Celts @ Heat - Round 3, Game 5 - Pregame Thoughts

Complaints coming from Heat fans are highlighting the FT gap between both teams. The Celtics have a 123-84 advantage in free throw attempts.  The Heat will be looking for a friendlier whistle at home.  

After game 4 Robert said that his knee felt fine however he is still day to day.  His availability for game 5 will depend on his mobility.  The knee swells up after he plays and that tightens things up.  He will be getting treatment as usual.  The knee is not going to fully heal until after the season.  He is not the only one with an issue as both teams have banged up guys.

The Celtics should be more than ready to deal with the aggressive defensive approach that the Heat have to make.  They are going to overplay the passing lanes and bring help to rattle Tatum and Brown into uncomfortable situations.  They slap at the ball a lot in an attempt to create steals and they will try to clog the lane on our off the bounce drives.  At this point the Celtics should be more than familiar with how they will be defended.  

The most important element in the Celtics offense is player and ball movement. Followed by shot selection which impacts shot making.  Our guys will take their man off the bounce and after that the decision making comes into play.  Ime once said that if you take a guy off the bounce or if you drawn a double team, you have done your job and it is time to move the ball.  If Boston can play with patience and discipline we can pick those guys apart.

The Celtics are a really good team but without Rob we do not have a dynamic vertical presence.  That impacts both our defense and our offense.  In game 4 Rob had 9 rebounds and 5 of them were on the offensive glass.  Those can be characterized as 50/50 balls.  His length, jumping ability and timing really makes it difficult for the Heat to score in the paint.  It's called rim protection.  

White triggered our offense in game 4 but struggled offensively after that.  His defense remained solid but  we still missed our DPOY.  

With both Rob and Smart in our lineup we are clearly the superior team.  Let's hope that they will play in game 5.  Knowing Smart, he will play.   Rob and the Knee ( Sounds like a title from a Children's book) remains questionable.    He said after game 4 that the knee was fine.  We need him to play through the knee discomfort.  Even if he is limited to 18-20 minutes, we need him to give us something.  

Both Tatum and Brown need to play the right way.  I hate those out of rhythm early in the shot clock 3 point attempts.   As I do those off the bounce drives into a traffic jam. We need our pillars to play with discipline and poise.  Give and you shall receive.

I would like Boston to get the ball to Pritchard early in the possession because he is getting open.

From what I can see PP gets the ball up the court the quickest.  He plays with pace. His off the ball movement is with pace.  He shoots with pace.  Walking the ball up the court, at a speed equivalent to pushing a baby carriage, gives them more time to set their defense.  That is one reason why I would like to see our possessions begins with Brown and Tatum off the ball a little more.  Mix things up a bit to keep the Heat off balance.

I would like to see Grant rebound better.  He has done well the last 2 games (5 in each) We need that from him.

Just like in the Bucks series the Celtics have to win on the road.  

Although this series is tied,  The Celtics still look like the more dominant team.  They beat us by 11 in game 1 and by 6 in game 3.  We beat them by 25 in game 2 and 20 in game 4.  

Let's get the win tonight.

You never know which guy is going to step up and be a difference maker.

The one guy on the Celtics that is flying under the radar to a certain extent is Peyton Pritchard.

His play in 4 games against the heat has produced a scoring average of 11.3 PPG, 3.3 assists and 2.3 rebounds.  

He is shooting 62.5% from the field on 8.3 attempts and a blistering 54.9% from deep on 6 attempts per game.

His shot making ability should not be ignored.  

I think he is a very capable 3rd or 4th scoring option for us in this series because he shoots the ball extremely well and has deep range.

His ball handling skills are overlooked.  

Defensively his size as a switch everything defender can be exploited.  That must be weighed against his offensive abilities.  Ime has played him 22.8 MPG in this Miami series so that indicates a high level of confidence that he has in him.

Peyton has scored in double digits in 3 out of 4 games.

In our game 3 loss he only played 13 minutes and was 1-1 from the field (a 3 pointer)

Grant has also played well for us and has been getting a lot of press.  However from what I have seen, Peyton is a more efficient shooter.

It is not just about 3 point percentages.  I look at the overall shooting percentages.

Both Grant and Peyton have made significant contributions.

Both have become excellent catch and shoot options.

Both are vital components to an offense that is 3 point heavy and relies on 3 point shot makers.

Get them open looks please.

Hi,
The Celtics need to play with the same focus and aggression as in G2 and G4.
I understand it's G5 but they have to break the pattern.
As for Grant, he has to make those killer 3pt which will allow JT and JB to operate more freely on offense and frustrate Mia players.

AK

sinus007 wrote:Hi,
The Celtics need to play with  the same focus and aggression as in G2 and G4.
I understand it's G5 but they have to break the pattern.
As for Grant, he has to make those killer 3pt which will allow JT and JB to operate more freely on offense and frustrate Mia players.

AK

I definitely agree with you about Grant but it would be remiss not to mention PP as well as it relates to allowing the jays to operate more freely.

Grant is shooting on average 3.3 attempts per game from behind the arc and making 1.5 of them.

Peyton is averaging 6 attempts per game and making 2.5 of them per game.

Grant is shooting 55% from deep and Peyton 54.9%

These two guys have been fantastic in this 3rd round series.

I told my middle son to take a quarter, put BOS on one side and MIA on the other, flip it in the air and let it hit the ground.  Who's ever facing up wins G5.  

That's how things have gone so far.  To advance, the Celtics will still need to win at least one B2B.  Tonight is their second chance.

dboss, you've summarized it best.  Tonight will show if we've learned anything from this series and the last.  If we drag this series out 7 games, then no, BOS hasn't learned anything except how to further torture our fan base!!  But having RWIII out there even for a few Willis Reed moments will be extremely helpful.  All hands on deck.  It's time so show some maturity.  Some growth.  If we're going to stockpile banners over the next 5-8 years, it starts tonight...or at most by Sunday!!!        


db

Dboss,
Peyton - for sure. I mentioned just Grant because he's more "neglected", for some reason (remember series vs Bucks).

AK

One thing is bothering me.  I must not be watching the same games as the talking heads are watching.  But if I hear "extreme leads" and "baffling" to describe the series so far I'm going to...well...whatever.

Let's remember MIA built a huge lead then dang near squandered it.  Boston has held their leads.  MIA is the weaker team yet everyone believes these teams are "mirrors" of each other.  Close but not mirrors.  One team with have 4 wins by Sunday and the other either 3 or two.  I'm 100% sure it will be us with the 4 wins.    

ESPN Injury Reports states from Ime that both RWIII and MS are "feeling better...but remain questionable for G5."

db

P.S. We'll assume Tucker, Vincent, Herro, Lowry and Strus will all suit up even though they are D2D on EXPN Injury list.

Sounds like Rob will play but not as sure about Marcus.

I'll take that bet on Marcus, dboss!!

db