Celtics vs. Heat, Round 3 Discussion

Who you got?


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Jimbodandy

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Derrick White kept them in the game in the first half. Might be overlooked with how dominant they were in the second, but he was terrific.
Yep, he seems fresher and playing free and easy.

My favorite White play of the night was that fast break where he hustled back, intercepted a dump off to Bam, jumped over the endline looking for a pass and realizing he didn't have anyone to pass to wisely held the ball. Just great hustle and great situational awareness.
And playing smart. The guy is a smart player with a motor.
 

HomeRunBaker

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They could really use the rest that would come with a close out on Friday night. Hoping Dallas can take this to six or seven as well, just to force the Warriors to play more minutes.
We better get the close out on Friday bc if we lose at home to this MASH unit we will have bigger problems than how much rest we’ll be getting.
 

djbayko

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Derrick White kept them in the game in the first half. Might be overlooked with how dominant they were in the second, but he was terrific.
I don't think it's overlooked at all. He was their best player that half.

I liked it when he almost blocked 3 Duncan Robinson 3 point attempts in a row on the same possession.
 

Justthetippett

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I don't think it's overlooked at all. He was their best player that half.

I liked it when he almost blocked 3 Duncan Robinson 3 point attempts in a row on the same possession.
…and was then blatantly fouled by Bam, who seems to set a lot of illegal screens. Great effort by DW though. I can way to see him hit a mere 30% of his threes.
 

reggiecleveland

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I ma paranoid to say this, but it seems over. Lowry is not close to healthy, Butler maybe banged up to. Herro may be back, but he wasn't great. As long as Rob can play and Tatum is just okay they win.
Third quarter they got out and ran got easy scores, then they got on a roll.

The worst thing I can say about Tatum is he isn't as mentally tough as Pierce or Bird. But that is like saying your changeup is worse than Pedro's. Tatum is an exceptional all around player and he seems to figure out what is needed most of the time. Tonight he was the playmaker. He let the game come to him.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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My favorite White play of the night was that fast break where he hustled back, intercepted a dump off to Bam, jumped over the endline looking for a pass and realizing he didn't have anyone to pass to wisely held the ball. Just great hustle and great situational awareness.
This was an incredible play and demonstrated unreal instincts to determine in midair that it was best to take the sack, as it were.

It's a little uncanny how much he is like a mini-Al. In the right place most of the time, methodical and not overly athletic but surprisingly quick, moves his feet extremely well, and can D up anywhere on the court. I think I saw him get beat once and it was Bam dropping the shoulder on him.

Of course, Al can shoot him out of the gym but other than that...
 

radsoxfan

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I used to think Al set a ton of questionable screens... but the Bam screens have become comical. He's a left tackle out there.

Fortunately, most of the Heat are injured and/or stink.
 

BigSoxFan

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This was exactly the game we acquired Derrick White for. The Jay’s were off early and White kept things close until they figure it out. Dennis Schroder ain’t pulling this off. Just a great deal by Brad. Serious props to Horford as well who has just been phenomenal this postseason.

Time to close it out. This Heat team is ready to go away.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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I ma paranoid to say this, but it seems over. Lowry is not close to healthy, Butler maybe banged up to. Herro may be back, but he wasn't great. As long as Rob can play and Tatum is just okay they win.
Third quarter they got out and ran got easy scores, then they got on a roll.

The worstthing I can say about Tatum is he isn't as mentally tough as Pierce or Bird. BNut thatis like saying your changeup is worse than Pedro's. Tatum is an exceptional all around player and he seems to figure out what is needed most of the time. Tonight he was the playmaker. He let the game come to him.
The thing is, it's probably still way too early to say the bolded. Maybe not about Bird, who is of course an all-time hard-ass. But Paul Pierce was 27 the year he got ejected in a critical game against the Pacers and showed up for the postgame interview with a bandage around his head. Real clown show stuff. Not coincidentally, that was the year Ainge almost traded PP34 for the draft rights to Chris Paul.

