The Boston Celtics pride themselves on being a physical team. Since taking over as the team's coach last summer, Ime Udoka has made a point of emphasizing it, and has played a huge part in Boston's massive midseason improvement.
Through three games of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Celtics have allowed the Miami Heat to dictate terms of engagement when it comes to aggression and physical play. The results have been ugly when the Heat have had success in this aspect of the game, such as a 39-14 thumping in the third quarter of Game 1 and a 39-18 thumping in the first quarter of Game 3.
The 24 minutes of play have helped Miami to a 2-1 lead in the series heading into Game 4 on Monday night. If the Celtics want to return to the NBA Finals for the first time in five years, they will have to match the intensity of Miami.
Celtics coach Ime Udoka said after Boston's practice Sunday that they looked at how physical they were, how aggressive they were at the start of the game. I could have done a better job preparing us for that. I mentioned it a lot, but the team did the same.
Miami, historically, since I have played against them for 10 years now, is they try to go harder and be more physical, and it wasn't a bunch of adjustments. It is increasing their physical appearance. It was a little disappointing to get caught off guard with what they were going to do, with Marcus and Al mentioning it before the game. We need to get better at it. We saw what they did, similar things we do to other teams, and ways for us to attack that and combat some of their aggressiveness.
The fact that the third quarter in Game 1 and the first quarter in Game 3 are the only ones the Heat have won is irrelevant. How Miami won those quarters is relevant. The Celtics were physically attacked by the Heat. They made Boston uncomfortable. They made the Celtics make quicker decisions than they wanted.
As a result, the Heat were able to force one turnover after another -- allowing them to get out in transition and boost their offense, which is vital to the Heat's chances of winning this series.
The turnovers turned into 33 points in Game 3 because the Heat were able to steal the ball. Boston allowed Miami to completely disrupt how it wants to play, with disastrous consequences.
The Celtics guard said it was just being smart. They had 19 steals and a lot of live-ball turnovers. I think we will be all right because we can limit those.
The Celtics have been more than adequate when they have limited those. The times they have not been able to do so have been costly. Boston is trailing a series for a second straight round, and are once again alternating wins and losses with an opponent after doing so for the first six games against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The difference this time? The top seed in the East is Miami. If the Celtics can't figure out a way to beat the Heat in Game 4, they could be heading back to Miami with their season on the line in Game 5.
Grant Williams said that the Celtics have managed to survive the peaks and valleys of the playoffs so far. We can't let it go on. We can make it 2-2 if we play in front of our Garden fans.
It is one of those things where we have control over our fate. We have to come out there and be more physically dominant and aware of what we're trying to accomplish. The best teams stick together through thick and thin and understand the same thing that can't beat you, even when you are not playing well.
Boston was trying to find ways to get more involved with the actor. In the second half, he only took four shots and made none.
Udoka said Boston will need to get Tatum off the ball more often, so he can get away from PJ Tucker. Udoka said that Tatum needs to trust his teammates to make plays and that he needs to make strides in his playmaking.
Off-ball actions have worked well for him, whether he is a screener or flares, because they are loading up on him every time he has the ball, but also understanding that they are guarding him like this. The defense always loosens up on him when he makes those passes and reads, so for him, it is looking to get guys involved early as he makes those passes and reads.
The Celtics will have to deal with a few injuries while trying to even the series. Udoka said that Marcus Smart had some swelling in his ankle on Sunday and the team will see how he responds to treatment on Sunday and Monday.
The same applies to center Robert Williams, who missed Game 3 with knee soreness that Udoka said would have him on a day-to-day basis throughout the remainder of the playoffs. Udoka said Williams felt better on Sunday, but treatment and response would determine whether he can play in Game 4. After leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury, Tatum was fine.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
