Celtics (1-2) at Heat (2-1) ECF Game #4 9/23/20

[slamtheking]

Having to hide Kemba is becoming a serious problem.

No option than to have him watch Dragic and no switching.

I still believe.

His inability to defensively match up with bigger guards is a fatal flaw.

It nearly killed us against TOR. It will kill us (along with other things) against MIA.

Yeah, it's like he's a slightly bigger IT but without the fire and scoring ability regardless of whether he was having an off night from outside.

[Tr1boy]

Miami deserved this game.

Can’t blame Brad. We were sloppy and impatient.

Tyler Herro is the real deal. What a joke he is in the 2nd all rookie team.

There is no "deserve"

Brad choked

Brad had some dodgy substitution patterns but he didn't turn the ball over 19 times... 19 turnovers to 8 we won't win if we don't take care of the ball. And Spoelstra was determined that we weren't going to score 60 points in the point tonight so he packed the paint with his zone and dared us to drive and kick and beat us from the perimeter. In response we committed turnovers trying to drive against the zone and shot 35% from 3, which was only because Tatum got into his groove in the 2nd half.

Herro had a career game too, 37 points you have to take your hat off to the kid. He shot 14-21 or 66% overall and 5-10 or 50% from 3, in comparison the rest  of the Heat shot 25-70 or 35% overall and 5-27 or 18%.  The Celtics actually shot better than the Heat, we were 47% overall and 35% from 3.

Brad has command responsibility so it's his job to prepare the team to be mentally ready to compete. So he has to take responsibility for our coming out so flat in the first quarter and not playing with force. But when it all comes down to it turnovers and Herro killed us.

You see how Olynyk and Crowder were benched. Because they were not playing well

Instead of benching Theis and Smart ... Brad keeps going back to them. Leading to back to back to back turnovers.  Smart illadvised 3 pt shots. He went 1 for 8

Substitutions is part of coaching also

[Billz401]

Well back against the wall now

Must pull a Nuggets

But I dont have much trust in Brad

Theis theis theis

When Timelord goes +10. And his presence alone makes Heat think twice before driving in

Agreed. TIMELORD disrupts all the easy driving. Brad could even play two bigs sometimes.

Theis has been hot garbage all series. Getting exposed by bam. Timelord, Kanter, and grant have all outplayed him but brad continues to put him out there. Timelord came in and made an immediate impact but then sits the rest of the game lol. My trust in coach stevens has all but disappeared

[liam]

Having to hide Kemba is becoming a serious problem.

No option than to have him watch Dragic and no switching.

I still believe.

His inability to defensively match up with bigger guards is a fatal flaw.

It nearly killed us against TOR. It will kill us (along with other things) against MIA.

He'd be alright if we weren't overly reliant on switching. Reminds me of a game against Dallas years ago where Kyrie kept switching onto Harrison Barnes only to give up easy bucket after easy bucket.

Are you suggesting that Brad should try something different?

Why did Grant Williams not play? He stretches the floor and pulls the bigs away from the basket.

[Phantom255x]

Here it comes from CBS after the game

"We played well, we did a lot of good things. Miami also did some good things. We've just got to stick to our plan. The refs were phenomenal tonight and weren't a reason we lost... " 

[scaryjerry]

I would have some sort of faith in a 3-1 comeback if the heat weren’t just simply a better team

I couldn’t disagree more. I have faith because I truly believe we are the better team. We clearly laid an egg tonight but for the majority of this series we outplayed them.

We are clearly the better team..I agree but they have been the better closer by far...when we start rolling we start getting complacent

How did we turnover the ball so much and let so many second chance shots be taken? We can win 3 in a row but it will be hell to do it...

Simply not the better team. Mental toughness and closing games has something to do with who’s better..and Miami is simply better and have been all playoffs.

[hodgy03038]

I can't go back to see if anyone has brought this up but why in the H*** did Brad NOT challenge the foul on Hayward when Dragic hit the 3? It's the SAME EXACT PLAY that Dragic got reversed in the previous game. There was a long break and I thought they would challenge it but there was no mention of it so I assume chicken Brad didn't challenge. I mean man he was outcoached again and my god Herro absolutely killed us.

[86MaxwellSmart]

Awful right from the start...3 days off.?...they forgot how they won the last game, by driving hard to the hoop from the tip...they were settling for jumpers right from the tip....SOFT.

[BringToughnessBack]

Funny hearing people think Riley was going to trade with Danny..revisionist history...We offered Jordan a treasure cheat of picks years ago  and even he would not make trade with us. If you think Riley was going to give us a move up for a late first rounder and puck behind theirs  , you are delusional..not happening in this reality.