I'll forever love Paul Pierce but his legacy here would look very different without KG and Ray coming to town to really allow him to be the best version of himself as a player (less pure scoring, better efficiency, strong defense, while still being the go-to guy on offense). He came very close to being a guy who wouldn't cut it as the alpha on a really good team.

Tatum is probably about to enter his real prime where he is still at his physical peak and combining that with a better understanding of what it takes to lead a title team. All the while he has a chance to lead a title team this year at age 24.
 

OnTheBlack

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The thing is, it's probably still way too early to say the bolded. Maybe not about Bird, who is of course an all-time hard-ass. But Paul Pierce was 27 the year he got ejected in a critical game against the Pacers and showed up for the postgame interview with a bandage around his head. Real clown show stuff. Not coincidentally, that was the year Ainge almost traded PP34 for the draft rights to Chris Paul.

I'll forever love Paul Pierce but his legacy here would look very different without KG and Ray coming to town to really allow him to be the best version of himself as a player (less pure scoring, better efficiency, strong defense, while still being the go-to guy on offense). He came very close to being a guy who wouldn't cut it as the alpha on a really good team.

Tatum is probably about to enter his real prime where he is still at his physical peak and combining that with a better understanding of what it takes to lead a title team. All the while he has a chance to lead a title team this year at age 24.
Hell get tougher as he gets older. The ref respect is coming too. He’s a monster. Today was a great showcase of just how dangerous he has become. Shot not falling early, tough defense against him. Ends up with a 22/12/9 with strong D. It was not his best by any means, when he’s scorching and puts up a 50 spot, but he was still was the best player on the court. He’s 24 on the cusp of his first finals. His development has been a joy to watch and he’s just getting started. We are lucky.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Indeed.

Still can’t forget the 07-08 C’s, who lost six straight road games in the playoffs v ATL (featuring rookie Al!) and CLE, forcing them to cash in on home court in seven games in each case.
I think that team really needed the experience of finally losing at home in the ECF (to the much more battle-tested Pistons) before they got to the next level that carried them to beating Detroit and LA in 6.

This team is kind of the anti-'08 team. They spent a whole half season learning the hard lessons (the '08 team absolutely cruised through the regular season) and came in ready-made for the playoffs having spent all of 2022 scratching and clawing for everything they got.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Termine is spot on. For all of Tatum's greatness, all of Brown's highlights (that dunk is on loop), for all of Timelord's clamps or White's energy, a major factor in this series is the incredibly versatile play of Horford. He can do so much, cleans up so many messes and is a huge settling presence for the rest of the team.

Tonight he gave the team 39 minutes of efficient offense and distribution all while guarding not just Bam but Butler and others on the perimeter. Last game it was 13 boards and four blocks. The guy just does whatever they need him to do to win. Al Horford just makes things better.
 

OnTheBlack

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Termine is spot on. For all of Tatum's greatness, all of Brown's highlights (that dunk is on loop), for all of Timelord's clamps or White's energy, a major factor in this series is the incredibly versatile play of Horford. He can do so much, cleans up so many messes and is a huge settling presence for the rest of the team.

Tonight he gave the team 39 minutes of efficient offense and distribution all while guarding not just Bam but Butler and others on the perimeter. Last game it was 13 boards and four blocks. The guy just does whatever they need him to do to win. Al Horford just makes things better.
He has a beautifully nuanced game. One of my favorites to ever watch play.
 

Euclis20

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I really can't get over Bam's disappearing act on offense. With Herro out and Butler/Lowry really hobbling they absolutely need him to score, and he's just not trying. It's not like he can't find the net, he's shooting over 60% from the field. When he decides to bull his way into the paint he can get a decent look against anyone, but with TL in the game, he completely disappears. His final numbers tonight weren't terrible (18 points on 15 shots), but he was 0-2 in the 3rd when Miami couldn't do anything offensively, and he didn't get aggressive until they were down 20 int the 4th quarter(and TL was on the bench). He scored 6 quick points, TL came back in with 6:53 left in the game down by 17, and Bam took exactly one shot over the next 5 minutes. Lots of Miami players have a good injury excuse for how this series is going, but Bam is just flat out absent on offense for large stretches.
 

