E. CONF. FINALS – Gm 3: Celtics (0) @ Heat (2) – 8:30PM, Sun, May 21, 2023

[titlebound1]

I've seen a lot of people complaining about what Grant did. I have absolutely no problem with it...I hope he does it again. I would love to see it come from either Brown or Tatum...but at least someone stepped up.

People talk up jimmy like he's actually accomplished anything. He's clutch...no doubt about it. But the guy is so predictable. He takes a million bad shots and gets bailed out by Bam's O boards and Martin going nuts.

I don't like piling on the coach because at the end of the day, players need to execute. But Joe needs to show us a real game plan. The heat get away with double or triple teaming Tatum. There's no excuse to not bringing a double team when Jimmy does one of his two moves (bringing a guard into the post off of a switch.)

STOP SWITCHING. Fight through the picks and run high picks and rolls with JT / Rob every single time down. This isn't rocket science

I was originally extremely annoyed by it but the reality is Butler was going to do what he was going to do anyways. At least Grant showed some fire. Grant getting in Butler's face was the least of Boston's reasons why they lost.

This team can only go so far as their stars can carry them and Brown was atrocious and neither him nor Tatum showed up in the fourth.

Yeah players need to perform. End of story.

And you're right. Butler was talking trash and staring guys down all game. That's what he does. You can either take it and avoid eye contact, or you can push back. Either way, he's going to put on his tough guy schtick

Tatum is bigger and more talented than him. He should be challenging him every single time. Butler has made the finals once...and it has a major ***** next to it. It's not like he's MJ

[FlatearthZorro]

I've seen a lot of people complaining about what Grant did. I have absolutely no problem with it...I hope he does it again. I would love to see it come from either Brown or Tatum...but at least someone stepped up.

People talk up jimmy like he's actually accomplished anything. He's clutch...no doubt about it. But the guy is so predictable. He takes a million bad shots and gets bailed out by Bam's O boards and Martin going nuts.

I don't like piling on the coach because at the end of the day, players need to execute. But Joe needs to show us a real game plan. The heat get away with double or triple teaming Tatum. There's no excuse to not bringing a double team when Jimmy does one of his two moves (bringing a guard into the post off of a switch.)

STOP SWITCHING. Fight through the picks and run high picks and rolls with JT / Rob every single time down. This isn't rocket science

I was originally extremely annoyed by it but the reality is Butler was going to do what he was going to do anyways. At least Grant showed some fire. Grant getting in Butler's face was the least of Boston's reasons why they lost.

This team can only go so far as their stars can carry them and Brown was atrocious and neither him nor Tatum showed up in the fourth.

Yeah players need to perform. End of story.

And you're right. Butler was talking trash and staring guys down all game. That's what he does. You can either take it and avoid eye contact, or you can push back. Either way, he's going to put on his tough guy schtick

Tatum is bigger and more talented than him. He should be challenging him every single time. Butler has made the finals once...and it has a major ***** next to it. It's not like he's MJ

For real though. And Grant actually put his money where his mouth is.

[titlebound1]

I get the single coverage on Butler. I don't know if I love it but I get it. Having him score 2 points is better than him spraying it out for a 3. And the Bucks and Knicks largely guarded him the same way, so it's not like Joe is alone on this strategy. (Although the Bucks and Knicks obviously lost lol.)

But as a Tatum stan I'm annoyed with how the Heat swarm JT with multiple defenders in the 4th to make him pass. And then Butler faces single coverage and scores more points than JT in the 4th and the narrative everywhere is Butler is a dog and can't be stopped and is the better player than JT etc.

I mean yeah Butler is outperforming JT down the stretch of these games so far but the difference in the defense each player is facing is pretty substantial. If JT gets swarmed the right play is to pass the ball, but then he gets ripped for it anyway. Maybe Jimmy would struggle with extra defenders draped on him too, but we haven't really seen him deal with that. Grumble grumble.

The problem with not bringing the double is that the heat run their offense through that Jimmy iso. We're not doing anything to disrupt it. It's not only about jimmy making low IQ fadeaways... he's also passing out of the post to cutters a ton

I completely agree with your other points. Butler is not some world beater. He's not facing nearly the pressure Tatum is...and that falls on Joe.

[zoyathedestroya]

I get the single coverage on Butler. I don't know if I love it but I get it. Having him score 2 points is better than him spraying it out for a 3. And the Bucks and Knicks largely guarded him the same way, so it's not like Joe is alone on this strategy. (Although the Bucks and Knicks obviously lost lol.)

But as a Tatum stan I'm annoyed with how the Heat swarm JT with multiple defenders in the 4th to make him pass. And then Butler faces single coverage and scores more points than JT in the 4th and the narrative everywhere is Butler is a dog and can't be stopped and is the better player than JT etc.

I mean yeah Butler is outperforming JT down the stretch of these games so far but the difference in the defense each player is facing is pretty substantial. If JT gets swarmed the right play is to pass the ball, but then he gets ripped for it anyway. Maybe Jimmy would struggle with extra defenders draped on him too, but we haven't really seen him deal with that. Grumble grumble.

