The Eastern Conference finals should be more about mighty Miami than collapsing Boston. It’s been said in sports writing that covering too much ground can confuse the reader. Concentrate on just one or two ideas. The main point. To be continued.
There’s no simple explanation for the Miami Heat’s 128-102 victory against the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Sunday. The Heat completely dominated the game and defeated Boston.
Shooting. Defense. Violence and hasty action. Hustle. Miami was unrivaled in every element of basketball. The Heat have extended their lead to 3-0 in this series, matching Denver’s lead in the Western Conference. That means our Finals opponent is all but decided in stone. No team has ever returned from being down 3-0 in a playoff series to win it.
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The Heat entered Sunday night shooting 43% from beyond the arc in this series after ranking fourth worst in the league in 3-point percentage during the regular season. On the other hand, Boston’s shooting percentage was down to 31%. The trend continued into the third quarter, with Miami making 46% of their 3-point attempts to Boston’s 19%, resulting in a 21-point edge for the Heat.
That didn’t happen by chance. That’s not just a bunch of potluck. Good drive-and-kick poses are being spawned in Miami. They’re moving and sweeping the Celtics in the process. Gabe Vincent’s 29-point performance, on which he made 11 14 shots and 6 9 threes, was exceptional. Those attractive features resulted from Miami’s method, and the team’s growing rhythm in these playoffs has been infectious. Recognize their effort.
That was a good, mature, professional approach,” Miami’s head coach Erik Spoelstra stated after the game. We’re almost there, but we still have some work to do. It’s obvious how much… everyone values this. We managed to establish and maintain control of the game. We’ll take it easy on Tuesday to go into this with clear heads.
The offense for Boston stalled badly in the fourth quarter of their first two games. In the third game, it was irrelevant. At the end of quarter three, the Heat led by 30 points.
During the game, I was seated next to a reporter from Boston, and it struck me as amusing how each person observes the action on the court from their unique perspective. Many commentators have said things like “the Celtics are so stagnant” and “they can’t generate any offense,” as though they are and have been the series’ most significant obstacle. Even if Boston has some responsibility for these problems, Miami is primarily to blame.
If not the sole reason, Miami’s stifling defense undoubtedly contributes to the Celtics’ lack of offensive movement. When Boston finally manages to get past the first defender, the Heat quickly recover to their shooting positions by dropping off the wings to shut up driving lanes. It’s a clinic in defense.
The current success of the Heat is being viewed as a fluke by many observers. If you’re in that camp, ask yourself whether you’d still call it a fluke if the seedings weren’t attached to these teams.
Never mind the plants. The playoffs usually look different from this. It’s as fair as it’s been in a while, and the Heat have everything they need to go well in the postseason. Anyone can fire a gun. Anybody can play defense. They’ve got both a superstar and a multi-talented big guy. They’re not shallow. Cohesion. They’re doing all the small things right, including defensive rotations and swings, that build up this time of year. A legendary coach leads the team.
As with every losing team, the Celtics consider this a personal failure. Boston blew both of the first two games, but even a split would keep the series alive. Caleb Martin is substantially outperforming Jaylen Brown. Joe Mazzulla is a first-time head coach.
However, Miami is to blame for making Boston so unsurprising. Since Tatum is the Celtics’ best player and Miami is focusing on stopping him, he was given the ball early in Game 3; however, with the Heat’s full attention on him at the top of the key and their wing defenders poised to sink in, Tatum was met with a sliding glass door that kept closing in his face.
Bam Adebayo affirmed, “The belief is real.” “And we’ve got the will to win.”
Ultimately, Tatum scored 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting and 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Jimmy Butler didn’t even have a massive game on Sunday, so it would be unfair to imply the Heat are lucky and are only winning thanks to his heroics. He scored 16 points while taking only 13 shots. It was still Miami’s jam.
At some point, you must admit that you were wrong about something and accept it as accurate. The Miami Heat is a significant force. They exist. The entire world, and the Denver Nuggets, should get used to that concept.