lovegtm

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I really can't get over Bam's disappearing act on offense. With Herro out and Butler/Lowry really hobbling they absolutely need him to score, and he's just not trying. It's not like he can't find the net, he's shooting over 60% from the field. When he decides to bull his way into the paint he can get a decent look against anyone, but with TL in the game, he completely disappears. His final numbers tonight weren't terrible (18 points on 15 shots), but he was 0-2 in the 3rd when Miami couldn't do anything offensively, and he didn't get aggressive until they were down 20 int the 4th quarter(and TL was on the bench). He scored 6 quick points, TL came back in with 6:53 left in the game down by 17, and Bam took exactly one shot over the next 5 minutes. Lots of Miami players have a good injury excuse for how this series is going, but Bam is just flat out absent on offense for large stretches.
As I said coming into the series, the Celtics are a horrible matchup for him. They have 3 guys who can take him out of the game, and he's reduced to occasionally hunting Jaylen switches. Even Tatum played him pretty well.

Bam is a great player, but he's not a lead offensive option; it's just not who he is.
 

joe dokes

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Has the NBA ever said why only the conf finals are strict every-other-day. Is it just the easy answer....tv every single night?
 

Eddie Jurak

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Well, last night the Celtics showed the polar opposite of a glass jaw.

At the end of the first half, with the Celtics trailing 42-37, I thought my full summary here might simply be, "You had one job." After losing game 3 because of 24 turnovers, the Celtics turned it over 10 times in the first half of this game. On top of that, Miami's offense was crap, but they crased the boards effectively. Of Miami's 42 first half points, 28 came off turnovers and second chances. That tells you how bad the Heat were but also how bad the Celtics were.

Jaylen Brown, not hurt as far as we know, played maybe his worst half of basketball in a Celtic uniform. He scored 6 points on 2-7 shooting, 2-4 from three, and turned the ball over FOUR times. The first 2 came with 5 minutes left in the first: Brown tries to drive, gets his poket picked, Miami gets a layup, Brown gets the ball on offense, tries to drive, gets his pocket picked again and Miami scores again, turning an 5 point lead into a 1 point lead. He was trying to make the same kind of plays that haven't worked for him all series and they still weren't working. He tried that type of drive again in the second quarter and again got picked.

Jayson Tatum, on the other hand, looked like the shoulder was a real problem. His shot was off, and it seemed like he was in a lot of pain and it was affecting his drives. His first half was 4 points on 1-9 shooting, 1-4 at the line, 4 rebounds, 2 turnovers. But very importantly, Tatum also had 5 assists in the first half. While nothing else was working he was able to draw doubles and move the ball effectively and create some opportunities.

Marcus Smart got into early foul trouble ans was largely ineffective in the first half.

The guys who really held them in the game were Derrick White and Al Horford, with some help from Rob.

White came in early for Smart and had 6 points on 3-3 shooting to lead the team in the first quarter. He also had 2 assists and a steal. He did have 2 turnovers but at least one was a charge (dead ball). He added 5 points and an assist in the second quarter and was the team's leading scorer at the half with 11 points. Similar to how he started out game 4, he was very aggressive right when he came in.

Horford had 10 in the first half (he and White had 21 of 37 first half points), including scoring the final 7 Celtic points of the half. With 3 minutes to go, Celtic down by 6, Horford drew a shooting foul and hit hit free throws. Then after a Miami basket he hit a three to cut the deficit to three. After 2 Miami baskets pushed the lead up to 7, Horford hit one more short jumper to make the score 42-37.

Rob had 4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks (including an incredible block where he got out from the lane to block a corner three) in 13 minutes.

