Look at that--we now have their rallying cry/cope angle for tonight's game. For game 3, it was hanging onto the idea that they play better on the road than at home.
It will be interesting to see if the Celtics players even believe what they're spouting right now. I know that everyone in the Heat locker room could not care less what the Celtics have to say or think.
I do expect to get Boston's best early. Something I've discussed before is how important Al Horford is to everything Boston does. He is the key to them being able to play 5-out/switch everything without losing size advantage. He is the key to them being able to go jumbo-sized while still maintaining 4 switchable plus defenders on the floor and allowing Rob Williams to try to hide from the action to maximize his impact as a help defender at the rim. He is also the key to their frontcourt being multifaceted enough to keep the offense in a flow.
There are a multitude of reasons why Boston is faltering at the hands of the Heat. I believe among them is the lesser version of Horford is resulting in the rest of the team having to face more grunt work burden than they want to (or know how to) deal with. Miami's stellar shotmaking is exacerbating that. boston gets into their flow with defensive stops first. That allows them to push in transition/semi-transition and get their flywheel going.
I believe Horford's age is showing after playing A LOT this season and having to defend Embiid all of last round. With that said, Horford and most of Boston's key players did get extra rest after logging lighter minutes last game. We can't let them get into a flow thinking they've rediscovered their identity.
Miami's mindset is resolute independent of outside forces/factors. Bam needs to have Horford thinking about retirement throughout the game. Dominate them early and they'll fold. Keep playing intelligent as a team and set the pace on focus, intensity, and effort.
Most importantly,
1) F**K boston
2) JUST KEEP STROKIN
