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Post by Admin on Dec 2, 2022 19:07:58 GMT -5
Miami Heat (10-12) at Boston Celtics (18-4) Game #23 12/2/22
The Celtics look for their 6th straight win as they host the Miami Heat for the 2nd time in 3 days.
By flceltsfan
The Celtics host the Miami Heat for the second time in the last 3 days. This is the final game of a 6 game home stand for the Celtics and the 3rd of a 4 game road trip for the Heat. This is the 3rd of 4 games between these two teams this season. The Celtics won the first meeting 111-104 in Miami. They won 134-121 on Wednesday in a hard fought game at home. They will play the final game of the series on January 24 in Miami.
The Celtics are 1st in the East, 2 games ahead of the second place Milwaukee Bucks. The Celtics are 11-1 at home and 9-1 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 5 game and have won 10 straight at home. The Heat are in 11th place in the East. They are 8 games behind the Celtics in the standings and 5.5 games ahead of last place. They are 2-8 on the road and 5-5 in their last 10 games.
Jaylen Brown had been questionable with a neck injury on Wednesday but played in that game and should play in this game as well. Robert Williams is getting closer to a return to the team. He has been seen scrimmaging and dunking at practice but the Celtics are being cautious with him. He is still expected back by Christmas. Danilo Gallinari will miss most, if not all, of this season with the ACL tear.
The Heat had 12 players on their injury list on Wednesday, but 5 of those questionable players played in that game. Jimmy Butler missed Wednesday’s game and is questionable for this game but is expected to play. His official status will be a game time decision. Victor Oladipo (knee) and Omer Yurtseven (ankle) are out. Jovic (foot), Dedmon (foot), and Butler are listed as questionable. Highsmith, Vincent, Robinson, Strus, and Herro are all listed as probable. All will be a game time decision.
Key Matchups
Al Horford vs Bam Adebayo
Adebayo is averaging 20.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He is shooting 53.0% from the field and 11.1% from beyond the arc (1-9 on the season). He finished Wednesday’s game with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. He is dangerous around the basket to score and to grab rebounds and seemed to get to the hoop at will on Wednesday. The Celtics need to keep him out of the paint as well as off the boards.
Jaylen Brown vs Jimmy Butler
Butler was not with the team on Wednesday and is questionable for this game but everything was pointing to him playing in this game. He is averaging 20.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. He is shooting 48.3% from the field and 35.5% from beyond the arc. More importantly, he is a good defender who has limited Jayson Tatum in the past. If he doesn’t play, Max Strus will likely get the start once again.
Honorable Mention
Derrick White vs Tyler Herro
Last year’s Sixth Man of the Year is now in the starting lineup. He is averaging 18.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. He is shooting 43.3% from the field and 33.7% from beyond the arc. He finished Wednesday’s game with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists. He is a scorer and will have a big game if not defended well. Derrick needs to stay with him both in the paint and on the perimeter.
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Post by Cabutan on Dec 2, 2022 19:14:52 GMT -5
This is the game we have to make a statement. Butler tweeting videos telling Boston he is on his way.
Let's hope the thread is not hijacked by immaturity!
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Post by fierce on Dec 2, 2022 19:21:10 GMT -5
Heat win if they can have a repeat of their shooting % in the 1st meeting the other day.
Will the Heat once again shoot 52% from the field and 45% from the 3pt line?
If not, Celtics win.
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Post by hedleylamarr on Dec 2, 2022 19:21:52 GMT -5
Butler is a good player, but I always thought hie opinion of his ability was too high
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Post by fierce on Dec 2, 2022 19:24:34 GMT -5
Mr. Ruffles!
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Post by fierce on Dec 2, 2022 19:26:42 GMT -5
Butler is a good player, but I always thought hie opinion of his ability was too high Agree. One aka Craputan is such a big fan of Butler.
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Post by Admin on Dec 2, 2022 19:26:49 GMT -5
Attacking the Miami zone
The Celtics didn’t blink whenever the Heat tried to throw some zone into their defensive coverages.
By AdamTaylorNBA Photo by Samir Hussein - Pool/WireImage
There was a time, in the not-too-distant past when a zone defense would spell disaster for the Boston Celtics. 2-3, 1-3-1, 3-2, box-and-one, it didn’t matter what type of zone was thrown at them, the Celtics just couldn’t figure a way past it. The Miami Heat know this and like to test the Celtics’ ability to penetrate their multitude of zone defenses in the hopes of stumbling across a defensive scheme that causes their offense to stagnate. So, it was hardly a surprise when we saw the Heat filter through their defensive systems on Wednesday night, but it was certainly encouraging that the Celtics continue to find ways to push past it. Of course, having an offense predicated on continual ball and player movement is always going to lend itself toward beating a defense, but finding ways to penetrate the middle of a zone isn’t as simple as we make it sound. Throughout their game against Miami, the Celtics leaned on three specific principles to counter Erik Spoelstra's zone defenses, each of which made a significant impact in keeping Boston’s rhythm and momentum alive. Let’s take a look at each of those principles.
Nail entries
By positioning a player along the free-throw line, the Celtics gave themselves an easy entry past Miami’s perimeter defense, allowing them to look for secondary creation that would spring a shooter, or cutter, free. Above, we can see that a simple entry pass to Al Horford quickly denies the first layer of Miami’s zone, as the ball gets behind them in seconds. Horford’s touch pass back out to Derrick White catches Miami’s defense off guard, as one of their primary principles is to pinch and/or dig at ball handlers when they’re hovering around the high helpline.