The Celtics came out stron in the third quarter, going on an 8-0 run to go up 45-42. Smart fed Horford for a layup, then Brown for a fast break layup. Then Horford assisted Tatum on a jumper, then Tatum assisted Grant (who, inexplicably started the second half for Rob even though Rob was not done for the night). It was looking like the Celtics might pull away at that point, but Miami tightened up after that. With 2:44 to go in the quarter, the Grant fould Vincent who hit both free thrws to bring Miami within 1, 59-58. But the Celtics closed out the quarter with a 10-0 run and never looked back.

Tatum played much better throughout the third, almost like a different guy. 9 points to lead the team on 3-4 shooting, 3-4 from the line, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, versus 1 turnover - one of only 2 Celtic turnovers in the third quarter. Horford was his steady self, scoring 6 points on 2-3 shooting, 2-3 from the line, 3 rebounds, and an assist.

But the story of the 10-0 run at the end was mostly Jaylen Brown getting his shit together. After Miami cut it to 1 with 2:44 left, Brown managed to drive and kick to Grant in the corner for a three, Celtics up 4. Then Brown hits a 15 foot jumper, Celtics up 6. White is fouled, hits 1 of 2, Celtics up 7. Tatum layup, Celtivs up 9. Brown 16 foot jumper, Celtics up 11.

Then in Q4, Brown just started knocking down shots as the Celtics built their lead up to 20. Brown scored 13 in the 4th, on 5-6 shooting and 3-4 from three, including a deep one that was a dagger to the Heat. Tatum added 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists. The only other Celtic to score in the quarter was Derrick White, who scored 2.

Once the Celtics got up 20 they had a bit of a letup and Miami closed it to 13 with about 4 minutes left, but the Celtics reasserted themselves after that and put it away.

Rob had 6 points, 10 rebounds, a steal and 3 blocks and played excellent defense despite not being 100%. I think he intimidates Bam. After his shit first half, Brown ended up leading the team with 25 points. Jayson came one assist shot of a triple double (22-12-9).

The Celtics did not play Pritchard much, only 6 minutes in the first half. He was a -4 and missed both threes he attempted. While he competes on defense, I think he limits what the Celtics can do scheme-wise because they need to focus on protecting him. (Conversely, having Rob in the game expands what the Celtics can do scheme wise because he covers so much ground.) Once the Celtics broke it open late in the third, I think Ime decided he needed to defend his way to the win, which meant no Pritchard in the second half.

Miami looks done, but the Celtics really need to come back and put them away tomorrow night. And hope Dallas can win tonight to buy the Celtics a little extra rest.
 

HomeRunBaker

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I ma paranoid to say this, but it seems over. Lowry is not close to healthy, Butler maybe banged up to. Herro may be back, but he wasn't great. As long as Rob can play and Tatum is just okay they win.
Third quarter they got out and ran got easy scores, then they got on a roll.

The worst thing I can say about Tatum is he isn't as mentally tough as Pierce or Bird. But that is like saying your changeup is worse than Pedro's. Tatum is an exceptional all around player and he seems to figure out what is needed most of the time. Tonight he was the playmaker. He let the game come to him.
The other thing that we sometimes easily forget is that…….

Jayson Tatum is only 24 years old! How many 24 years old achieve massive playoff success? Shaq didn’t, Pierce certainly didn’t, Jordan didn’t, LeBron didn’t. Steph didn’t. Superstars don’t typically turn that corner until their late 20’s or later so let’s expect some bumps in the road along the way. Hopefully are able to appreciate how fortunate we are to watch the next great Celtic grow up right in front of our eyes.
 

benhogan

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Not surprising the NBA media completely whiffed on all of Brad's moves over the past 10 months. They mainly grade player ability based on their offensive output, it's pathetic.

AND at the end of the day they really just want eyeballs/clicks, by offering controversial takes. For example, ESPNs Jalen Rose voted Kyrie Irving to 3rd team All-NBA o_O knowing he was just trolling NBA fans. Then the guy has the gumption to offer betting advice by marketing 3 prop bets (brought to you by DraftKings) every pregame with carnival barker Mike Greenberg.

