The first step: 10 takeaways from Celtics-Heat Game 1

#1 Triple double Tatum

In his 95th playoff game, Jayson Tatum secured the first triple-double of his postseason career. He ended the game with 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists on 38.9% shooting from the field.

What was most impressive was that he didn’t let a tough shooting night from the perimeter (12.5%) sour his night. Instead, Tatum found ways to impact the game without firing away relentlessly from deep.

Tatum’s passing stood out in the halfcourt. For all of his improvements in recent years, it sometimes feels like we overlook Tatum’s court vision and passing ability. The play below stood out to me for both of those reasons.

Tatum’s ability to spot space open up on the opposite side of the floor while fighting over multiple defenders and showing the patience to allow a cut to manipulate the weakside defense is the type of development that has placed him in MVP conversations.

Not only does he recognize the space in real-time, he’s making pin-point swing passes from one sideline to the other and making it look easy as he does it. The scary thing (for other teams) is that Tatum can play way better than this. He will play way better than this. His shots will fall, he will take over for stretches, and he will dominate in his own way. This was just a taster of what was to come. This was after 10 days off.

#2 Porzingis, cheat code

The Miami Heat are one of the better perimeter-defending teams in the NBA. They allow you to shoot a lot of threes. They don’t allow you to make a lot of threes. However, it felt like Kristaps Porzingis didn’t get that memo. His deep shooting and pick-and-pop game cooked the Heat’s defensive system on the perimeter. You saw them adjust their pick-up points as the game went on, as they looked to limit the big man’s scoring ability from beyond the arc.

The issue is, when you take away the three, Porzingis can slot into working out of the post or rolling to the rim after a screening action. He can be a decoy around the nail. He can stretch out the low helpline defense by being spaced in the corner. Whatever you want to do to limit his effectiveness, he has an answer. That’s why he’s the OG Unicorn.

A lot is going to be said about Porzingis’ scoring and rim protection over the next few days. However, I wanted to point out this possession, where his roll to the rim forced the Heat to send help off the strongside corner, allowing Payton Pritchard to be wide open to hit the catch-and-shoot three. Credit to Jaylen Brown for making the read. Yet, in truth, it was Porzingis’ roll gravity that blew up Miami’s defense.

Of course, it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t share at least one clip of Porzingis hitting a deep three off the catch. Of course, it came via a ghost screen that sent two at White before the ball found him above the perimeter.

While we’re here giving Porzingis his flowers, it’s worth mentioning that his rim protection was back on display. His size, length and ability to slide his feet while staying in front of his man make him a difficult opponent to beat around the rim. There’s a reason he ended the regular season with a 43.2 DFG%.

#3 Lockdown defense

We saw multiple defensive possessions like the one above. Not all of them ended with the Celtics forcing a shot-clock turnover, but they all ensured Miami found it difficult to work for quality shots within the flow of their offense.

Boston ended the game with 24 trackable contests on defense; 19 of them came on the interior, and five of them came on the perimeter. There were undoubtedly more contested shots than that, but those are the ones being shown via Hustle Stats on stats.NBA.com. The important thing is that it’s a notable difference from Miami, who only contested a total of 15 shots throughout the game.

Joe Mazzulla had his team flitting between playing drop defense with 1-though-4 switching and focusing on a full switch system. We also saw some press and a lot of gap help on drives.

What I liked most was how willing the Celtics were to jump out over screens and contest shots. They ensured the Heat felt their defensive intensity from the jump, and that allowed them to control the tempo of the game.

#4 Zone, what zone?

Yes, Erik Spoelstra deployed some zone defense. No, it didn’t stifle the Celtics as it has done in the past. For a brief stretch, it certainly slowed the Celtics down toward the end of the first quarter. Miami looked like they’d found a way to seize control of how the game was flowing. Then, Boston began positioning Porzingis, Horford, Tatum or Brown around the nail and the zone quickly unraveled.

While the shot in the above clip doesn’t end in a bucket, it’s a great illustration of how the Celtics used someone at the nail as a way of bending Miami’s zone before finding a good shooting opportunity.

Spoelstra will undoubtedly have some more zone schemes up his sleeve and will use the footage from Sunday’s game to begin cooking up some new ideas to slow down the juggernaut that is the Celtics. However, as things currently stand, the defensive system that has hurt Boston in recent years looks moot…check ball, Miami.

