Skip to main content

Celtics out-coached, out-hustled and out-smarted in 106-101 loss to Heat

 The Boston Celtics 106-101 defeat at the Hands of the Miami Heat cannot be blamed on one factor. There were many.



Miami coach, Eric Spoelstra, went with a zone defense for most of the game, putting his forwards out at the top of the key. It worked. Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, Tyler Herro and Derrick Jones accounted for nine of the Heat's 11 steals in the game. Miami ended up forcing Boston into 20 turnovers, and that was a killer for The Green.

I predicted That slowing down Bam Adebayo in this series would be Boston's main obstacle. He went wild in the third quarter, and as predicted, Boston had no answer for him. He came away with 21 points, 10 boards and four assists in the game. The Celtics were not providing weak side help on Bam, and he had a field day down low in the third quarter.

In the hustle department, one play at the 10:36 mark of the fourth quarter told the story. A lazy inbounds pass by Brad Wanamaker was stolen by Derrick Jones, who then got the ball to Herro - who subsequently threw a lob pass back to Jones. The play was broken up by Marcus Smart, but Goran Dragic flashed in to grab the rebound and attempted a layup that failed. Herro ended up with the rebound, and the Heat never scored. But  it just seemed that the other three Celtics were slow in reacting to the initial steal by Jones.

To the Heat's credit, they never seem to take a play off. I can add that the Celtics were out-tenacious-ed by Miami. Brad Stevens had better come up with some solutions very soon, or his team will be going home. One avenue that might be explored is giving backup center, Enes Kanter more minutes despite his defensive lapses. In only 10 minutes of floor time, he put up nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, while adding six rebounds.  It definitely is time for some changes in strategy for Brad Stevens.

Photo via Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on six (6) occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts  2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) That kidnapped woman fled to the Gillogly residence on Elm Street after escaping from the armed fugitive, Laplante. 4.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 5.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. 6.) The author, Thomas Lane, lived on Elm Steet, Pepperell, Massachusetts while a police Sgt./Lt. for the town police force. When evil and cleverness reside in the same mind, the st

Did the Celtics Kevin McHale really have a wingspan of 8-feet?

According to many sources, the Celtics Kevin McHale did indeed have an estimated wingspan of 8-feet. One of those sources is Wikipedia, as seen below: Kevin McHale American basketball player DescriptionKevin Edward McHale is an American retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and is regarded as one of the best power forwards of all time. He was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Wikipedia Born: December 19, 1957 (age 61 years), Hibbing, MN Wingspan: 8′ 0″ Height: 6′ 10″ Spouse: Lynn McHale (m. 1982) NBA draft: 1980, Boston Celtics (Round: 1 / Pick: 3) Hall of fame induction: 1999 Number: 32 (Boston Celtics / Power forward, Center) Kevin was listed at 6'10" tall when he was drafted with the 3rd pick in the 1980 draft. Red Auerbach, in yet another heist, brought in both McHale and center Robert Parish (via trade) prior to the Celtics' 1980-81 Champion

In defense of Marcus Smart

 Let me make it clear first of all that I am totally against making a threat of any kind that even hints at harming, or certainly killing, another human being. Marcus Smart was wrong in doing so in the Celtics loss to the tanking Oklahoma City Thunder , and he deserved the one-game suspension. But to be honest, part of me loved that it occurred. . This type of thing can happen when a player gets to a point "beyond frustration" and is having a bad game. Marcus and his teammates have been under-performing generally - were in the process of losing to a pathetic-and-tanking Thunder team - and Smart was having a bad game . And he let loose verbally at the closest target - an NBA official. Wilt Chamberlain did a similar act versus referee, Earl Strom when Wilt was having his usual tortuous time at the free throw line (per Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith): ''He was in one of those 1-for-13s,'' recalls referee Earl Strom. ''Nothing was getting close. S