#1 Miami’s 3-point shooting
The Boston Celtics dared the Miami Heat to shoot the ball. They sagged off the perimeter, giving Caleb Martin and Haywood Highsmith additional space. They overreacted to drives and struggled to navigate screens. All of this led to the Celtics’ struggles to impact three-point shot attempts.
In his postgame press conference, Joe Mazzulla said most of Miami’s perimeter jumpers were well-contested.
“Defensively, obviously, they made a conscious effort to have free reign to shoot more,” Mazzulla said. “I thought most of those were moderately to heavily contested. So, we’re gonna have to make the adjustment on some of those.”
They may have been contested, but they weren’t impacted. The Heat found ways to create shooting pockets on the perimeter. They let it fly early and often. And they ran Boston’s perimeter defenders through a gauntlet of screens when looking to break down the half-court defense.
Mazzulla’s team ended the regular season with the fourth-best 3DFG%, limiting opponents to an average of 35.2%. That system was based on smart switching, intelligent hedging, and limiting overloads onto the strong side. The Heat found ways to bend the Celtics coverage to their will.
Last season, the Heat had similar stretches of games where they were otherworldly from the perimeter. The entire NBA fanbase wrote them off. We all thought they couldn’t sustain that type of production throughout the playoffs. The Heat rode that shooting variance to the NBA Finals. Saying ‘they won’t have another night like that again,’ is all well and good, but it means we’re not learning from the lesson history has already taught us.
Mazzulla needs to adjust his perimeter game plan. The Celtics have to do better at limiting the effectiveness of Miami’s 3-point offense.
#2 Going away from the “spray three” game
On the offensive end, the Celtics struggled to get into a staple of their offensive system: the drive and kick game. I like to call these “spray threes,” primarily due to a piece I read where Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown referred to the drive and kick game as “spray.” I think is sounds nicer. I digress.
It felt like the first time we saw an intentional drive and kick play was in the fourth quarter, with Derrick White being the recipient.
I’m confident this wasn’t the first intentional drive-and-kick possession of the game. Surely I must have overlooked some, as it wasn’t something I was looking for. However, it speaks volumes that this play jumped out of the screen at me.
Credit to Miami, they did a great job of plugging space on driving lanes. They pinched in. They sent gap help. They look to contain the ball on one side of the floor while staying glued to the passing lanes and not giving shooters any space.
With no drive and kick game, the Celtics went to a heavy dose of attacking the rim. In a vacuum, countering heavy defensive pressure by driving the lane is the perfect response. However, at some point, you have to turn that rim pressure into spray threes, especially when you’re facing a team that is shooting over 50% from deep.
#3 Sending two to the ball with Tyler Herro
This one perplexed me. In game one, Jrue Holiday locked Tyler Herro up and threw away the key. In game two, the Celtics were overreacting every time he dribbled over a screen and looked to penetrate.
Two on the ball against a guy Holiday had tucked away in Azkaban just a few days earlier.
This season, the Celtics have used the strongside corner defender to dig at the ball rather than completely help off. Yet, even with Holiday in the rearview and Porzingis showing size at the rim, the Celtics still send Brown to blitz. That leaves Nikola Jovic open.
I’m not sure where Herro suddenly developed elite scoring gravity from, but it’s not something the Celtics should look to stick with — especially when there’s no other on-ball creation in the rotation. Contain Herro, limit his passing options, and stop letting him control how the defense reacts to his presence.
#4 Slow decision making
Mazzulla’s offensive system is predicated on the .5 principle. That means a player decides whether to pass, dribble or shoot within half a second of the ball touching their hands. Yet, for significant stretches of the game, they looked a couple of beats slow in their decision-making, especially when attacking out of the pick-and-roll.
Again, we have to tip our cap to the Heat. Their adjustment to switch everything on the perimeter pays dividends. It left the Celtics looking for answers when their usual pick-and-roll actions failed to create the opening they usually would.
