Heat (48-28) at Celtics (47-29) Game #77 3/30/22

[colincb]

Pritchard being a non-factor against a team that defends is a bit of a concern. The Heat took him out of the game. They also really missed Rob tonight.

I don’t think we did him or Grant any favours. No way Smart should take that many more threes than those two

Two games in a row he couldn't get his shots off against good defense.

Smart you mean?

Pritchard. Smart I'm not worried about. He's played well in high pressure games his whole career.

Yeah, 3-15 with 6 TOs was quite a preformance. Clutch.

So you want to make Pritchard the starting PG?

Smart's playoff numbers are very similar to his regular season numbers and his offensive and defensive ratings are worse.

Smart is a good point guard for this team when he plays within himself and doesn't overdo it. He's been one of the main reasons for the winning we've done since the first of the year. These last two games are Smart from the beginning of the year and it's not going to get you wins. I hope he goes home and breaks a mirror and gets back on track.

He can be a very good player, but he's not.

[Goldstar88]

Is Oladipo just washed at this point?

[liam]

Pritchard being a non-factor against a team that defends is a bit of a concern. The Heat took him out of the game. They also really missed Rob tonight.

I don’t think we did him or Grant any favours. No way Smart should take that many more threes than those two

Two games in a row he couldn't get his shots off against good defense.

Smart you mean?

Pritchard. Smart I'm not worried about. He's played well in high pressure games his whole career.

Yeah, 3-15 with 6 TOs was quite a preformance. Clutch.

So you want to make Pritchard the starting PG?

Smart's playoff numbers are very similar to his regular season numbers and his offensive and defensive ratings are worse.

Smart is a good point guard for this team when he plays within himself and doesn't overdo it. He's been one of the main reasons for the winning we've done since the first of the year. These last two games are Smart from the beginning of the year and it's not going to get you wins. I hope he goes home and breaks a mirror and gets back on track.

He can be a very good player, but he's not.

He's a great role player but when he tries to be a star he fails. Teams leave him open and he takes the bait instead of driving the ball and passing.

[liam]

Is Oladipo just washed at this point?

Yes.

[hpantazo]

Van Gundy can be annoying, but he kept repeating a key point that's true. This Celtics team will need guys like Grant Williams, White, and Smart to make a reasonable number of threes in order to go far in the playoffs. And to a lesser extent also Horford and Theis. Tonight's Heat defense was a glimpse of what these guys will face.

[Kiorrik]

Aight, JB/JT confirmed AVAILABLE.

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1509296164922920960

This is it folks.

This is the litmus test.

Do we have what it takes to be competitive without Rob.

Man, this is the most excited I've been about a game in a while.

_{Disclaimer: there's no such thing as a definitive test to see if you can compete, obviously. results may vary. but it's a great indicator. and it's not going to depend on getting a W or an L. That's just one statistic. terms and conditions apply. now read this disclaimer again, and say it out loud.}

I'm sure we will have measured and even keeled responses to this game. 

But adjusting to life without TimeLord within 5 games is gonna be a tall order.

I kinda like that what we saw was exactly the issues we've fixed before.

Might be as simple as a couple sessions on extra passes with Theis in the mix in a different spot, as well as defensive rotations tightening up a bit more.

We're not just replacing Rob the athletic big - we're also replacing a person that has built a tonne of good habits.

Hope we can get Theis/Grant up to speed soon. There's hope!

[Goldstar88]

Van Gundy can be annoying, but he kept repeating a key point that's true. This Celtics team will need guys like Grant Williams, White, and Smart to make a reasonable number of threes in order to go far in the playoffs. And to a lesser extent also Horford and Theis. Tonight's Heat defense was a glimpse of what these guys will face.

Disagree. They just have to make shots. This whole, “live by the 3 die by the 3” is for the birds. The Phoenix Suns have the best record in basketball, by a wide margin. They are 27th out of 30 teams for 3pt shot attempts per game. Smart and White are #3 and #4 in terms of 3pt attempts for the C’s and they combine for 10 per game. That’s not a great strategy.

[pokeKingCurtis]

Aight, JB/JT confirmed AVAILABLE.

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1509296164922920960

This is it folks.

This is the litmus test.

Do we have what it takes to be competitive without Rob.

