3 takeaways from the Boston Celtics 122-92 win vs. the Miami Heat

MassLive

Jaylen Brown scored 29 points and Jayson Tatum added 20 to lead Boston to its fourth win in five games on Monday night. What are some of the top takeaways from the contest?

1. Defense starting to figure it out?

The Celtics defense may be turning the corner now that the roster is healthy. Monday night, the rotations looked quicker, and outside of Max Strus, (27 points on nine made three-pointers), Heat players shot 25-of-68 from the field, including 8-27 from beyond the arc. Smart’s return to action has been a major factor, as they are 4-1 since his return. But watching last night’s game, they appeared to be on the same page defensively.

2. Tatum and Brown played in the paint

I have always wanted to see Tatum and Brown attack the rim more than they do, and they did just that last night. Tatum took 15 shots in 31 minutes, and a number of those shots were at the rim (he even got an assist to Smart on the wing for a three 3 when he slipped on a drive to the basket).

Brown also had a number of strong moves in the paint, and those types of plays can make things easier for themselves and their teammates. Their first basket of the game was a wing pass from Tatum to Smart in the high post, who then dished it to Robert Williams on a backdoor cut.

Brown had a couple of drives with great footwork to finish with a layup. Ball movement with aggressive pushes to the paint was great to see. Let’s hope they can stay healthy and build off of this performance.

3. Building consistency

Had the Celtics lost this game, Saturday’s win over the Pelicans would not have meant much of anything. This team has struggled all season to stack wins and the victory over the Heat was something that can launch them on a positive path as the calendar turns to February.

I would like to see this team go into the All-Star break with some momentum. The win moves the Celtics to 27-25, just 2.5 games behind the Nets for the sixth seed and 5.5 games behind the conference-leading Chicago Bulls (31-18). 

The Celtics will get some extra days off over the second half of the season, as they have already played 52 of 82 games. With eight games left before the All-Star break, they will only have 22 games from February 24 through April 10, with five back-to-backs in those remaining games. 

Boston’s first back-to-back after the break is February 26 (at Detroit) and 27 (at Indiana). The next one isn’t until March 20 and 21. This can go a long way in helping this team get some rest and be as healthy as possible for the stretch run, which could be huge based on how close the standings are.

The C’s will be back in action on Wednesday night, as Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier bring the Charlotte Hornets to TD Garden for a 7:30 pm game.