NBA Eastern Conf. Finals: Gm 1 – Celtics vs Heat – 6:30PM, Tues. 09/15/20

[grindtime22]

With those shooters, ignoring Bam doesn't really work. You can't hang back. You almost have to get up. He starts setting off ball screens and you have their shooters flaring into open 3s. He goes to dribble handoffs for Robinson 3s. Dragic will probably put him in the blender in the pick and roll. If we put Kanter on the floor, they are going to go at him over, and over, and over.

Maybe. Though I'm not sure how well their guys shoot off the dribble. Robinson and Crowder are spot up shooters, no? And you possibly have the same exact issues with Theis/Timelord in the game, they are more mobile than Kanter but not better defenders away from the basket. That is something we saw tonight, mostly in the first half.

Plus defending Adebayo is important - and if our centers switch off of him, they'll just feed Adebayo rolling to the basket. I think we should try and get some production from Kanter in this series.

Robinson is primarily a catch and shoot, but he can shoot in just about every way. He definitely isn't just a "spot up" shooter. The handoff falls in the catch and shoot category and he does it a lot. In a lot of ways, it functions similarly to players like Kemba who get pullup 3s in the pick and roll. They will take advantage of it if you try to sag way back on Bam

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[ConstableGeneva]

I just remembered this is also Gordon Hayward's first ever trip to the Conference Finals. Hope he gets a chance to play.

[CeltsfanSinceBirth]

I feel like the Toronto series helped our players deal with the same type of junk defenses that Miami will throw our way. They are a tough team, but I think this might be Kemba's March Madness run. We need him scoring over 20 ppg this series.

[ConstableGeneva]

Re-posting from Marcus All-Defense Thread, since it bears repeating how INSANE Smart was defensively in the East Semis...

Look at what Smart did against the top 4 players of the Raptors... 28 combined points for the ENTIRE SERIES. For those math-challenged, that's ONE POINT PER GAME PER PLAYER. No one shot above 43%. LOL @ Siakam. They're also the four players he was matched up against the most in the series.



I'm not even mentioning the numerous game-changing plays he made on the defensive end including the series-saving block on Powell. Marcus Smart is my DPOY.

We need this type of performance from him again against Miami, who's a better offensive team overall than Toronto.

[CSL_1904]

Re-posting from Marcus All-Defense Thread, since it bears repeating how INSANE Smart was defensively in the East Semis...

Look at what Smart did against the top 4 players of the Raptors... 28 combined points for the ENTIRE SERIES. For those math-challenged, that's ONE POINT PER GAME PER PLAYER. No one shot above 43%. LOL @ Siakam. They're also the four players he was matched up against the most in the series.



I'm not even mentioning the numerous game-changing plays he made on the defensive end including the series-saving block on Powell. Marcus Smart is my DPOY.

We need this type of performance from him again against Miami, who's a better offensive team overall than Toronto.

Who do you think is the better defensive team out of Toronto and Miami?

[ConstableGeneva]

Re-posting from Marcus All-Defense Thread, since it bears repeating how INSANE Smart was defensively in the East Semis...

Look at what Smart did against the top 4 players of the Raptors... 28 combined points for the ENTIRE SERIES. For those math-challenged, that's ONE POINT PER GAME PER PLAYER. No one shot above 43%. LOL @ Siakam. They're also the four players he was matched up against the most in the series.



I'm not even mentioning the numerous game-changing plays he made on the defensive end including the series-saving block on Powell. Marcus Smart is my DPOY.

We need this type of performance from him again against Miami, who's a better offensive team overall than Toronto.

Who do you think is the better defensive team out of Toronto and Miami?

Raptors. They have the advantage of being together since last season. They're more connected, consistent, and cohesive on the defensive end.

Miami made me pause a bit when they played the Bucks, but then it's hard to evaluate if most of that is due to the stingy Miami defense or some of it is because of Bucks bubble funk (apart from them being easier to scheme against). They play hard when they want to, they have a couple of good defensive wings in Butler/Jae/Iggy plus a defensive big in Bam, and they're as well-coached as the Raptors. One thing I'd bet on -- Kemba will have an easier time in this series esp if Hayward makes an appearance.

[CSL_1904]

Re-posting from Marcus All-Defense Thread, since it bears repeating how INSANE Smart was defensively in the East Semis...

Look at what Smart did against the top 4 players of the Raptors... 28 combined points for the ENTIRE SERIES. For those math-challenged, that's ONE POINT PER GAME PER PLAYER. No one shot above 43%. LOL @ Siakam. They're also the four players he was matched up against the most in the series.



I'm not even mentioning the numerous game-changing plays he made on the defensive end including the series-saving block on Powell. Marcus Smart is my DPOY.

We need this type of performance from him again against Miami, who's a better offensive team overall than Toronto.

Who do you think is the better defensive team out of Toronto and Miami?

Raptors. They have the advantage of being together since last season. They're more connected, consistent, and cohesive on the defensive end.

