistic Gordon Hayward to be active for Game 3
Adrian Wojnarowski Senior NBA Insider
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Barring a setback in pregame warm-ups, there's significant optimism within the Boston Celtics that forward Gordon Hayward will make a return to the lineup for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat on Saturday night, sources told ESPN.
Brad Stevens consistent in Celtics moment of crisis for better or worse A 1 a.m. meeting, subtle challenges and respect all the way. You may want Brad Stevens to turn red and explode as the Celtics crisis, but that won’t make the team respond any more than they already are. By Bobby Manning
Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
Brad Stevens started one of the most consequential nights of this soon-to-be 11 month season with a challenge. Talking to Sean Grande for his regular pre-game radio interview, he quipped that the Celtics shouldn’t have watched film between Games 1 and 2.
“They did some actions and they did some stuff that we’ve got to be better against, but the transition stuff and all those things. How many months are we into this season? 11.5 months?” he said. “You’re not saying run back and get matched. We have a saying here that transition supersedes matchups. You sprint back and you cover the threats first. You get the basket, stop the ball and then you match the great shooters. We didn’t do any of the three well.”
The Celtics responded in the first half on Thursday, building a lead as large as 17 with rotations, like Daniel Theis’ corner closeout of Jimmy Butler before halftime, among the best all year. They matched their Game 1 total for points in the paint in the second quarter, then in roughly one minute before halftime their largest lead dwindled to 13.
Critics pointed to the Miami zone as the breaking point in what became a 37-17 collapse into the third. They wondered how the Celtics couldn’t exploit a “high school defense,” though the Celtics still worked 0.96 points per possession. Both Stevens and Erik Spoelstra said that the game swung on factors outside of scheme. That doesn’t absolve Stevens from questioning. It does shine a significant light on the fickle notion of chemistry. Stevens does the job his way. It worked all year, including during a near-collapse against the Raptors. In one explosive night, he got tuned out.
Enes Kanter denied reports Shams expanded on Friday morning. The Celtics apparently chided Marcus Smart for his play late in the game, throwing away two passes during a 20-turnover meltdown. Smart reportedly badgered assistants throughout the game and his loud exploits finally got challenged by Jaylen Brown. The two eventually separated, as reporters saw Smart storm out after hearing items thrown. “Team is imploding,” Washburn wrote. Only Duncan Robinson received a question on the Heat side about what happened across the hall.
“We definitely have some direct, forceful conversation,” he said of Miami’s own confrontation at halftime. “It wasn’t necessarily emotional, as in bad. Obviously, you’re in a battle like this, winning comes with emotion. We really just try to be direct as possible, us amongst players and then obviously Spo’ to us about what we needed to adjust.”
No news of implosion. The Heat’s staff told the players they didn’t show enough effort, they fixed it, then ran their explosive pick-and-rolls to Bam Adebayo. They ate up Boston’s seven turnovers to build an unbridgeable shot advantage. They addressed each other’s concerns — and it didn’t take a Spoelstra red-faced explosion.
While Pat Riley has played an instrumental role in vetting his players to develop Heat culture, Miami’s head coach who came up in the video room isn’t testing the team via rants. He handles the schemes and the players police themselves, his pressers nearly identical in demeanor to Brad’s.
On a team that’s built to work on a string on both ends of the court, Boston is suffering from a lack of togetherness. When ball security, their expertise all year, along with transition defense (they ranked No. 1) and spacing all became concerns, something deeper than any scheme is wrong.
“A lot of times we weren’t in the right spots,” Tatum said. “Whether against man or zone, that’s not going to help us. We got to have right spacing in order to create good movement, create a good shot. If spacing’s messed up against a good team, a good defensive team, it’s tough.”
Inserting Kanter worked for Stevens (to a point). He posted-up Miami’s wings successfully. Romeo Langford set up Walker for an off-ball three that helped start his big night, before falling injured after roughly 80 seconds. With Walker struggling for five straight games, Stevens stretched positive minutes from Brad Wanamaker. The Celtics couldn’t organize themselves and execute what Stevens knew they knew. We see it in multiple players calling out different commands within the offense.
He challenged them again in a short on-court interview. “We stopped playing on both ends. We didn’t cut at all, we didn’t pass at all, we didn’t play at all.”
Jeff Van Gundy heard it. He called the reaction Stevens’ version of seething, so for those awaiting the screaming, it’s already here. We can only imagine the turmoil that ensued 12 minutes later, some invoking a medicine ball, while others closer to the scene overheard Stevens trying to quell the noise. At the highest temperature, it took until 1 a.m. to sit down and talk amongst his stars calmly. No practice on Friday cemented what Stevens said openly, this isn’t an Xs-and-Os situation. If it was, Stevens would surely have a plan.
There’s no perfect personality to manage a playoff crisis. Doc Rivers, the opposite of Stevens on the intense, speech-giving scale, just watched hs team melt down for the third 3-1 collapse of his career out west. Especially in this environment, extenuating circumstances likely hover around the team. Stevens made it clear that it’s his priority to listen as an ally in the league’s search for social justice. Then there’s practice time, games every other day and whatever’s left goes to film. They’re 73 days into this now and Stevens, unlike the players, can’t have his family in the bubble. He said upon arrival how important it is to have each other. That’s all the Celtics have now.
Stevens tried to mend fences, challenge and nitpick the fine points until he realized his group understands. Now comes accountability, like Daniel Theis admitting it’s time to stop badgering referees instead of getting back in transition. Brown, however, spoke of discussions about touches after Game 1, something that needs to be sorted out among the players if it’s an underlying problem, because directing shot totals isn’t beating a zone.
Smart, for his part, should stay aggressive. He passed up shots in the middle of the zone late on Thursday, another thing Stevens can’t fix in real time. The 22-seconds to end regulation Game 1 showed there’s blame on the sideline too, but finger pointing on the court won’t get this team anywhere. His blow-up sends its own message.
The Celtics know how to beat a zone. Stevens knows how to beat a zone. He beat one of the best with Butler 10 years ago. Managing professional egos, each with their own brand, family and idea about the best way to do things amid a deficit was less of a job back then. It’s the hardest for any NBA coach to handle especially since, after 11 months of it being no problem, it can erupt out of three critical days gone wrong.
“We’ll go back and look at it,” Stevens said. “And figure out if it was a technical thing, a pace thing, an execution thing, or a not as focused on the important stuff thing ... this isn’t about zones and offenses and defenses and stuff like that. This is we just got to be better.”