The Celtics enter Game 4 of this best of 7 series with a 2-1 lead. The Celtics won Game 1 119-94 putting up a franchise record 22 3 pointers. It looked like the Celtics would dominate the series. Then came Game 2. The Heat caught fire from 3 and set their own franchise record with 23 threes and they shot 53.5% from beyond the arc on the way to a 111-101 victory in Game 2. After attempting 42.5 threes a game in the regular season, the Celtics attempted only 32 threes while the Heat took 43. The Heat also bullied Kristaps Porzingis into his worst game as a Celtic.
Game 3 was a different story for both teams. Like in Game 1, the Celtics jumped out to a big lead in the first quarter. However, unlike both Game 1 and Game 2, neither team was highly dependent on threes. The Celtics attempted 37 and hit just 29.7% of them. The Heat attempted just 28 threes and hit 32.1% of them. With 3’s not falling, the Celtics found other ways to score and it worked for them to the tune of a 104-84 win where they never trailed.
The biggest difference for the Celtics from Game 2 to Game 3 was their effort and physicality. They upped their defensive effort and closed out hard on the Heat’s shooters. Instead of depending on threes, they took the ball inside for much of the game, beating the Heat 42-34 in points in the paint. The Celtics played much more aggressive defense and that also kept the Heat from getting hot beyond the arc. Kristaps Porzingis returned to form and was once again a force on both offense and defense.
Home court hasn’t really been a factor for these two teams. The Heat have won 5 of the last 7 games at the TD Garden. On the other hand, the Celtics have won 6 consecutive games in Miami. In the 2022 ECF, the Heat only won 1 game in Miami the entire series (which was game 1). They lost games 2, 5, and 7 at home. In the 2023 ECF against Boston, the Heat once again only won 1 game in Miami the entire series (which was game 3). They lost games 4 and 6 their home court and won the series in Boston in Game 7.
With Luke Kornet returning to the Celtics in Game 3, they now have a clean injury report. The Heat expect to get Delon Wright back for this game after he missed Saturday’s game for personal reasons. Jimmy Butler has been ruled out for this game as he rehabs a sprained MCL. Also ruled out for this game is former Celtic, Terry Rozier who is out with a neck injury. Josh Richardson also remains out after having shoulder surgery.
Probable Celtics Starters
PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Derrick White
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Kristaps Porzingis
Celtics Reserves
Oshae Brissett
Sam Hauser
Al Horford
Svi Mykhailiuk
Payton Pritchard
Jordan Walsh
Jaden Springer
Xavier Tillman
Neemias Queta
Luke Kornet
2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Injuries/Out
None
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Heat Starters
PG: Tyler Herro
SG: Caleb Martin
SF: Jaime Jaquez, Jr
PF: Nikola Jovic
C: Bam Adebayo
Heat Reserves
Thomas Bryant
Haywood Highsmith
Kevin Love
Patty Mills
Duncan Robinson
Orlando Robinson
Out/Injuries
Jimmy Butler (MCL) out
Josh Richardson (shoulder) out
Terry Rozier III (neck) out
Delon Wright (personal) Probable
Two Way Players
Jamal Cain
Cole Swider
Alondes Williams
Head Coach
Erik Spoelstra
Key Matchups
Kristaps Porzingis vs Bam Adebayo
Adebayo has played well in all 3 games. In Game 1, he finished with 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. He shot 55.6% from the field bu was 0-2 shooting threes. In Game 2, Adebayo finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 62.9% from the field and 0-2 on threes. In Game 3 he finished with 20 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists while shooting 44% from the field and going 0-1 on threes. Porzingis struggled in Game 2 but bounced back with a strong Game 3. Jayson Tatum said that Porzingis is the most important player for the Celtics to win a championship.
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Jrue Holiday
Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
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Tyler Herro
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Jrue Holiday vs Tyler Herro
In 3 games against the Celtics in the regular season, Herro averaged 23.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 49.1% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc. He struggled in Game 1 but, in Game 2, he led the Heat with 24 points, 5 rebounds, 14 assists and 1 steal while shooting 53.8% from the field and 54.4% from beyond the arc. He came back down to earth in Game 3 with 15 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. He shot just 31.3% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to defend him just as well in this game and they can’t let him get hot from the perimeter.
Honorable Mention
Jayson Tatum vs Nikola Jovic
Jovic has averaged 12 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1 block and 1.3 steals in the 3 games so far. In Game 3, Jovic finished with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block while shooting 45.5% from the field and 60% from beyond the arc. He is a very good rebounder and the Celtics need to box out and keep him off the boards. They also need to defend him on the perimeter because he is a good 3 point shooter.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense remains the biggest key to winning every single game. In Game 2, the Celtics allowed Miami to shoot 49.3% from the field and 53.5% from beyond the arc. They were late on closeouts for most of the game. Their defense was a step slow throughout the game. In Game 3, the Celtics upped their defensive intensity and played tough defense and held the Heat to 41.6% from the field and 32.1% on threes. The Celtics must commit to once again playing tough, lock down defense and not allow the Heat to get comfortable in their offense.
