Celtics @ Heat

The Miami Heat are the best team we will face to date.

Their 6-1 record was built on executing on both ends of the court.  They just do a lot of things very well.

Did you know

They are #1 in PPG

They are #1 in fewest points allowed per game

They are 3rd in fast break points

They are #2 in total rebounds per game

They are # 3 in free throws attempted and #2 in FTM

They are only #25 in three point attempts.

They are #1 in shooting defense while holding opponents to 39.7%

By now I am quite certain that you can see the challenge before us.

The Heat play a variation of zone defenses and they are good at it.  To bust open those zones we need more ball movement and a great game from Big Al.  He will need to position himself in the middle on offense to receive passes and feed cutters and open wing players.  We also should run plenty of high pick and pop plays for him.    Al will need to be precise with his passes out of that action because they will overplay passing lanes and they will be off and running.

On defense we have to figure out how to check Robinson coming off screens.  But the dangerous guy is Tyler Herro.  He actually leads the team in FGA per game at 18.  7 of which are 3 pointers (40%)  he can take you off the bounce and also pull up for short jumpers or take floaters.  Bam makes his living off of PNR action.  Butler is an efficient 2 point shooter off of drives and pullups but he is not a 3 point threat.

The expected starting lineup includes Lowry and Robinson in the backcourt, Butler at SF and PJ Tucker at PF and Bam at center.  The key rotation guy is Herro who comes off the bench and is averaging 22.4 PPG

Do we match up with them or do we make them match up with us.  Our 2 big lineup is one option but we could also go with Al at center and Grant Williams at PF.  The reason why I would go with Al at center instead of Rob is because they play a lot of zone and Rob is not yet a pick and pop guy.  PJ Tucker is not a good offensive player so Grant should be able to check him.  The problem however would be Al checking bam.  Bam is significantly quicker and more athletic than Al.  Rob is a better matchup going against Bam.

I'm just pointing out a few things to consider.

We desperately need better bench production.  What better way to put a defender on Herro than to use Josh Richardson who returns to Miami.  He should have a little chip on his shoulder, right?

Conclusion

I expect the Celtics to win this game!

We have favorable matchups to exploit.  Our guys need to play well.  We need to neutralize their bench especially Herro.  I hope to see Romeo get some run matching up with  Herro.  Him and Richardson should be able to knock him around.

It is high time for Tatum to give us a signature performance.

I'm only looking at one thing tonight...can we go 4-0 on B2B's?!!!

db

dbrown4 wrote:I'm only looking at one thing tonight...can we go 4-0 on B2B's?!!!

db

Yes we can provided we take some things away from them.

dboss wrote:The Miami Heat are the best team we will face to date.

Their 6-1 record was built on executing on both ends of the court.  They just do a lot of things very well.

Did you know

They are #1 in PPG

They are #1 in fewest points allowed per game

They are 3rd in fast break points

They are #2 in total rebounds per game

They are # 3 in free throws attempted and #2 in FTM

They are only #25 in three point attempts.

They are #1 in shooting defense while holding opponents to 39.7%

By now I am quite certain that you can see the challenge before us.

The Heat play a variation of zone defenses and they are good at it.  To bust open those zones we need more ball movement and a great game from Big Al.  He will need to position himself in the middle on offense to receive passes and feed cutters and open wing players.  We also should run plenty of high pick and pop plays for him.    Al will need to be precise with his passes out of that action because they will overplay passing lanes and they will be off and running.

On defense we have to figure out how to check Robinson coming off screens.  But the dangerous guy is Tyler Herro.  He actually leads the team in FGA per game at 18.  7 of which are 3 pointers (40%)  he can take you off the bounce and also pull up for short jumpers or take floaters.  Bam makes his living off of PNR action.  Butler is an efficient 2 point shooter off of drives and pullups but he is not a 3 point threat.

The expected starting lineup includes Lowry and Robinson in the backcourt, Butler at SF and PJ Tucker at PF and Bam at center.  The key rotation guy is Herro who comes off the bench and is averaging 22.4 PPG

Do we match up with them or do we make them match up with us.  Our 2 big lineup is one option but we could also go with Al at center and Grant Williams at PF.  The reason why I would go with Al at center instead of Rob is because they play a lot of zone and Rob is not yet a pick and pop guy.  PJ Tucker is not a good offensive player so Grant should be able to check him.  The problem however would be Al checking bam.  Bam is significantly quicker and more athletic than Al.  Rob is a better matchup going against Bam.

I'm just pointing out a few things to consider.

We desperately need better bench production.  What better way to put a defender on Herro than to use Josh Richardson who returns to Miami.  He should have a little chip on his shoulder, right?

Conclusion

I expect the Celtics to win this game!

We have favorable matchups to exploit.  Our guys need to play well.  We need to neutralize their bench especially Herro.  I hope to see Romeo get some run matching up with  Herro.  Him and Richardson should be able to knock him around.

It is high time for Tatum to give us a signature performance.

Bottom line is as you say we have our challenges tonight.
All those numbers are going to change after tonight and probably every other day after that so they mean very little if our team scouted and did their homework.
I’m predicting a win too. If we do win remember that Ktronic said so. If we lose than remember Dboss told you otherwise. :>)