Extinguished: 10 Takeaways from Celtics/Heat

What a happy Thursday morning this has turned out to be. I woke up at 5 a.m. UK time, walked the dog, made a coffee and sat down to watch the Boston Celtics close out their series against the Miami Heat. It was beautiful.

Today, I’m going to do something a little different. Rather than looking at 10 takeaways from last night’s game, I’m going to split the takeaways into two groups. The first will be 5 takeaways from the series as a whole. The second 5 will be takeaways from last night.

#1 Series final score

The Celtics won the series against Miami by a total of 78 points. Over the five games, Joe Mazzulla’s team dropped 539 points while giving up 461. Throughout the series, that gives the Celtics an average of +15.6 points per game. That sounds pretty good, right?

More importantly, though, the Celtics limited the Heat to under 100 points in four of the five meetings. The last time we saw this level of defense, with this level of consistency, we were unknowingly embarking on a run to the NBA Finals.

#2 Banishing the past

Any real estate the Heat held on Celtics Island has been foreclosed. They gotta utterly outworked in all but one of the games — and that’s more on Boston than it is on Miami. Last season, Erik Spoelstra had got his hands on some of ‘Michael’s Secret Stuff,’ which helped overpower his team and generate an unlikely run. Clearly, that well ran dry by the time they got back to the playoffs this year.

By beating the Heat in the opening round, the Celtics likely overcame a mental hurdle. For years, it’s felt like the path to the NBA Finals has run through Miami. They just always find a way of being in the mix or at least being a roadblock on the Celtics’ path.

Not this time. This time, the Celtics drew them early and stopped the Heat from building any momentum. They kept them in the shade where it’s cooler and harder to get burned. Now, it’s the Celtics who are the team with the momentum. And the conference runs through Boston, not the other way around.

#3 Matching physicality

Soft. Mentally weak. Incapable of playing through adversity. These are accusations that have been thrown at the Celtics for multiple years. Every loss comes with a new variation of this line of questioning. Yet, those critics will be silent today. There will be no slow singing and flower bringing (if you know, you know).

So, allow me to be the voice of praise here.

Would the Celtics have matched the Heat’s physicality if they were soft? Would they have continually pressured the rim and Rhino-ran through the defense if they were scared of getting hurt? Would they have bounced back from their humbling in game two if they couldn’t rise through adversity? Would they have found ways to draw fouls against a bully-ball defense if they couldn’t play through adversity? And would they have dealt with a team that has taken them to seven games twice in two years if they were mentally weak?

The answer to all of those questions is no.

Not only did the Celtics show mental fortitude and aggressiveness during this series, they did so while staying under control. Not once did it feel like the pressure got too much for them, or the game was to assertive. They took everything in their stride. They fought for every possession. And most importantly, they cooked, they cooked a lot, they cooked so much Gordon Ramsey is trying to find a way to make a TV series from this series.

“I think the world we live in, there’s gotta be something wrong with every team,” Jayson Tatum said after the game. “That’s what they like to say. You can see how talented we are. I think it’s lazy, or easy to say that teams can out-tough us. I’ve never understood that. Like, what’s the definition of tough? Having louder guys on your team? That s— don’t make you tough. Everybody has their own definition of what toughness is. It’s playing the right way, showing up every day to do your job without complaining. I think that’s being tough.”

#4 Staying locked in

No Jimmy Butler. No Terry Rozier. No Josh Richardson. A game without Delon Wright. And a game without Jaime Jaquez Jr. That’s a lot of talent to be missing, especially at the top end of your rotation. Celtics teams from yesteryear may have fallen into the trap of playing with a preconceived notion that they’d already won. They might have struggled to apply themselves correctly.

Not this team. Not this time. The Celtics stayed locked in (game two withstanding).

Mazzulla’s team stayed focused on the task at hand. It didn’t matter who was in, or out, of Miami’s rotation, the gameplan stayed the same. High-level execution on both ends is why the Celtics have some additional rest days. I feel like it went under the radar, but this was growth from a team that has been known to fall into the trap on multiple occasions.

#5 Brissett will see you now

Before the series began, Oshae Brissett addressed how Miami’s fans chanted ‘We want Boston’ during their play-in tournament win over the Atlanta Hawks. In a video released on his YouTube channel, Brissett told the fanbase, “We will continue this discussion after the first round.” Well, Miami fans, the first round is over. Is it time to have that discussion?

I loved this confidence from Brissett and how his comment was classy but clearly designed to get a reaction.

Now, onto the basketball.

#1 On the hunt

Poor Tyler Herro had a tough night. The Celtics were relentless in hunting him. Every possession felt like he was being switched into a mismatch and worked over.