Rebound – Along with defense, rebounding is always a key to winning. As Pat Riley once said “No rebounds, no rings.” In Game 1, the Celtics out-rebounded the Heat 44-34 and 10-5 on offensive rebounds and they won the game. In Game 2, the Heat out-rebounded the Celtics 40-39 and the Celtics lost. In Game 3, the Celtics once again out-rebounded the Heat 43-36 and they won. It takes effort and hustle to get rebounds and the Celtics need to give more effort and hustle more to grab rebounds if they want to win this game.
Play Hard for 48 Minutes – The difference in the Celtics wins and losses in this series so far has been the amount of effort they give on both ends of the court. The Celtics must be more aggressive in going for loose balls, rebounds, in going to the basket and on defense. They have to commit to giving full effort from the opening tip until the final buzzer. Hopefully they learned their lesson in Game 2 and won’t slack off on effort for even a minute in this game. They need to take charge of the game from the first basket until the last one.
Move the Ball – The Celtics are at their best when they keep the ball moving and when they hustle up the floor before the Heat can set up their defense. In Game 2, the Celtics allowed the Heat to set up their defense time and again as they walked the ball up the court. They hunted mismatches all game that gave Tatum and Brown good shots, but it also killed the offensive flow for the team. Mismatches are nice, but not to the detriment of team basketball. In Game 3, the Celtics kept the ball moving and once again the scoring was spread out and the Celtics got the win.
Everyone Contributes – The Celtics need everyone to contribute to scoring, rebounding and defending. They won’t win many games if only Jayson and Jaylen score. They need Pritchard, Horford, Kornet, Hauser, and any other reserves to come out and play hard on offense and especially on defense. They need the other starters to play team ball and to take shots when they are open and be willing to go to the basket if that is what they are given. They also need to commit to playing tough defense and going for every rebound. Team ball wins games, not iso’s and hero ball.
X-Factors
On the Road – As I stated in the game notes, there has not been the typical home court advantage in this series. The Celtics have won their last 6 games in Miami and the Heat have won 5 of their last 7 in Boston. Also, in Game 3, there was a large presence of Celtics fans at the Kaseya Center. Let’s go Celtics chants erupted several times during Game 3. The Celtics have veteran players who usually play better on the road than rookies and 2nd year players. However, they still have to overcome the distractions of travel, hotel living and playing in front of a hostile crowd.
Coaching – Erik Spoelstra is thought by many to be the best coach in the league. He has coached 2 championship teams, has taken his teams to 6 finals, and his teams have won 6 Eastern Conference Championships. Spoelstra has 112 playoff wins while Mazzulla has 13. In Game 2, Spoelstra made changes to his game plan and the Heat executed them while Mazzulla and the Celtics never adjusted to those changes. In Game 3, Mazzulla did the adjusting, even if most of the adjusting was to the Celtics’ attitudes and efforts. The chess match continues in this game.
Officiating -Officiating is always an x-factor in every game. Every crew officiates differently. Some call it tight, others let them play. We saw in the Knicks/76eers game that the refs missed 2 big calls against the Knicks, allowing them to get the game winning shot. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus from playing the game. They also need to make sure that they play hard throughout the game so as not to allow the game to come down to a final shot for either team. The more aggressive team will usually get the benefit of the calls and so the Celtics need to be the more aggressive team.
Official Report
Crew Chief – John Goble – Goble has a home team won/loss record of 46-31 on the season. Boston is 7-3 in their last 10 games with Goble, but all 3 losses were against the Heat. Miami is 4-6 in their last 10 games with Goble. He calls 48% of fouls against the road team and 52% against the home team. Jacyn Goble, who called Game 3 in this series, is John’s brother. John attended Miami Senior High School at the same time as Udonis Haslem and they were teammates there.
Referee – Courtney Kirkland – Kirkland has a home team won/loss record of 29-29 this season. Boston is 7-3 in their last 10 games with Kirkland while Miami is 6-4 in their last 10 with Kirkland as a ref. He calls 52% of fouls on the road team and 48% of calls on the home team. 2 years ago during the ECF between Boston and Miami, Kirkland was the replay official in Secaucus who said Max Strus was out of bounds on a key 3 in Game 7.
Umpire – Mitchell Ervin – Ervin has a home team won/loss record of 31-35 for the season. Boston is 5-5 in their last 10 games with Ervin while Miami is 6-4 in their last 10. He calls 51% of fouls against the road team and 49% against the home team.