Miami made me pause a bit when they played the Bucks, but then it's hard to evaluate if most of that is due to the stingy Miami defense or some of it is because of Bucks bubble funk (apart from them being easier to scheme against). They play hard when they want to, they have a couple of good defensive wings in Butler/Jae/Iggy plus a defensive big in Bam, and they're as well-coached as the Raptors.

At the start of the season I really liked this matchup for us because, other than Butler, I didn't see anyone on the Heat that could guard our wings. Adding Iggy and especially Crowder could make a huge difference.

Hopefully we can get Hayward back quickly and playing well.

[sully00]

Hopefully they don't help in the paint like the Bucks did all series. Heat just killed them with threes.

It is crazy how the Bucks went from dominant in the regular season to fatally flawed in the post season with that strategy. Boston is no one trick pony on defense and should not get exploited at the 3 pt line.

Stevens and Boston have handled Butler well in the past but that was with a flawed cast around him specifically no shooting. It makes me nervous that Miami has so many guys that don't know what they don't know and this is a really unique environment. But Boston's mix of youth and experience should be a real advantage in this series.

[Afam]

We wanted Danny Ainge to pick Markelle Fultz over Jayson Tatum, and Bender over Jaylen Brown. Us as Celtics fans right now. Clowns

[Afam]

Celtics in 6

[buriat]

I don’t know if Grant Williams will have a shot against Bam but they have a history.Grant outplayed Bam in North Carolina state championship final In a big upset and more than held his own against him when Tennessee played Kentucky. Obviously Bam has become a great player but don’t think Grant would be intimidated.
The Celtics bench seems to have some decent pieces that can matchup with the Heat’s bigs coming off their bench The challenge is there is no guard beside Wannamaker that plays and he is not consistent at all. I think Celtics have a much superior starting five.

[UNCBlue012]

Can we just take a couple minutes to recognize Marcus Smart? What a damn monster. We aren’t worthy!

[Ben-N1ce]

Bam is their clear advantage but there is nothing you can do about that just play hard. It's about not letting the Heat drive an kick over and over for open threes. They are simply too good at shooting. I think Smart , Tatum or Jaylen can make it tough on Jimmy who only wants to shoot 2's. Don't overreact and double down on him then he's kicking the ball to all sorts of shooters. Dragic is a wildcard. He's been playing really good. Kemba has to match his production. This is going to be another difficult series. Hayward would be a real boost even if he can only play 20 minutes a game. That's less minutes for bums..

[Parliament10]

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[Joshyjess]

Should be interesting to see how much Kanter gets to play. The matchup with Toronto left Kanter completely out of the picture. I wonder if Stevens will think he has more favorable match-ups against the Heat.
Also, RW definetly earned himself a lot more playing time. He didn't play huge minutes, but whenever he was out there he looked comfortable, and he really added a lot to the team.
As of right now, I hope the C's stick with the Theis / RW combo, and let Kanter be the third (or fourth if you count Grant Williams).
I will say this for Kanter, though. Even with his lack of playing time, he kept up an awesome attitude on the bench. Whenver they showed him, he was always cheering his team on, and giving them high-fives.

[floyd]

So, they’ve only got 3 dudes that shoot the three ball in their starting lineup and one of those is Crowder? If Crowder and KO rain threes on us that will be freakin depressing.

[jfs1000d]

Should be interesting to see how much Kanter gets to play. The matchup with Toronto left Kanter completely out of the picture. I wonder if Stevens will think he has more favorable match-ups against the Heat.
Also, RW definetly earned himself a lot more playing time. He didn't play huge minutes, but whenever he was out there he looked comfortable, and he really added a lot to the team.
As of right now, I hope the C's stick with the Theis / RW combo, and let Kanter be the third (or fourth if you count Grant Williams).
I will say this for Kanter, though. Even with his lack of playing time, he kept up an awesome attitude on the bench. Whenver they showed him, he was always cheering his team on, and giving them high-fives.

I am fine with Theis/RW. Kanter could be valuable as an offensive rebounder and inside scorer. Depends on what the game calls for.

RW been a revelation. Still has to become better on his rotations. But he is active.


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[ConstableGeneva]

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We had trouble with this in the seeding game even without Butler. Lots of defensive breakdowns trying to keep up with Miami's player movement. I think we'll be much more prepared and focused entering the series.

[sam_I_am]

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I really love the defensive tenacity with Smart in starting lineup. However, Kemba’s struggles offensively in Toronto series wouldn’t have happened with a healthy Gordon out there. The spacing they get with Gordon on the floor is the most underrated aspect of his game. That said, Smart’s defense and heroic clutch play hasn’t been there for Gordon in a Celtics uniform. Going forward, a close to healthy Hayward off the bench will be a big plus in getting Kemba the spacing he needs to dominate offfensively.

[sam_I_am]

So, they’ve only got 3 dudes that shoot the three ball in their starting lineup and one of those is Crowder? If Crowder and KO rain threes on us that will be freakin depressing.

I really am fond of those 2 Ex-Celtics.....but I can’t say that thought scares me even a little. Jay’s toughness and physical play on the other hand is a concern.