Bit of doom thinking about today's game

[ozgod]

It's really clear why today should leave us happy, but I'm kinda not buying it.

Here's what I saw:

 - Heat coming out as though they were going into a Scott Foster game
 - JT averages 6.2 freethrows, took 14 in the first HALF (Scott Foster game)
 - We played really bad offense large part of the second half
 - JT not hitting 3s but keeps taking them
 - DWhite hot start, then goes on to miss the most widest openest shots ever. whilst red hot. how.
 - Rob hurt again
 - Smart DNP (worries me because it's an ongoing issue)
 - Our guys might see this game as "see? easy!" and come out with low effort or entitlement next game.
 
That scares me. Especially since, the most genuine part of this game to me, was the fact that Robert Williams III came to play. In the first 5-7 minutes or whatever it was, he affected EVERY SINGLE SHOT, or got the rebound if he wasn't close enough to affect it. That's huge.

So, the brightest spot gets kinda nullified because it's a guy that can't stay healthy and had to be subbed out again due to it

I'll gladly eat crow next game if we do the same but without the refs. But right now, I'm worried.

This is the part that worries me the most, because there's some evidence they switch off after huge wins. I guess it's hard not to, from a human nature point of view. They really have to guard against that in Miami. The rest of it I'm less worried about...a lot of those free throws weren't gimmes, they were because the Heat found it hard to guard us when we drove to the basket. It won't be 38-14 FTA disparity next game I agree. I don't think we won the game because of the refs though...we won because our defense suffocated them and they couldn't buy a bucket or even a decent shot attempt.

Timelord is apparently ok. He is crucial to our interior defense.

Derrick isn't the greatest shooter, so I wasn't expecting him to keep it up...what I want him to do is to a) defend multiple players when he needs to; 2) run the offense and keep the ball moving so it doesn't stick to his hands too long; and 3) attack closeouts to force them to collapse.

I have no idea if Smartacus will play or not and yes that's a concern. But the Heat have to be concerned about Buckets looking nothing like his usual self, he looked like he couldn't even push off his knee.

It was an ugly game with a big free throw disparity and those things are never fun to watch, when you want to see free flowing basketball...but I like these kinds of ugly, grind them out games because it's like the team imposed its will on the Heat and just stopped them from doing what they wanted to do. Winning the game while shooting less than 40% is a good thing in my book, there's very few teams that can do it but we're one of them, which is not something we could have said about this team for years 

[SparzWizard]

It's really clear why today should leave us happy, but I'm kinda not buying it.

Here's what I saw:

 - Heat coming out as though they were going into a Scott Foster game
 - JT averages 6.2 freethrows, took 14 in the first HALF (Scott Foster game)
 - We played really bad offense large part of the second half
 - JT not hitting 3s but keeps taking them
 - DWhite hot start, then goes on to miss the most widest openest shots ever. whilst red hot. how.
 - Rob hurt again
 - Smart DNP (worries me because it's an ongoing issue)
 - Our guys might see this game as "see? easy!" and come out with low effort or entitlement next game.
 
That scares me. Especially since, the most genuine part of this game to me, was the fact that Robert Williams III came to play. In the first 5-7 minutes or whatever it was, he affected EVERY SINGLE SHOT, or got the rebound if he wasn't close enough to affect it. That's huge.

So, the brightest spot gets kinda nullified because it's a guy that can't stay healthy and had to be subbed out again due to it

I'll gladly eat crow next game if we do the same but without the refs. But right now, I'm worried.

This is the part that worries me the most, because there's some evidence they switch off after huge wins. I guess it's hard not to, from a human nature point of view. They really have to guard against that in Miami. The rest of it I'm less worried about...a lot of those free throws weren't gimmes, they were because the Heat found it hard to guard us when we drove to the basket. It won't be 38-14 FTA disparity next game I agree. I don't think we won the game because of the refs though...we won because our defense suffocated them and they couldn't buy a bucket or even a decent shot attempt.

Timelord is apparently ok. He is crucial to our interior defense.