Man, this is the most excited I've been about a game in a while.

_{Disclaimer: there's no such thing as a definitive test to see if you can compete, obviously. results may vary. but it's a great indicator. and it's not going to depend on getting a W or an L. That's just one statistic. terms and conditions apply. now read this disclaimer again, and say it out loud.}

I'm sure we will have measured and even keeled responses to this game. 

But adjusting to life without TimeLord within 5 games is gonna be a tall order.

I kinda like that what we saw was exactly the issues we've fixed before.

Might be as simple as a couple sessions on extra passes with Theis in the mix in a different spot, as well as defensive rotations tightening up a bit more.

We're not just replacing Rob the athletic big - we're also replacing a person that has built a tonne of good habits.

Hope we can get Theis/Grant up to speed soon. There's hope!

I was only able to watch the 2nd quarter, but "issues" and "before" - definitely saw issues from before (sloppy D, sloppy offense).

I'm not a good enough analyst to identify that Grant/Theis was the issue anyway (in the sense that they don't have the good habits Rob does, despite both playing well today I think) - TP for that. But makes sense, the 4/5 is still the back line and so important on both ends.

[hpantazo]

Van Gundy can be annoying, but he kept repeating a key point that's true. This Celtics team will need guys like Grant Williams, White, and Smart to make a reasonable number of threes in order to go far in the playoffs. And to a lesser extent also Horford and Theis. Tonight's Heat defense was a glimpse of what these guys will face.

Disagree. They just have to make shots. This whole, “live by the 3 die by the 3” is for the birds. The Phoenix Suns have the best record in basketball, by a wide margin. They are 27th out of 30 teams for 3pt shot attempts per game.

It's not a question of live by the three die by the three. It's that defenses are going to double Tatum and Brown quickly and make these other guys on the floor with them beat them. Smart and White didn't have much success taking it to the hole either tonight.

I think we need to get Tatum more good looks when defenses tighten. One way or another. He didn't get a good look in the 4th tonight until the last minute or two of the game. Brown , Smart and White forced some bad shots instead.

You get Smart, White or Williams hitting a couple of threes and that forces defenses to stop cheating and opens up room for Tatum.

[Goldstar88]

Van Gundy can be annoying, but he kept repeating a key point that's true. This Celtics team will need guys like Grant Williams, White, and Smart to make a reasonable number of threes in order to go far in the playoffs. And to a lesser extent also Horford and Theis. Tonight's Heat defense was a glimpse of what these guys will face.

Disagree. They just have to make shots. This whole, “live by the 3 die by the 3” is for the birds. The Phoenix Suns have the best record in basketball, by a wide margin. They are 27th out of 30 teams for 3pt shot attempts per game.

It's not a question of live by the three die by the three. It's that defenses are going to double Tatum and Brown quickly and make these other guys on the floor with them beat them. Smart and White didn't have much success taking it to the hole either tonight.

I think we need to get Tatum more good looks when defenses tighten. One way or another. He didn't get a good look in the 4th tonight until the last minute or two of the game. Brown , Smart and White forced some bad shots instead.

According to VanGundy it is. Nothing wrong with taking midrange shots and Smart and White make floaters at a decent clip. Maybe let Grant and Pritchard take 5 shots from 3pt per game and bring White and Smart down to 3?

[Kiorrik]

Aight, JB/JT confirmed AVAILABLE.

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1509296164922920960

This is it folks.

This is the litmus test.

Do we have what it takes to be competitive without Rob.

Man, this is the most excited I've been about a game in a while.

_{Disclaimer: there's no such thing as a definitive test to see if you can compete, obviously. results may vary. but it's a great indicator. and it's not going to depend on getting a W or an L. That's just one statistic. terms and conditions apply. now read this disclaimer again, and say it out loud.}

I'm sure we will have measured and even keeled responses to this game. 

But adjusting to life without TimeLord within 5 games is gonna be a tall order.

I kinda like that what we saw was exactly the issues we've fixed before.

Might be as simple as a couple sessions on extra passes with Theis in the mix in a different spot, as well as defensive rotations tightening up a bit more.

We're not just replacing Rob the athletic big - we're also replacing a person that has built a tonne of good habits.

Hope we can get Theis/Grant up to speed soon. There's hope!