People are really blaming Danny for this loss because Heat found a great player in the first round and he did not get him somehow? Wow.....

You know who was too blame tonight..every Celtics player that had butter on their fingers for turning the. all over and every Celtics player that failed to box out and let them score over 20 second chance points...not Danny..not Brad

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Here it comes from CBS after the game

"We played well, we did a lot of good things. Miami also did some good things. We've just got to stick to our plan. The refs were phenomenal tonight and weren't a reason we lost... " 

Mr. Milquetoast strikes again.

Keep building on those "good things," Brad. Maybe next season your team will take the next step and actually win a conference finals.

[liam]

I can't go back to see if anyone has brought this up but why in the H*** did Brad NOT challenge the foul on Hayward when Dragic hit the 3? It's the SAME EXACT PLAY that Dragic got reversed in the previous game. There was a long break and I thought they would challenge it but there was no mention of it so I assume chicken Brad didn't challenge. I mean man he was outcoached again and my god Herro absolutely killed us.

I think he did challenge but lost....

[86MaxwellSmart]

I can't go back to see if anyone has brought this up but why in the H*** did Brad NOT challenge the foul on Hayward when Dragic hit the 3? It's the SAME EXACT PLAY that Dragic got reversed in the previous game. There was a long break and I thought they would challenge it but there was no mention of it so I assume chicken Brad didn't challenge. I mean man he was outcoached again and my god Herro absolutely killed us.

it was challenged and overturned....the correct call.

[slamtheking]

Miami deserved this game.

Can’t blame Brad. We were sloppy and impatient.

Tyler Herro is the real deal. What a joke he is in the 2nd all rookie team.

There is no "deserve"

Brad choked

Brad had some dodgy substitution patterns but he didn't turn the ball over 19 times... 19 turnovers to 8 we won't win if we don't take care of the ball. And Spoelstra was determined that we weren't going to score 60 points in the point tonight so he packed the paint with his zone and dared us to drive and kick and beat us from the perimeter. In response we committed turnovers trying to drive against the zone and shot 35% from 3, which was only because Tatum got into his groove in the 2nd half.

Herro had a career game too, 37 points you have to take your hat off to the kid. He shot 14-21 or 66% overall and 5-10 or 50% from 3, in comparison the rest  of the Heat shot 25-70 or 35% overall and 5-27 or 18%.  The Celtics actually shot better than the Heat, we were 47% overall and 35% from 3.

Brad has command responsibility so it's his job to prepare the team to be mentally ready to compete. So he has to take responsibility for our coming out so flat in the first quarter and not playing with force. But when it all comes down to it turnovers and Herro killed us.

You see how Olynyk and Crowder were benched. Because they were not playing well

Instead of benching Theis and Smart ... Brad keeps going back to them. Leading to back to back to back turnovers.  Smart illadvised 3 pt shots. He went 1 for 8

Substitutions is part of coaching also

agreed, if the options are there, bench the underperformers.  Smart should have spent a lot more time on the bench.  Timelord has his moments but his team D is still a work in progress.  it's not like he was keeping Bam or Miami in general off the boards

[Mahk E Mahk]

top to bottom, this team is mentally soft. until this is fixed, talent won’t matter.

seeing this team this round and the prior one, it's hard to debate that these guys don't have the fire this year and are missing something between the ears with all the really stupid plays.  Part is on Brad.  part is on the players.

teams often reflect the character of their coach. i don’t question brad’s BB IQ or his X’s & O’s prowess; he’s clearly nba caliber in these vital departments, which is why this team has made it this far.

what i do question is his ability to make in-game decisions (adjustments, timeouts, substitutions, etc.) and his demeanor. his shortfalls in these areas limit this team’s ceiling, which is why his teams typically go deep into the playoffs but can’t take the next step.

renewing his contract was premature, as some quality coaches are/were available this offseason. would have loved to see what someone like billy donovan could do with this roster.

[gouki88]

Having to hide Kemba is becoming a serious problem.

No option than to have him watch Dragic and no switching.

I still believe.

His inability to defensively match up with bigger guards is a fatal flaw.

It nearly killed us against TOR. It will kill us (along with other things) against MIA.

He'd be alright if we weren't overly reliant on switching. Reminds me of a game against Dallas years ago where Kyrie kept switching onto Harrison Barnes only to give up easy bucket after easy bucket.

Are you suggesting that Brad should try something different?

Why did Grant Williams not play? He stretches the floor and pulls the bigs away from the basket.

Grant played like 10 seconds, lol. It enrages me as much as anyone - I've been calling for more Grant all year!! Brad just doesn't actually know what he wants his rotation to be in the EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS