NBA Eastern Conf. Finals: Gm 2 – Celtics (0) vs Heat (1) – 7:00PM, Thur. 09/17/20

[albas89]

Miami offense is so annoying to defend. You fall asleep for half a second, get caught ball-watching, make the wrong rotation, or overplay just a bit, you get burned.

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We have to be sharper on defense than we displayed in game 1. They outscored us 48-26 in the paint and had 15 uncontested threes.

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i love brown. you can hear the fire in his voice when just reading his quotes.

This previous post made me realize something: Jaylen falls asleep on defense way too often, has been since he came in Boston and this hasnt changed. How about we put him on Dragic?

This would be beneficial in 3 ways: take Kemba off Dragic (have him guard Robinson/Herro probably), use Brown's elite on-ball defense and size on Dragic will make life his life harder AND we wont have to worry too much about Jaylen falling asleep on switches/off-ball cuts of Miami players.

At the end of the day we will have to switch everything anyway, but this would definitely help slow down Dragic a little..

[tfribs45]

can't go down 2-0 in the ECF. Going to be a tough road ahead if you lose tonight. Set the tone early and often, NO WAY Crowder shoots over 40% from threes again. Dragic was a early killer as well. Get that tenacious team defense going and keep the ball moving when we have the lead. A player like IT could have helped us close game one out. Go to the rack, get fouled, make your free throws. Stop jacking up unnecessary threes with a big lead....

Let's not overlook Duncan Robinson nearly being a non-factor due to foul trouble - that's not going to happen again.

Miami has weapons.

This game will tell us everything we need to know about the mental fortitude of our C's.

[ConstableGeneva]

Wish we could clone Smart.

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LOL I still can't believe the top 4 Toronto guys only scored 28 points combined against him the entire series.

[Parliament10]

I just found out my college graduation ceremony got cancelled

Celtics gotta win this for me tonight

Sorry to hear about the cancellation.
Congratulations on your Graduation = Congraduation!!!

Go Celtics!!!

[Saint Lazarus]

I just found out my college graduation ceremony got cancelled

Celtics gotta win this for me tonight

What, where's the disguise?

If we lose tonight it’s coming back

[Saint Lazarus]

I just found out my college graduation ceremony got cancelled

Celtics gotta win this for me tonight

Sorry to hear about the cancellation.
Congratulations on your Graduation = Congraduation!!!

Go Celtics!!!

Thanks

[ConstableGeneva]

Between Jae's absurd career-high 3FG%, Robinson (previously gun-shy), and KO getting rid of that annoying pump fake, whoever the shooting coach of Miami is has done a stellar job.

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[ConstableGeneva]

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This would benefit us. Our guys get their rest and Hayward could come back by then. Unless he leaves for his son's birth of course.

[exculpatory]

1. But I think what we're seeing right now is a combination of Walker having a knee that will need surgery (speculation on my part) for the 4th or 5th time in his career before he returns to form.

2. It took guys like Pierce years to figure out that even if they have an advantage they need to still pass the ball because over 48 minutes that leads to a win. And not seek out ISO ball.

1. I have been posting this constantly for weeks!

2. Not so. Even when Truth was being excessively critiqued for too much ISO (pre KG especially), he ALWAYS was appropriately unselfish & made many game winning or clutch assists as well. I gotta go & dig out the display that demonstrated that he led the league between ~2000 - 2010 in the SUM of game winning or clutch time (less than 2 or 5 minutes left in a very close game) MAKES, FTs & ASSISTS!

Both of those things are true.

Pierce was one of the most clutch players of his generation or even ever, and you don't need to dig that out because I remember it very well, and it's my #1 argument why Pierce would have been a better player than Kobe in Kobe's position (because of personality and ability to pass the ball in the clutch to his MVP team mate).

There is no doubt in my mind that If a young, budding Super Star Paul had been given KG (w or w/o Ray) in 2000 (like Kobe was blessed with Shaq), it would have been Paul with 5+ rings - not Kobe. Even as it played out, he got his ring & Finals MVP in 2008, but absolutely should have had 2 more - if not for a **** up night in Utah in 2/2009 when KG incurred his knee injury, & if not for Q4 G7 in LA in 6/2010 (my worst sports memory).

Kobe was a better #1 overall but I think he **** sucks at that too and just got really lucky to force his way to the Lakers like an absolute piece of ****).

Agreed.

But I meant more in the flow of the game as well. Pierce took many tough shots, but I don't think a young Pierce would have passed it for all 48 minutes with Allen and KG DESPITE having a clear matchup advantage during quarters 1-3 (like he eventually did later in this career) - if he didn't go through the pains of being the #1 and doing as well as he could (WITH NO MEANINGFUL SUPPORT between 1998 & 2007), and still not having it be enough to will a team to the Finals.

Good point! Agree.

.

[BillTheGOAT]

Lakers are going to beat the Nuggets then win the NBA Finals, they got multiple players with NBA rings and Finals experience.

LeBron 3x champion with Heat and Cavs, 3x Finals MVP, 9 Finals appearances
Green 2x champion with Spurs and Raptors, 3 Finals appearances
JR Smith 1x champion with Cavs, 4 Finals appearances
Rondo 1x champion with Celtics and another Finals appearance
McGee, 2x champion with GSW in both Finals appearances
Howard, one Finals appearance


No team left in the playoffs other than the Lakers got that championship pedigree. I think Boston might steal 2 games if they played the Lakers. Heat will get swept.

Nuggets might take it to 6 in the WCF.

[Triple7]

Same people complaining about Brad Stevens' egalitarian offense from previous years are same ones complaining about us putting the ball in our stars' hands. Same egalitarian offense Miami is running right now.

^ when you're right, you're right.

IMO, I didn't hate Tatum's shot at the end of regulation.

That was the right shot at that moment. I don’t think anybody is complaining about that. Just stop those non stop isos at the end of games when we have the lead. Running the shot clock and “pounding” the ball was really unbearable to watch. If they are going to do that, then at least set some screens for Kemba and JT, to make it a lot easier.

[Bleeding Green]

Yeah, McGee, JR Smith and Dwight Howard with that playoff experience should come in real handy when they play zero minutes in the Finals.

[ConstableGeneva]

Jae is shooting 43.4% from 3 on 7 3PAs per game. Granted it's only been 30 games with Miami, that's still Klay Thompson territory. Ridiculous.

**** you, CrowderKeg.

[BillTheGOAT]

Yeah, McGee, JR Smith and Dwight Howard with that playoff experience should come in real handy when they play zero minutes in the Finals.

Just stating facts. They may have been carried by LeBron and Splash brothers+KD but they have a locker room full of champions.

[ConstableGeneva]

Same people complaining about Brad Stevens' egalitarian offense from previous years are same ones complaining about us putting the ball in our stars' hands. Same egalitarian offense Miami is running right now.

^ when you're right, you're right.

IMO, I didn't hate Tatum's shot at the end of regulation.

That was the right shot at that moment. I don’t think anybody is complaining about that. Just stop those non stop isos at the end of games when we have the lead. Running the shot clock and “pounding” the ball was really unbearable to watch. If they are going to do that, then at least set some screens for Kemba and JT, to make it a lot easier.

I didn't bother to watch the OT so the iso thing might have happened there more but when I re-watched the 4th quarter, I thought we still had good movement except for a couple of possessions (one was Kemba getting blocked by Jae). It was just hard to score against the length of Miami especially inside. The problem was defense. In the last 7 minutes of the 4th, I think we only got two or three stops total. It didn't help that we were in the penalty early and kept sending them to the line.

[BillTheGOAT]

Stevens channeling his inner Belichick

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[Green89]

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Officials tonight: James Capers, David Guthrie, Tony Brown

I'd love to know what they've done, other than place CGI team logos on the court. They even get the virtual fans wrong, showing away team fans on the screens. They should do something like give an extra timeout to the home team, or give the coach one extra challenge per game. Otherwise, the regular season seedings meant nothing other than strength of team you'll face in early rounds.

[Bleeding Green]

Yeah, McGee, JR Smith and Dwight Howard with that playoff experience should come in real handy when they play zero minutes in the Finals.

Just stating facts. They may have been carried by LeBron and Splash brothers+KD but they have a locker room full of champions.

They go as far as LeBron takes them and that's about it. Replace all the washed up bums on their team with undrafted free agents and I don't think it makes a difference, they're probably still wining the title.

I can't believe how good Rondo looks, though. Every year he looks like an absolute bum in the regular season and then he looks like prime Rondo in the playoffs. Absolutely maddening. But maybe it was just a Houston thing. Anyone can look great when matched up against Playoff Westbrook.

[Triple7]

Lakers are going to beat the Nuggets then win the NBA Finals, they got multiple players with NBA rings and Finals experience.

LeBron 3x champion with Heat and Cavs, 3x Finals MVP, 9 Finals appearances
Green 2x champion with Spurs and Raptors, 3 Finals appearances
JR Smith 1x champion with Cavs, 4 Finals appearances
Rondo 1x champion with Celtics and another Finals appearance
McGee, 2x champion with GSW in both Finals appearances
Howard, one Finals appearance


No team left in the playoffs other than the Lakers got that championship pedigree. I think Boston might steal 2 games if they played the Lakers. Heat will get swept.

Nuggets might take it to 6 in the WCF.

They surely are the favorites, but these are different times. Playing in the bubble benefits teams with less experience. The pressure can be great when playing with actual crowds and home court. Now they can just focus on playing without that outside noise. Denver has a pumchers chance to beat the lakers. A classic example would be the Pistons beating a stacked, championship experienced Lakers team in ‘04.

[Froob]

I studied the film closely from the other night. Based on the sets we are running and what the Heat are doing defensively, I have concluded that the Celtics, are in fact, the balls. Celtics win tonight.