The Celtics showed their intent early. In the above clip, you can see a “21 Up” action between Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown. Holiday’s screen creates a favorable switch for Brown in transition, putting Herro at a disadvantage. The mismatch triggers Miami’s defensive rotations, and the Celtics swing the ball around.

This possession starts with Sam Hauser being guarded by Herro in the weakside corner. A weakside-up screen (Weak Fist) forces the switch, putting Herro on Tatum. After directing traffic on the perimeter for a moment, Tatum walks Herro down toward the nail, stops, rises, and nails the jumper.

That was the type of night Herro endured. If it wasn’t Tatum, it was Brown. If it wasn’t Brown, it was Horford. If it wasn’t Horford, well, you get my point.

All-in-all, Herro guarded 8 shots from Brown, watching five of them go in. Tatum went 1-of-4 against him. White, Holiday, and Hauser all saw a shot drop, too. And that’s before we factor in Herro being scrammed out of mismatches before the shot was taken or, with help, defenders being registered as the primary defender as the shot went up.

Herro had a tough night. Even Mike Gorman got in on the action. That’s when you know it’s time to throw in the towel.

#2 The defense is as good as the offense

Mazzulla has his team playing a brand of defense that is just as good and just as fluid as its offense. The Celtics know when to guard straight up. They have plenty of isolation defenders to fall back on, and they have arguably the best perimeter defense in the NBA, courtesy of White and Holiday.

They also have size and length on the wings. They can close gaps quickly.

When you watch this clip, you can see the space Herro is trying to attack. There’s a clear gap between Tatum and Luke Kornet. And there’s some room to stop and pop if you need to counter against a dig or a switch. That gap is quickly taken away (gap help). As Herro penetrates, both Tatum and Kornet take one step toward each other, arms slightly outstretched, Holiday pressuring in the rearview. Suddenly, an inviting drive opportunity has turned into an enclosed wall, and there’s no clear path through.

Turnover.

When the Celtics weren’t closing down scoring lanes, they were looking to pressure post-ups or takeaway easy lines to the rim.

Another play I wanted to share was of Brown guarding the post against Bam Adebayo. When you watch the clip, focus on Brown’s feet and how they’re consistently slightly above Adebayo’s lead foot, stopping him from facing up or turning the corner. Brown also sinks into his knees a little to absorb the bumps Adebyao throws as he tries to dislodge his defender.

After four wasted dribbles, Adebayo settles for a heavily contested fall-away jumper.

Both of these clips show a different aspect of the Celtics defense. There’s far more there we could touch on. But the point I’m trying to make is that Mazzulla’s team executed on both ends, across a range of scenarios, and with a singular focus in mind.

#3 Kornet steps up

Without Kristaps Porzingis in the rotation, Kornet stepped into a role off the bench. His size gave the Heat some issues as they looked to attack the rim. And, as you would expect, he was a factor on offense when screening, slipping, or fighting on the glass.

By no means is Kornet a like-for-like replacement for Porzingis. He is, however, a good deputy who can ensure the Celtic’s drop defense remains at a high and that there’s still some aggression on help rotates or digs toward ball handlers. You can feel safe with Kornet getting some minutes; he’s earned and proven reliable.

I’ll be interested to see if he keeps getting the call in the second round, of if Xavier Tillman is tasked will filling some of Porzingis’ void, depending on the matchups.

#4 A Hauser dunk

Hauser had himself a night. He ended the game with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Five of those makes were from the perimeter. The other one can be courtesy of the play shown above. A close-out drive into a dunk courtesy of a seal from Horford.

I’ve pointed it out multiple times this season, but seeing Hauser attack closeouts off the dribble has been a fun development for him. I do wonder whether he will develop a one or two dribble pull-up, so he can be effective in the mid-range when drives aren’t available.

Nevertheless, this was a fun play.

#5 Total domination on the glass

56-29. The Celtics were two rebounds away from doubling the Heat’s total output on the glass. Considering Miami was playing for their postseason lives, I was shocked they didn’t pressure rebounds more. They only finished the night with 2 offensive boards. Boston had 8.

If the Celtics can keep that level of control on the glass throughout their playoff run, they will be a tough out for any team. Mazzulla likes his team to control the tempo of the game, and that starts with securing the boards.

An extra thought today

Mike Gorman is officially retired. Last night was his final time calling a Celtics game. For myself, and I’m sure many of you, Gorman has been the voice of the Boston Celtics for my entire life. It sucks that it’s come to an end. But he’s had an amazing career that has spanned over four decades.

Final Thoughts

The Celtics took care of business. They move on to the second round, where they will face either the Orlando Magic or the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers need one more win to secure their place, as they lead the series 3-2.

Either matchup will be an interesting one for Boston. They will pose different questions and bring different threats. Still, I’m excited to dive into a series between the Celtics and whoever they face next. Until then, I’ll enjoy a series win over the Heat, and I hope you do too!