I really can't get over Bam's disappearing act on offense. With Herro out and Butler/Lowry really hobbling they absolutely need him to score, and he's just not trying. It's not like he can't find the net, he's shooting over 60% from the field. When he decides to bull his way into the paint he can get a decent look against anyone, but with TL in the game, he completely disappears. His final numbers tonight weren't terrible (18 points on 15 shots), but he was 0-2 in the 3rd when Miami couldn't do anything offensively, and he didn't get aggressive until they were down 20 int the 4th quarter(and TL was on the bench). He scored 6 quick points, TL came back in with 6:53 left in the game down by 17, and Bam took exactly one shot over the next 5 minutes. Lots of Miami players have a good injury excuse for how this series is going, but Bam is just flat out absent on offense for large stretches.
TimeLord is in Bam's head. TL impacts shots in the lane while guarding the Corner3. It's really impressive since Rob is still not close to 100%
 

jezza1918

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Well, last night the Celtics showed the polar opposite of a glass jaw.

At the end of the first half, with the Celtics trailing 42-37, I thought my full summary here might simply be, "You had one job." After losing game 3 because of 24 turnovers, the Celtics turned it over 10 times in the first half of this game. On top of that, Miami's offense was crap, but they crased the boards effectively. Of Miami's 42 first half points, 28 came off turnovers and second chances. That tells you how bad the Heat were but also how bad the Celtics were.

Jaylen Brown, not hurt as far as we know, played maybe his worst half of basketball in a Celtic uniform. He scored 6 points on 2-7 shooting, 2-4 from three, and turned the ball over FOUR times. The first 2 came with 5 minutes left in the first: Brown tries to drive, gets his poket picked, Miami gets a layup, Brown gets the ball on offense, tries to drive, gets his pocket picked again and Miami scores again, turning an 5 point lead into a 1 point lead. He was trying to make the same kind of plays that haven't worked for him all series and they still weren't working. He tried that type of drive again in the second quarter and again got picked.

Jayson Tatum, on the other hand, looked like the shoulder was a real problem. His shot was off, and it seemed like he was in a lot of pain and it was affecting his drives. His first half was 4 points on 1-9 shooting, 1-4 at the line, 4 rebounds, 2 turnovers. But very importantly, Tatum also had 5 assists in the first half. While nothing else was working he was able to draw doubles and move the ball effectively and create some opportunities.

Marcus Smart got into early foul trouble ans was largely ineffective in the first half.

The guys who really held them in the game were Derrick White and Al Horford, with some help from Rob.

White came in early for Smart and had 6 points on 3-3 shooting to lead the team in the first quarter. He also had 2 assists and a steal. He did have 2 turnovers but at least one was a charge (dead ball). He added 5 points and an assist in the second quarter and was the team's leading scorer at the half with 11 points. Similar to how he started out game 4, he was very aggressive right when he came in.

Horford had 10 in the first half (he and White had 21 of 37 first half points), including scoring the final 7 Celtic points of the half. With 3 minutes to go, Celtic down by 6, Horford drew a shooting foul and hit hit free throws. Then after a Miami basket he hit a three to cut the deficit to three. After 2 Miami baskets pushed the lead up to 7, Horford hit one more short jumper to make the score 42-37.

Rob had 4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks (including an incredible block where he got out from the lane to block a corner three) in 13 minutes.

The Celtics came out stron in the third quarter, going on an 8-0 run to go up 45-42. Smart fed Horford for a layup, then Brown for a fast break layup. Then Horford assisted Tatum on a jumper, then Tatum assisted Grant (who, inexplicably started the second half for Rob even though Rob was not done for the night). It was looking like the Celtics might pull away at that point, but Miami tightened up after that. With 2:44 to go in the quarter, the Grant fould Vincent who hit both free thrws to bring Miami within 1, 59-58. But the Celtics closed out the quarter with a 10-0 run and never looked back.

Tatum played much better throughout the third, almost like a different guy. 9 points to lead the team on 3-4 shooting, 3-4 from the line, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, versus 1 turnover - one of only 2 Celtic turnovers in the third quarter. Horford was his steady self, scoring 6 points on 2-3 shooting, 2-3 from the line, 3 rebounds, and an assist.