Baseline Cuts
Similar to placing an off-ball threat around the nail, the Celtics also looked to get some secondary creation courtesy of baseline cutters, with the idea being to engage the perimeter defense with a shallow drive before finding a cutter marauding across the baseline.
In the above clip, we see that it’s Jaylen Brown who is attempting to penetrate the defense off the dribble, ensuring the focus is on him and on limiting any slot cutters who could be looking to get a free run to the bucket. As such, Derrick White finds an open lane across the baseline, and similar to Horford at the nail utilizes a touch pass to beat the defense (who now have to stop and change direction, again) to find Marcus Smart on the opposite corner waiting to get a three-point shot off.
Driving the gap
The thing with a zone defense is that it moves in unison, shifting side to side, focusing on what’s in front of it, which can create gaps once the ball starts to move. When you have a player with an explosive first step — a la Malcolm Brogdon, then things can start to get a little hairy for the defense.
Here, we can see Brogdon blow through Miami’s zone simply because he was able to beat their shift over toward him and attack the gap between defenders. A core principle in zone defense is not to switch, and if a man gets by you, trust the back line of defenders. Unfortunately, Brogdon is a bona fide assassin when getting his floater off, meaning this possession ended in a bucket.
Furthermore, the Celtics have become a high-level team at engaging the low-man before hitting a dump-off pass, and when looking to attack defensive gaps by driving at speed, that sort of playmaking can be quite useful.
Heading into Friday’s game
Spoelstra is unquestionably one of the best coaches in the NBA, so there’s no doubt that he will be making some adjustments to how Miami looks to execute its zone defense — if they choose to utilize it all. However, it’s clear that Boston has settled on their core principles in attacking zone coverage, and given the immense scoring gravity throughout their roster, the chances of them stagnating for significant periods of time seem quite minimal.
Of course, the Celtics will have their own ideas about how they want to attack Miami, and Joe Mazzulla will certainly be making his own tweaks to the team’s system. But, for now, we can rest assured that the Celtics are more than capable of breaking down whatever zone coverage the Heat, or any other NBA team, want to throw at them.
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Post by Admin on Dec 2, 2022 19:30:07 GMT -5
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Post by Admin on Dec 2, 2022 19:36:08 GMT -5
"I mean it’s hard to get a team out of flow when we only shoot nine free throws and they shoot 23. I feel like, that’s the deciding right there. I feel like if we shoot 18 total free throws, we’re in the ball game."
Listen, you never want to blame officiating, it’s not always as apparent as it was in Wednesday’s game, and there are always other factors that interact with one another to produce a final result. However, when it’s as clear as it was Wednesday, a guy like Bam Adebayo, who rarely complains, isn’t out of bounds at all.
The Miami Heat will have to continue to play through, often, one-sided officiating though, as these Celtics appear to be the gatekeepers of the Eastern Conference right now. That includes a ton of questionable forearm play from many of their guys and physicality on one side that isn’t allowed on the other.
Comment: Funny, I heard Doc saying that they were getting away with being physical and the C's weren't matching it. But they think we were the "gatekeepers."
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Post by drboogiebone on Dec 2, 2022 19:41:23 GMT -5
Gotta embrace and prepare for a fight tonight. This Miami team has a lot of pride and a good coach. Butler is back tonight.
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Post by drboogiebone on Dec 2, 2022 19:42:30 GMT -5
Hopefully we have a decent officiating crew tonight.
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Post by drboogiebone on Dec 2, 2022 19:42:43 GMT -5
C's win the tip
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Post by Admin on Dec 2, 2022 19:44:13 GMT -5
Celtics lineup change (Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford)
Heat lineup change (Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro)
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Post by drboogiebone on Dec 2, 2022 19:44:31 GMT -5
Smart on the cut to the rim for 2.
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Post by fierce on Dec 2, 2022 19:45:11 GMT -5
Trade that softie out of here!
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Post by drboogiebone on Dec 2, 2022 19:45:24 GMT -5
Tatum the back down and1.
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Post by drboogiebone on Dec 2, 2022 19:47:00 GMT -5
4 all
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Post by drboogiebone on Dec 2, 2022 19:48:09 GMT -5
White fouled on the drive.
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Post by drboogiebone on Dec 2, 2022 19:48:50 GMT -5
Derrick sinks both FT's
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Post by drboogiebone on Dec 2, 2022 19:49:09 GMT -5
Jaylen for 3
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Post by drboogiebone on Dec 2, 2022 19:50:10 GMT -5
Beautiful pass by Jaylen to Smart under the basket for the layin
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Post by fierce on Dec 2, 2022 19:51:01 GMT -5
Brogs checks in for Tat.
Celtics lineup change (Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Malcolm Brogdon)
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Post by drboogiebone on Dec 2, 2022 19:51:31 GMT -5
Smart takes it himself for 2 off the backboard.
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Post by kivancb on Dec 2, 2022 19:52:28 GMT -5
HATE the HEAT.
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Post by drboogiebone on Dec 2, 2022 19:52:28 GMT -5
Brogdon the steal. White the putback for 2.
Timeout Miami.
Heat lineup change (Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin, Bam Adebayo, Kyle Lowry, Max Strus)
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