After all the scary post-Game 2 chatter, the Boston Celtics took down the Miami Heat in a fairly convincing gentleman’s sweep. They took home a 118-84 win in Game 5, downing the Heat at TD Garden in their third wire-to-wire victory of the series.
Let’s check out three things you might have missed.
1. Process leads to results
Draw two, kick, and find the open man. That’s great offense. And that’s what the Celtics do best.
In the first quarter, they did just that. Jrue Holiday got into the paint and had two Heat defenders focused on him. He kicked it to the corner, the ball swung around the perimeter, and it found Jaylen Brown—who started the play—for an open three.
Brown just missed it.
At the end of the quarter, Jayson Tatum drew two defenders in the pick-and-roll. He swung it back to Al Horford, who found a wide-open Sam Hauser (a phrase that doesn’t often bode well for opponents) in the corner.
He nailed the jumper.
Process is far more important than results, and Boston’s offensive process in their first full game without Kristaps Porzingis looked great.
2. Derrick White stays tight-lipped
The Celtics will take on either the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Orlando Magic in Round 2. Cleveland is up in the series 3-2, but the two sides are headed back to Orlando for a crucial Game 6.
After the game, Derrick White was asked for a quick scouting report on the teams. What would the Celtics be looking at in a potential matchup?
Well, let’s just say he didn’t want to give anything away.
“They’re both good,” White said, drawing a laugh from the entire room.
3. TD Garden crowd remains undefeated
After a trip to South Beach and two games at Kaseya Center, the biggest takeaway is that TD Garden runs laps around Miami’s arena.
If someone filled up five Kaseya Centers, stacked them on top of each other, and put the structure next to TD Garden, Boston would still be louder. And it wouldn’t be close.
From a “Hey, hey, hey, goodbye” singalong to sarcastic “We want Boston” chants, TD Garden was drinking the green Kool-Aid on Wednesday night.
Kaseya Center doesn’t hold a candle to TD Garden.
They don’t exist in the same stratosphere.