It’s on the coaching staff to make some adjustments here. There are multiple ways to attack a switching defense. With that said, the Celtics did struggle to maximize their offense when mismatch hunting. If they’re going to hunt favorable matchups, they would be better served to do it as part of their early offensive scheme rather than in the half-court, when second switches or pre-switches can occur.
#5 Feelin’ the vibes
I’ve been uncharacteristically critical and will likely have more criticisms in a minute. So, to lighten the mood, here’s the lob play between Brown and Tatum in transition.
Rick Flare voice: Woooo
#6 Need More from Pritchard
We haven’t seen Pritchard struggle like this in a minute. No shot attempts. Limited effectiveness when driving the ball. He did play some reasonably good defense, though. Still, the Celtics need more from their primary bench guard. Pritchard is supposed to be the guy who changes the tempo of the game and allows the Celtics to get into some early offense and quick actions.
When he’s pushing the pace, this is how it looks. He attacks gaps. He forces rotations. And then, he makes reads out of how the defense is looking to play him. It’s unlikely that Pritchard has another night as quiet as this one in the series.
Mazzulla needs to get him on the ball in areas where he can be effective. No way should one of your best pull-up perimeter shooters end the night without a shot attempt, irrespective of their role in the gameplan. 19 minutes, and you’re telling me he couldn’t get one play ran for him?
#7 A tough one for Porzingis
The Heat clearly had a game plan to stop Porzingis from getting to his spots or being effective when shooting over the defense. The Unicorn found himself being thrown around and roughed up. He hit the floor on numerous occasions.
Spoelstra didn’t have his team doing anything special on the defensive end — not in terms of guarding Porzingis, at least. Instead, Miami played him close. They got under his hips. They made his jump shot uncomfortable for him, especially in terms of landing. They sped him up.
Most importantly, they deterred him from working around the rim and forced him to settle for the jump shots they wanted.
Porzingis is the Celtics X-Factor. When he’s playing well, everything else comes easier. It’s not always going to be pretty. He’s human; he will have off nights. The key is figuring out how the Heat put him in uncomfortable situations and then learning how to avoid those spots for the rest of the series.
#8 Gettin’ Nerdy With It: Blind Pig
I love this play. Primarily because of the name and the fact I find it funny. But also because the Celtics usually get a good look out of the action.
Another interesting tidbit is how Al Horford looks confused with Brown for driving out of the corner to attack the rim rather than hitting a catch-and-shoot three. In fairness, Bam Adebayo had recovered quickly and would likely have negatively impacted Brown’s jumper. The play ended in a bucket either way.
#9 No Plan B
What do both of these actions have in common? The Heat defended the set plays incredibly well. In the first clip, the Celtics went to a “Floppy” action as they looked to get Hauser a catch-and-shoot opportunity on the move. Miami closes the space, Duncan Robinson navigates both screens, and the Celtics go to Tatum for an isolation play with time whittling down on the clock.
The Celtics run a “Zoom” action in the second play to get Brown a DHO. Again, Robinson does a great job of navigating the screens before sliding his feet to cut off Brown’s ability to turn the corner. The play quickly devolves into a turnover.
Having a secondary option when running designed actions is tough, especially when you’re working against the shot clock. However, sending an additional screen or having someone make a secondary cut can open things up.
The Celtics need a counter for when the Heat shut down their actions, and it needs to be something more than an isolation play. Miami is too well-drilled for that to consistently work.
#10 Dust yourself off and try again
The game is over. The Heat did their job. They adjusted their gameplan, upped the physicality and punched the Celtics in the mouth. Now, as the Celtics head to South Beach, they’re the ones on the clock. It’s Mazzulla’s turn to tweak the system and make some changes. And it’s Boston’s turn to repay the favor by beating the Heat on their home floor.
Without Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, and Josh Richardson, Miami has no business making this a series. The Celtics needed this. They needed to get some blood on their lip. Now, it’s time to fight back.
Miami shouldn’t win another game this series. Not with their injuries. Not with Boston’s talent level and depth. But it’s the playoffs, and unfortunately, you just never know what’s going to happen. All we can ask for, is that the Celtics dust off this loss, get back in the lab, and then go out and execute on Saturday.