I was only able to watch the 2nd quarter, but "issues" and "before" - definitely saw issues from before (sloppy D, sloppy offense).

I'm not a good enough analyst to identify that Grant/Theis was the issue anyway (in the sense that they don't have the good habits Rob does, despite both playing well today I think) - TP for that. But makes sense, the 4/5 is still the back line and so important on both ends.

To elaborate a bit;

They don't even necessarily have to be the issue. The issue can just as easily be "chemistry".

That's kinda the point I was making with "not just missing Rob, we're missing a piece we've had before". Chemistry can be as simple as *looking* for someone, somewhere. That can be Theis/Grant's fault, or literally anyone that wants to pass to them. Or does/doesn't expect them to be in the right place. Overcommitting to compensate for someone not being in the lineup.

It really isn't as simple as replacing X with Y and making them do the same things Trust is a factor too. You don't just instantly get that

I'm cool with what I saw and am looking forward to seeing if we can get things right before we head into the playoffs.

[hpantazo]

Van Gundy can be annoying, but he kept repeating a key point that's true. This Celtics team will need guys like Grant Williams, White, and Smart to make a reasonable number of threes in order to go far in the playoffs. And to a lesser extent also Horford and Theis. Tonight's Heat defense was a glimpse of what these guys will face.

Disagree. They just have to make shots. This whole, “live by the 3 die by the 3” is for the birds. The Phoenix Suns have the best record in basketball, by a wide margin. They are 27th out of 30 teams for 3pt shot attempts per game.

It's not a question of live by the three die by the three. It's that defenses are going to double Tatum and Brown quickly and make these other guys on the floor with them beat them. Smart and White didn't have much success taking it to the hole either tonight.

I think we need to get Tatum more good looks when defenses tighten. One way or another. He didn't get a good look in the 4th tonight until the last minute or two of the game. Brown , Smart and White forced some bad shots instead.

According to VanGundy it is. Nothing wrong with taking midrange shots and Smart and White make floaters at a decent clip. Maybe let Grant and Pritchard take 5 shots from 3pt per game and bring White and Smart down to 3?

Problem is the defense doesn't give them mid range shots, it gives them open threes.

[Goldstar88]

Van Gundy can be annoying, but he kept repeating a key point that's true. This Celtics team will need guys like Grant Williams, White, and Smart to make a reasonable number of threes in order to go far in the playoffs. And to a lesser extent also Horford and Theis. Tonight's Heat defense was a glimpse of what these guys will face.

Disagree. They just have to make shots. This whole, “live by the 3 die by the 3” is for the birds. The Phoenix Suns have the best record in basketball, by a wide margin. They are 27th out of 30 teams for 3pt shot attempts per game.

It's not a question of live by the three die by the three. It's that defenses are going to double Tatum and Brown quickly and make these other guys on the floor with them beat them. Smart and White didn't have much success taking it to the hole either tonight.

I think we need to get Tatum more good looks when defenses tighten. One way or another. He didn't get a good look in the 4th tonight until the last minute or two of the game. Brown , Smart and White forced some bad shots instead.

According to VanGundy it is. Nothing wrong with taking midrange shots and Smart and White make floaters at a decent clip. Maybe let Grant and Pritchard take 5 shots from 3pt per game and bring White and Smart down to 3?

Problem is the defense doesn't give them mid range shots, it gives them open threes.

Yeah, I don’t buy that the opposing teams defense forces White and Smart to each take 5 shots from 3pt per game. The C’s offensive philosophy all year has been to take a lot of 3’s and as the Suns have shown, you don’t need to do that to win games.

[Billz401]

Just finished the game on the DVR and those refs tonight were TERRIBLE. Every bad call went against the celts and they were calling ticky tacky stuff on the heat but letting the celtics get bludgeoned in the paint all game. I dont get how we are at home and never get a favorable whistle. The called a ridiculous tech on tatum but 5 minutes later Tucker and Dedmond were screaming in the refs face and received nothing.

And im sorry but Grant Williams cant call himself Batman and then put up mediocre performances every night especially when he gets the start. And still waiting on D White to actually show something out there hes been very mediocre lately too

[Billz401]

And did I miss something with the Smart ejection? I only saw him receive 1 tech and got thrown out