Whack narrative.

JT’s teammates (and coach tbh) need to step up. I mean… Caleb freaking Martin is playing better than our 2nd team All-NBA player. Bam is eating Horford’s lunch, regurgitating it, and making Al swallow it. Gabe Vincent made his clutch bucket (and FTs). Smart didn’t. Never mind the coaching disparity.

[titlebound1]

I was originally extremely annoyed by it but the reality is Butler was going to do what he was going to do anyways. At least Grant showed some fire. Grant getting in Butler's face was the least of Boston's reasons why they lost.

This team can only go so far as their stars can carry them and Brown was atrocious and neither him nor Tatum showed up in the fourth.

Yeah players need to perform. End of story.

And you're right. Butler was talking trash and staring guys down all game. That's what he does. You can either take it and avoid eye contact, or you can push back. Either way, he's going to put on his tough guy schtick

Tatum is bigger and more talented than him. He should be challenging him every single time. Butler has made the finals once...and it has a major ***** next to it. It's not like he's MJ

For real though. And Grant actually put his money where his mouth is.

Yup people are acting like he just killed Grant. That's not what happened. Sure he hit a couple tough shots. But grant was right there with him and scored a bunch of buckets himself while the team was struggling.

[Almeida]

I’m just hoping we see something different from the coaching staff and grit from the players, show some damn pride.

[zoyathedestroya]

Forget the messenger, but the message here is sound. #5 might be easier said than done. Heat too connected and organized. Butler doubles almost always lead to an open 3 or layup. Give Jimmy different looks. Surrendering switches willingly over and over isn’t cutting it. Try something different. Not dumb doubles from one pass away and leaving corner threes open though.

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[bisme37]

I get the single coverage on Butler. I don't know if I love it but I get it. Having him score 2 points is better than him spraying it out for a 3. And the Bucks and Knicks largely guarded him the same way, so it's not like Joe is alone on this strategy. (Although the Bucks and Knicks obviously lost lol.)

But as a Tatum stan I'm annoyed with how the Heat swarm JT with multiple defenders in the 4th to make him pass. And then Butler faces single coverage and scores more points than JT in the 4th and the narrative everywhere is Butler is a dog and can't be stopped and is the better player than JT etc.

I mean yeah Butler is outperforming JT down the stretch of these games so far but the difference in the defense each player is facing is pretty substantial. If JT gets swarmed the right play is to pass the ball, but then he gets ripped for it anyway. Maybe Jimmy would struggle with extra defenders draped on him too, but we haven't really seen him deal with that. Grumble grumble.

The problem with not bringing the double is that the heat run their offense through that Jimmy iso. We're not doing anything to disrupt it. It's not only about jimmy making low IQ fadeaways... he's also passing out of the post to cutters a ton

I completely agree with your other points. Butler is not some world beater. He's not facing nearly the pressure Tatum is...and that falls on Joe.

I guess I just want them to show him different looks at different times. Stick to the single coverage most often but occasionally throw a hard double at him, or trap him, or just hedge and show an extra defender before getting back to the shooters. Don't switch everything and let him get the matchup he wants. We need to do something to disrupt him and make him at least somewhat uncomfortable. Our defense has been so predictable you can see that Jimmy already knows what he's going to do before he does it. And then we just watch him do it. Mix it up a little imo.

[zoyathedestroya]

Read on Twitter

I thought we had glimpses of this with Ime and it continued early in the year. Now we’re back to our old offense from the Brad years.

So if you’re wondering whether you’ve seen these 4th quarter movies before, we already saw them back in the bubble ECF.

[titlebound1]

I get the single coverage on Butler. I don't know if I love it but I get it. Having him score 2 points is better than him spraying it out for a 3. And the Bucks and Knicks largely guarded him the same way, so it's not like Joe is alone on this strategy. (Although the Bucks and Knicks obviously lost lol.)

But as a Tatum stan I'm annoyed with how the Heat swarm JT with multiple defenders in the 4th to make him pass. And then Butler faces single coverage and scores more points than JT in the 4th and the narrative everywhere is Butler is a dog and can't be stopped and is the better player than JT etc.

I mean yeah Butler is outperforming JT down the stretch of these games so far but the difference in the defense each player is facing is pretty substantial. If JT gets swarmed the right play is to pass the ball, but then he gets ripped for it anyway. Maybe Jimmy would struggle with extra defenders draped on him too, but we haven't really seen him deal with that. Grumble grumble.

The problem with not bringing the double is that the heat run their offense through that Jimmy iso. We're not doing anything to disrupt it. It's not only about jimmy making low IQ fadeaways... he's also passing out of the post to cutters a ton

I completely agree with your other points. Butler is not some world beater. He's not facing nearly the pressure Tatum is...and that falls on Joe.

I guess I just want them to show him different looks at different times. Stick to the single coverage most often but occasionally throw a hard double at him, or trap him, or just hedge and show an extra defender before getting back to the shooters. Don't switch everything and let him get the matchup he wants. We need to do something to disrupt him and make him at least somewhat uncomfortable. Our defense has been so predictable you can see that Jimmy already knows what he's going to do before he does it. And then we just watch him do it. Mix it up a little imo.