But the story of the 10-0 run at the end was mostly Jaylen Brown getting his shit together. After Miami cut it to 1 with 2:44 left, Brown managed to drive and kick to Grant in the corner for a three, Celtics up 4. Then Brown hits a 15 foot jumper, Celtics up 6. White is fouled, hits 1 of 2, Celtics up 7. Tatum layup, Celtivs up 9. Brown 16 foot jumper, Celtics up 11.

Then in Q4, Brown just started knocking down shots as the Celtics built their lead up to 20. Brown scored 13 in the 4th, on 5-6 shooting and 3-4 from three, including a deep one that was a dagger to the Heat. Tatum added 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists. The only other Celtic to score in the quarter was Derrick White, who scored 2.

Once the Celtics got up 20 they had a bit of a letup and Miami closed it to 13 with about 4 minutes left, but the Celtics reasserted themselves after that and put it away.

Rob had 6 points, 10 rebounds, a steal and 3 blocks and played excellent defense despite not being 100%. I think he intimidates Bam. After his shit first half, Brown ended up leading the team with 25 points. Jayson came one assist shot of a triple double (22-12-9).

The Celtics did not play Pritchard much, only 6 minutes in the first half. He was a -4 and missed both threes he attempted. While he competes on defense, I think he limits what the Celtics can do scheme-wise because they need to focus on protecting him. (Conversely, having Rob in the game expands what the Celtics can do scheme wise because he covers so much ground.) Once the Celtics broke it open late in the third, I think Ime decided he needed to defend his way to the win, which meant no Pritchard in the second half.

Miami looks done, but the Celtics really need to come back and put them away tomorrow night. And hope Dallas can win tonight to buy the Celtics a little extra rest.
My first thought after reading this very comprehensive post was “that’s a good post, and thorough.” Nice work conjuring up Lebowski so early in the AM!
Regarding your last point about the rest, I may be wrong but I thought the finals have a set schedule and start next Thursday no matter what? Dallas winning still helps give the East winners help by shortening rest for warriors though, so still pulling for them
 

Light-Tower-Power

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My first thought after reading this very comprehensive post was “that’s a good post, and thorough.” Nice work conjuring up Lebowski so early in the AM!
Regarding your last point about the rest, I may be wrong but I thought the finals have a set schedule and start next Thursday no matter what? Dallas winning still helps give the East winners help by shortening rest for warriors though, so still pulling for them
Yes. Finals start on June 2 regardless of what happens with either series.
 

bigq

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Termine is spot on. For all of Tatum's greatness, all of Brown's highlights (that dunk is on loop), for all of Timelord's clamps or White's energy, a major factor in this series is the incredibly versatile play of Horford. He can do so much, cleans up so many messes and is a huge settling presence for the rest of the team.

Tonight he gave the team 39 minutes of efficient offense and distribution all while guarding not just Bam but Butler and others on the perimeter. Last game it was 13 boards and four blocks. The guy just does whatever they need him to do to win. Al Horford just makes things better.
Yep. Horford is a man on a mission to get the Celtics to a championship and he is doing whatever it takes to get there. He is putting up 12.9 PPG, 9.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.7 blocks while shooting 54% from the floor, 48% from three and 83% from the charity stripe while playing 36.5 mpg and he has been a defensive beast. He has been consistently excellent and a steadying presence through the roller coaster of ups and downs of the playoffs. Getting Horford and ditching Kemba was a PBS master stroke.
 

jmcc5400

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The other thing that we sometimes easily forget is that…….