#5 An 8-man rotation

Throughout the regular season, there’s been a significant amount of discussion surrounding how deep Mazzulla’s playoff rotation will go. We got our first glimpse of what to expect on Sunday. Horford, Pritchard and Sam Hauser were the three players coming off the bench.

Whether that changes when Luke Kornet is back in the rotation will remain to be seen. However, the trio proved to be impactful and fit the style of play Mazzulla’s team were looking to run on both sides of the floor. I would expect the bench rotation to be fluid and dependent on matchups. However, Horford, Pritchard and Hauser do feel like the primary options.

#6 Bench production

Sticking with the bench mob for a minute. Their production was key to the Celtics building a sizeable lead throughout the first three quarters. Most specifically, their 2nd quarter surge was a boost the team needed, especially in terms of the three-point barrage we saw from Pritchard and Hauser.

Between Pritchard, Hauser and Horford, Boston’s bench provided 30 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists. That’s what happens when you have three incredibly reliable shooters coming off the bench. We also need to credit the defense we saw from Horford and Hauser. While Pritchard’s offensive rebounding was much-needed and as impactful as always.

Speaking of Hauser, I wanted to point out this post-defense on Kevin Love early in the game.

Hauser gets switched onto Love just before the post-entry pass is made. He keeps his foot above Love’s lead foot, limiting the veteran’s ability to turn the corner on him. He stays low, forcing the Heat forward to take three dribbles to get deep into the paint before making a bad pass.

The defensive foot positioning of Hauser and his core strength made life hard for Love on this possession and highlighted the defensive depth Mazzulla has available throughout the roster.

#7 Tired legs

The Celtics held a 32 point lead going into the fourth quarter. A lackluster showing in the first half of the final 12 minutes saw the Heat quickly chip away at the scoreboard and force Boston to dig deep and re-discover a competitive spirit they had likely bottled up ready for game two.

That’s the thing with Miami, they never say die. They’re going to scratch and claw on every play. Defeat isn’t in their vocabulary while there’s still time ticking on the clock.

Before you knew it, the lead was down to 15, and you could feel the momentum shifting away from the Celtics.

The slippage was undoubtedly a teachable moment. And it was clear Horford was frustrated by his team’s inability to stay locked in and fired up with the game seemingly in the bag. Still, being forced to dig deep and “switch it back on” will likely force the Celtics to be more cognizant of their effort levels moving forward. This is the playoffs, you can’t mail it in the way you did in the regular season — regardless of how deep or talented you think you are.

#8 THAT Foul

It was a hard foul. It was a dangerous foul. It wasn’t a dirty foul. At least, I wouldn’t say it was intentionally dirty. Caleb Martin had momentum behind him. He hit Tatum while he was in the air. It looked bad. Tatum was ok.

Fouls like that are part and parcel of facing the Heat in the playoffs. Especially in the opening round when Spoelstra’s team has no momentum behind them and is looking to stay afloat without two key players.

Still, I hope we don’t see too many of those plays because one awkward fall like that can change the trajectory of a season.

#9 THAT Jaylen Brown play

I’m just going to leave this here. Not much to say. Just wow. What a play. What a move. What a start to a playoff series. More of this. Pretty please.

#10 Working in the post

As I wrote in Saturday’s scouting report, the Heat struggle to limit shot attempts in the middle of the floor, and they struggle to impact the efficiency of mid-range shooters. Therefore, it makes sense to attack the Heat where they’re weakest — in or around the gut.

So, it made sense that Boston’s counter to how Spoelstra had his team playing defense was to work around the nail or in the post. It made sense that Miami struggled to find answers and clearly preferred to limit face-up drives or kick-outs to shooters around the perimeter.

What was most interesting to me, was that the Celtics didn’t need to run many screenings actions to get their best post players into position. As the series wears on, I’m sure that will change. But for now, it was fun seeing the Celtics exploit a weakness without needing to open up their playbook and give the Heat’s coaching staff extra footage to work with. We will see what game two holds.

Looking ahead

Miami and Boston are back in action on Wednesday. The Celtics will likely be focusing on not taking their foot off the gas. That could mean some conditioning work. It may be more of a mental approach. Whatever it is, that has to be the biggest lesson from this game.

The Heat, on the other hand, will have plenty to think about and scheme against. They will likely be without Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier during game two. A loss will put them under significant pressure in the coming weeks. The last thing you want to give to this Celtics team is a scent of defeat because that’s when the real dog in them will come out.

Catch you all later this week when we’re hopefully celebrating a second straight win.