Completely agree. Shouldn't be doubling every time...but we need to be able to throw that at him.

Spot on about the switches. It killed us last year and again this year. No idea why we're sticking with it

[Slax]

First they came for Celtics Thug, and I did not speak out—
Because I did not like Celtics Thug.

Then they came for BannersOnly, and I did not speak out—
Because I did not like BannersOnly.

Then they came for ViperGTS, and I did not speak out—
Because I did not like ViperGTS.

Then they came for MagicBagley18 and Feed Your Head—and there was no one left to speak for me, because those accounts were my last two sockpuppet accounts.

REPEAL THE JONES ACT

[playa-hater]

For what it's worth I'm sitting next to Lisa Leslie at a travel team tournament.. I asked her if she is watching the NBA playoffs.. And what she thinks about Boston... We only had a quick discussion But she says Boston lacks one thing in crunch time more than anything. Composure...

[FlatearthZorro]

I wont catch the game live, cause I got work tomorrow, but I hope we can win this somehow. It's a long shot, but who knows. Hopefully when I wake up tomorrow, we already won.

[threrf23]

The problem with not bringing the double is that the heat run their offense through that Jimmy iso. We're not doing anything to disrupt it. It's not only about jimmy making low IQ fadeaways... he's also passing out of the post to cutters a ton

I completely agree with your other points. Butler is not some world beater. He's not facing nearly the pressure Tatum is...and that falls on Joe.

I guess I just want them to show him different looks at different times. Stick to the single coverage most often but occasionally throw a hard double at him, or trap him, or just hedge and show an extra defender before getting back to the shooters. Don't switch everything and let him get the matchup he wants. We need to do something to disrupt him and make him at least somewhat uncomfortable. Our defense has been so predictable you can see that Jimmy already knows what he's going to do before he does it. And then we just watch him do it. Mix it up a little imo.

Agreed all the way.

I feel like Jimmy's a guy who will burn you no matter what you throw at him when he is hot, but a guy who won't burn you all that bad if you let him get open jump shots, if he is not hot. IMO it's more a matter of trying to throw him off kilter, and trying to prevent him from penetrating - not only because it's easy for him to establish rhythm when he is able to get into the paint at will, but also because the Heat rely on him quite a bit as a playmaker. Without him, relatively speaking, they lack ballhandling and passing, and that is especially the case with Herro out.

The switches have killed us for years on end, and they don't make sense to me. It used to be IT, then it was Kemba, now it is Rob. Heat have abused this for years.

[Froob]

I think we go up 18, nearly blow the lead and just barely hang on

[Shak_Celts]

Can't do a poor job of watching you heathens tonight because I'm getting new tats but I'll be reading later or tomorrow, don't let me down!

Go Csssssss!!!! 1 at a time!!!

[exculpatory]

Then they came for MagicBagley18 and Feed Your Head—and there was no one left to speak for me, because those accounts were my last two sockpuppet accounts.

What happened to them?

[philing00]

Miami are concentrating on defending the 3pt with 4-1 zone. Can’t keep jacking up 3s, take what they give us. We need to score in the midrange. No more Al who can’t shoot or box out. Play more Rob for offensive rebounds and lob threat. More D. White instead of Brogs. We need guys who can draw Bam away from Rob and by hitting the midrange consistently. Also Give the ball to the Js AROUND THE KEY, load the weak side and get out of the way. That’s how Jimmy got his. Don’t let Bam go to his right with the dribble. If Jayden doesn’t play well, pull him. We have had success with him when he was injured.
If Mazulla brings the same **** next game, he doesn’t deserve the job next year.

We haven’t been taking as many 3s because Miami is denying them. That’s their game plan and Spo even said so in the timeout. Deny our usual attack which is drive and kick. They are stopping the penetration with perimeter defenders helping out on the driver. But they don’t overcommit to leave open 3s. The Js are trying to get to the middle with driving but should really be offball and receiving a pass in the middle.

[exculpatory]

IT’S **** PUT UP OR STFU TIME RIGHT **** NOW (STFU MEANING GOOD BYE 7, MARCUS & BUBBLES ASAP).

I HAVE BEEN TOO PISSED & DISGUSTED TO POST SINCE THE END OF THE FIRST HALF OF G2.

NOW MOTHER **** - 4 STRAIGHT WINS ONE AT A TIME.

RIGHT **** NOW, GODDAMIT!

[The_Ghost_of_JB]

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I thought we had glimpses of this with Ime and it continued early in the year. Now we’re back to our old offense from the Brad years.

So if you’re wondering whether you’ve seen these 4th quarter movies before, we already saw them back in the bubble ECF.

I don't know what they can do to try to solve Miami's zone defense. Put it this way it doesn't seem like any Boston Coach in the last decade can figure out how to solve this zone defense.

As for a game plan what game plan? This is a three-point shooting team first and foremost and that's probably not going to change game 97 of the season. We just have to hope Boston actually hits