Jayson Tatum is only 24 years old! How many 24 years old achieve massive playoff success? Shaq didn’t, Pierce certainly didn’t, Jordan didn’t, LeBron didn’t. Steph didn’t. Superstars don’t typically turn that corner until their late 20’s or later so let’s expect some bumps in the road along the way. Hopefully are able to appreciate how fortunate we are to watch the next great Celtic grow up right in front of our eyes.
He moved in 129th all time last night, with 1508 playoff points. Last night he passed the lifetime totals of Chris Webber, LaMarcus Aldridge and Sidney Moncrief. At 24. And he’s still just 19.
 

lovegtm

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Yep. Horford is a man on a mission to get the Celtics to a championship and he is doing whatever it takes to get there. He is putting up 12.9 PPG, 9.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.7 blocks while shooting 54% from the floor, 48% from three and 83% from the charity stripe while playing 36.5 mpg and he has been a defensive beast. He has been consistently excellent and a steadying presence through the roller coaster of ups and downs of the playoffs. Getting Horford and ditching Kemba was a PBS master stroke.
Horford looks fresher than literally anyone else in the series, even with no extra rest games. Phenomenal.
 

HomeRunBaker

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lexrageorge

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Almost everyone under the age of 26 won a title as the right hand man to a Top-20 All Time player or shared the spotlight with one of them. Jayson and Jaylen have an opportunity to join rarified air over the next two weeks.
Magic (Kareem)
Kobe (Shaq)
Hondo (Russell and 6 other Hall of Famers)
*Russell (Cousy)
*Duncan (David Robinson)
Kyrie (LeBron)
McHale (Bird)
Kawhi (Duncan)
*Kareem (Oscar Robertson)
Wade (Shaq)
*Bird (Parish or Tiny Archibald)
*George Mikan (Jim Pollard)
*Bob Pettit (Slater Martin, Cliff Hagan, Ed Macauley are all in the HoF)
Pippen (Some Nike pitchman)

The (*) players were clearly the best/alpha players on their respective teams when they won the title. Each of those 6 were generational talents back in their day and would be listed in any respectable Top 20 list (although Pettit probably gets excluded from some as it's getting harder to judge players from the early days).

And that doesn't short the others on that list either. Take young Kobe or Wade away from those Lakers or Heat teams and they probably don't win the title. Without McHale the Celtics probably get eliminated by the Sixers in 1981 after going 3-1 down. But it's truly rare for a player under 26 to be the alpha on a championship team.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Some twitter stats that I can't confirm but sound true.
  • MIA shot 31.9% from the field last night. Twitter says that is the worst shooting performance since 2010.
  • MIA shot 7-45 from 3P or 15.6%. Twitter says that the worst shooting performance from 3P was OK against HOU in the bubble at 7/46 (15.2%) - so close but no cigar.
  • Karalis said on his podcast that MIA's three worst shooting games this season were against BOS: the game in November, G4, and now G5.
  • MIA shooting 31.2% from 3P for the playoffs (not just the series). That's astounding given their regular season shooting. Twitter says this is the worst in NBA history for teams with over 500 attempts
Clamps.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,837
That Bam has Covid lol.

Edit: Thought that read “what.” Multiple sources within Telegram intel group. All rumors nothing confirmed at this point.
Is this the same source that said the Celtics COVID situation was about to blow up before game 2. ;) You can tell us, it's CNN right?
 

Beale13

Member
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Feb 2, 2006
395
Then Horford assisted Tatum on a jumper, then Tatum assisted Grant (who, inexplicably started the second half for Rob even though Rob was not done for the night).
In a post-game interview last night Grant said that he had no expectation of starting the second half, and did so only because Rob was in the bathroom at that moment. Timelord being Timelord.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Mar 26, 2005
30,482
MIA is scoring 80.6 points per 100 possessions over the last two games, with an EFG% of 34.6 and a FT rate of 13.0%.

https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/league/fourfactors?season=2021&seasontype=playoffs&start=05/23/2022&end=10/15/2022

