Finish them
The Celtics won 2 in a row. And now are one win away from heading to the NBA finals for the first time since 2010.
It didn’t feel like a dominating performance and it wasn’t really until the 4th quarter. Offensive struggles haunted the Celtics early. Simply they could not shoot. 1- 4 to start the game. The 1st quarter they scored 17 points and the 2nd quarter only 20. Tatum didn’t see his first FG until the 8 minute mark in the 2nd quarter after and 0 - 6 start.
However, the story of the 1st half wasn’t the bad shooting. It was Jaylen Brown’s turnovers. He had 4 in a series of dribbling errors into traffic. I say this is the real story because with out turning the ball over, Miami simply can not score. They were a perfect 0 - 6 to start the contest.
Jimmy Butler is either seriously hurt or just done with it all. Lowry is old and hobbled. Bam is inconsistent at best and soft at his worst. Tyler Herro is apparently competing for douchebag of Miami and the great Max Struss is 0-19 in the past two games. It was a wonderful display of abysmal offensive basketball.
The worst shooting performance by a starting backcourt in the postseason since the NBA started tracking starters in 1971, per Elias Sports. SOURCE
Talent shined through in the second half. Jaylen Brown quieted the social media storm of naysayers with a team leading 25 points. The sequence of shots from the young star sparked the club to a 32 points 3rd and the first double digit lead to start the 4th.
Make no mistake the catalyst yet again for the final run from the Celtics was your ECF MVP Al. Horford. With 8 minutes left in the 3rd Al went coast to coast through 3 defenders for an AND 1. From that play on you could feel the momentum shifting. Jayson Tatum joined the barrage a couple tough buckets in the paint and it was back to Jaylen to finish them off with the highlight dunk.
If we want to get nit picky as the boys head back to Boston we can again look at the turnovers. A huge problem in the 1st half that they straightened out in the 2nd half, but the offensive rebound disparity is something to shape up too. It was 19 - 6 in that category in favor of the Heat.
Lets end on a positive. Derek White has had some up and down moments with the Celtics since being traded from the Spurs. This Heat series, specifically the last two games, has been a positive. In a big way. His ability to spell Marcus Smart and not lose a ton defensively it huge for the backbone of success for this team. I love his willingness and aggressiveness to move the ball on offense. Something Smart could do more of frankly. White is one of the few if not the only who has that 5 foot floater in his bag. It’s just something a little different to defend and he has found the touch the last couple nights. Congrats new daddy!
Time to lay down your finishing move Boston. Up, up, down, left, right, pause, start their asses so their faces melt off and bones turn to ash. Or whatever. Just win.
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