Derrick isn't the greatest shooter, so I wasn't expecting him to keep it up...what I want him to do is to a) defend multiple players when he needs to; 2) run the offense and keep the ball moving so it doesn't stick to his hands too long; and 3) attack closeouts to force them to collapse.

I have no idea if Smartacus will play or not and yes that's a concern. But the Heat have to be concerned about Buckets looking nothing like his usual self, he looked like he couldn't even push off his knee.

It was an ugly game with a big free throw disparity and those things are never fun to watch, when you want to see free flowing basketball...but I like these kinds of ugly, grind them out games because it's like the team imposed its will on the Heat and just stopped them from doing what they wanted to do. Winning the game while shooting less than 40% is a good thing in my book, there's very few teams that can do it but we're one of them, which is not something we could have said about this team for years 

Seeing Derrick shooting 3's was a stuff of nightmares that I think I just want him to play D, get the re and settle for 2's instead.

Smart will be needed for Game 5. Got a feeling the Heat will get back to normal. Best of 3, but we need to win two more.

[scaryjerry]

My main concern is Robert Williams
Literally makes all the difference in the world for us even while dragging 1 leg up and down the court…just not sure he can stay healthy in the short or long term doing it.

[scaryjerry]

You're like me after every game (except I am less analytical)

Yeah look, I feel like pointing out the "why" really helps here

We won easily, but a combination of factors contributed to it - sort of like a perfect storm

And I doubt that perfect storm will happen again

Also, unmentioned, but I feel like games are reffed super differently from game to game, which benefited us this time 'round



.edit: EXAMPLE - https://streamable.com/eq4p9i

Plays like this, I feel, were fouls last game. Due to contact before the block

Exactly what’s annoying about the nba.
Games are reffed completely differently game to game especially in the playoffs, this is nothing new.

[Vermont Green]

The story of this game was not how well the Celtics played, it was how bad the Heat played.  They played historically bad.  We played just bad.  So the outcome of a game between historically bad and "just bad" was "just bad" won in a rout. 

But as many have pointed out, the Celtics should not feel good about this game.  There were some good aspects but we are not going to reach the finals playing at last night's level.  Shooting 23% from 3.  Still making sloppy passes.  Losing our poise at times.

Tatum was shooting air balls.  He was 1 for 7 from 3.  They were doubling him everywhere so of course that is very much part of the equation but Tatum had some rough moments.  I actually liked how he was able to still contribute even though he wasn't shooting well.  So overall, I think it was a great game for Tatum but he still was not entirely "on".  Again, it is important that he was still able to impact the game even though he was not entirely "on".  He was the key to the win.  That is not always the case.

I sure hope we get Smart back.  I think RWill is going to be gimpy the rest of the playoffs.  He is still contributing so that is great but we are going to need some of Marcus Smart being Marcus Smart.  There are probably going to be close games in the fourth quarter.  I don't think we win a close game last night.

[Roy H.]

The story of this game was not how well the Celtics played, it was how bad the Heat played.  They played historically bad.  We played just bad.  So the outcome of a game between historically bad and "just bad" was "just bad" won in a rout. 

Yes and no.  The offense was bad, particularly from deep.  The defense was quite good, however.

[JohnBoy65]

I think what's become abundantly clear through 4 games is that we're the more talented team. We've got more size, playmaking, and ability. Quite literally the C's are 2 quarters away from a sweep. Now of course, basketball is played on the court not on paper. The real question becomes who plays, and how do we play. We can certainly go into Miami and win by double digits. However, we've shown mental lapses which is quite concerning to a team that's as close to winning a championship as they've been in 12 years.

On the flip side, this is why we got Ime, right? A coach the guys respond to. A coach that will ride them when necessary. I am hopeful they've all learned from this mistakes after wins the last 2 series, and I hope Ime is riding them hard the next 35 hours.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

The story of this game was not how well the Celtics played, it was how bad the Heat played.  They played historically bad.  We played just bad.  So the outcome of a game between historically bad and "just bad" was "just bad" won in a rout. 