Edit: that stat was from this Ringer article, which has a good breakdown of some adjustments Ime made at the half and lots of other fun video. To wit:
By not giving the ball away, Boston forced Miami to try to crack its set defense—a process made tougher by Udoka benching Payton Pritchard, his lone sub-excellent defender, and instead giving more minutes to Smart and Derrick White (who’s been fantastic since returning after missing Game 3 for the birth of his son). Udoka also shuffled Boston’s assignments on Miami’s frontcourt players.
He moved Smart off of Butler, putting Al Horford and Grant Williams on the Heat star instead. “Butler wasn’t looking to score,” Udoka explained after the game. “He was more of a screener, making plays in the pocket. He was slipping behind some of our switches. We wanted to keep a big on him, play him like a big.” That shifted Smart onto Tucker, allowing the Defensive Player of the Year to play more of a roving free safety role helping off of the corners, and moved Time Lord onto Bam, whose tendencies toward more passive play when faced with longer defenders —see: his struggles against Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo when Miami was swept by the Bucks last postseason—have manifested in significant drop-offs in production when Williams is prowling.
 
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HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
Is this the same source that said the Celtics COVID situation was about to blow up before game 2. ;) You can tell us, it's CNN right?
No it’s the same crew that I shared on two other occasions earlier that were correct before Woj had it and they were confirmed. He was also careful to say that these were unconfirmed rumors. This Telegram info during football is the best anywhere.
 

jmcc5400

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Sep 29, 2000
5,203

Van Everyman

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Apr 30, 2009
26,991
Newton
As a fan, I like only 1 day between games (I liked the bubble for that reason). But with the travel, these guys seem a bit run down.
In the 80s I believe they had two days off for travel and experimented with 2-3-2 in 7 game series a few years to minimize travel days. And Ed 1 was also best-of-five.

The NBA has mouths to feed, I get it. But the league has to be wondering whether the number of non-competitive games is directly related to the intensity of the schedule. Something they should clean up this offseason, as well as some of the officiating issues.
 

BuellMiller

New Member
Mar 25, 2015
449
I used to think Al set a ton of questionable screens... but the Bam screens have become comical. He's a left tackle out there.

Fortunately, most of the Heat are injured and/or stink.
This. I loved Tatum's comically exasperated imitation of Bam to the refs after getting called for a foul for trying to fight through his blocks. Sign Bam, BB! You thought Strange was athletic?
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
In the 80s I believe they had two days off for travel and experimented with 2-3-2 in 7 game series a few years to minimize travel days. And Ed 1 was also best-of-five.

The NBA has mouths to feed, I get it. But the league has to be wondering whether the number of non-competitive games is directly related to the intensity of the schedule. Something they should clean up this offseason, as well as some of the officiating issues.
The networks control the playoff scheduling from what I understand. Everything that is done is is contractual and already pre-negotiated in their deal.
 

joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
30,233
As bad as they were in the 1st H, C's only trailed by 5. If RobW and Smart both play anywhere close to normal defense, Miami never had a chance.
TimeLord is in Bam's head. TL impacts shots in the lane while guarding the Corner3. It's really impressive since Rob is still not close to 100%
What made it especially obvious was that Bam started to go off a little after the C's blew it open and RobW was out. Then RobW came back in and Bam disappeared again.
 
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Auger34

used to be tbb
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
9,271
I used to think Al set a ton of questionable screens... but the Bam screens have become comical. He's a left tackle out there.

Fortunately, most of the Heat are injured and/or stink.
The one that he set on Derrick White before Duncan Robinson made a 3 (after White blocked the first 3) was one of the most egregious moving screens I have ever seen. He didn’t even attempt to stay still….Left Tackle is a pretty apt description
 

Auger34

used to be tbb
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
9,271
As I said coming into the series, the Celtics are a horrible matchup for him. They have 3 guys who can take him out of the game, and he's reduced to occasionally hunting Jaylen switches. Even Tatum played him pretty well.

Bam is a great player, but he's not a lead offensive option; it's just not who he is.
I think Bam’s a perfect/overqualified 3rd option but I don’t think he’s a 2nd option on a championship team. His offensive game is pretty limited and he’s just not aggressive enough to carry the offensive load for any consistent amount of time.

He’s a fantastic defender and passer so he’s pretty malleable and can work with just about anyone but I think he’s best cast as almost a Draymond plus type (way more offensive game than Draymond)