Yes and no.  The offense was bad, particularly from deep.  The defense was quite good, however.

bingo

we will hit our shots next game. if we just keep driving and get to the line and play D we should win.

[mef730]

Nothing wrong with a bit of concern. In fact, I wish the Celtics played like they had more of it.

Having said that, I'm guessing that there's a poster on the Miami board somewhere saying:

--We have a tough time defending these guys, since they're big, and we can't shoot for crap.
--When the Celtics decide that they feel like playing, they simply dominate us. They've won 13 of 16 quarters and, had they shown up in a couple of those other ones, they could have swept us by now.
--We haven't shot well, but neither have the Celtics. If Tatum plays like Tatum and Jaylen Brown stops turning the ball over, none of the rest of this is going to matter.
--We need a healthy Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro to win, and both of those guys seem to be a bit gimpy.
--The Celtics may have both Marcus Smart and Timelord in the next game. TL basically shut down Adebayo and seems to be able to control him. Without a strong push in the paint, we need to hit all of our perimeter shots to have a chance.
--We have home court advantage, but the Celtics have shown no indication that they play worse on the road.

--------------------------------------------

Bottom line: This thing should be over and the Celtics couldn't get the job done, so there's no reason to believe that they've got the series locked up, even though they are clearly the better team. But if I had to choose being in Miami's shoes right now or ours, I think I'd pick ours.

Mike

[Vermont Green]

The story of this game was not how well the Celtics played, it was how bad the Heat played.  They played historically bad.  We played just bad.  So the outcome of a game between historically bad and "just bad" was "just bad" won in a rout. 

Yes and no.  The offense was bad, particularly from deep.  The defense was quite good, however.

bingo

we will hit our shots next game. if we just keep driving and get to the line and play D we should win.

Defense impacts how well the other team plays offensively.  Defense can also produce better looks on offense as it is easier to attack after a missed shot or turnover.  All these things are true but I did not feel that this was an unusually great defensive effort by the Celtics.  The defense was solid, as usual, but from where I sat, I saw it being more about the Heat playing badly, shooting badly, historically bad, not the Celtics playing some historically good defensive game.

It is not possible to settle this debate definitively.  Did the Heat starters shoot 7-36 because of great defense or bad shooting?  I saw more of the latter.  Maybe others saw it differently.  I suspect the Celtic's coaches are telling the team to not let this win go to their heads.  The Celtics could play the exact same defense every game and the Heat will never be this bad again, ever.  But that is not even the best defense that the Celtics can play or have played in this series.

The team had no Smart and a gimpy RWill so already our defense was limited.  Williams toughed it out, credit to him, he played pretty well under the circumstances, he impacted a few shots, but he did not play all-league defense like he is capable of when fully healthy.  The rest of the team was solid defensively, consistent, limited missed rotations and so on.  A solid team defensive effort.  But this was not a historically great defensive effort.  This game was a historically bad Heat effort.  At least that is what I saw.

[aefgogreen]

It's really clear why today should leave us happy, but I'm kinda not buying it.

Here's what I saw:

 - Heat coming out as though they were going into a Scott Foster game
 - JT averages 6.2 freethrows, took 14 in the first HALF (Scott Foster game)
 - We played really bad offense large part of the second half
 - JT not hitting 3s but keeps taking them
 - DWhite hot start, then goes on to miss the most widest openest shots ever. whilst red hot. how.
 - Rob hurt again
 - Smart DNP (worries me because it's an ongoing issue)
 - Our guys might see this game as "see? easy!" and come out with low effort or entitlement next game.
 
That scares me. Especially since, the most genuine part of this game to me, was the fact that Robert Williams III came to play. In the first 5-7 minutes or whatever it was, he affected EVERY SINGLE SHOT, or got the rebound if he wasn't close enough to affect it. That's huge.

So, the brightest spot gets kinda nullified because it's a guy that can't stay healthy and had to be subbed out again due to it

I'll gladly eat crow next game if we do the same but without the refs. But right now, I'm worried.

I hope JB keeps taking threes.  It's too hard to judge future performance by the past few games.