Banner Town Breakdown: Celtics vs. Heat (August 4, 2020)
The Celtics took on the Miami Heat today who were without one of their All-Stars in Jimmy Butler. On paper, that should have been a huge advantage for the Celtics, but everything is not always what it seems to be. The Heat are a very gritty team who loves to shoot the three ball, and that was as clear as ever in this one.
Right out of the gate, the Celtics were giving Miami’s shooter far too much space. At the end of Sunday’s game against the Blazers, Damian Lillard was able to get open looks because Boston’s defenders kept going under screens instead of over. Well, that is exactly what happened early on in this one. Duncan Robinson (21 points, 5-11 from three) and Kelly Olynyk (15 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists), who have been hot in Orlando, were getting to their spots and raining down threes. Whether it was a decent contest or one of the (many) shots that Boston gave up due to poor defense, Miami was on fire.
Enes Kanter (10 points, 5 rebounds) was pretty solid on the offensive glass, but none of the Celtics bigs were able to keep up with All-Star Bam Adebayo (21 points, 12 rebounds). He just seemed to be able to have his way on the offensive end of the floor. Ironically enough, it was Jaylen Brown (18 points, 10 rebounds) who looked the most capable of containing Adebayo. He’s had a history of defending opposing big men with some success, notably Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors, so I wasn’t shocked to see him get the Adebayo assignment at times in this one.
By the time the middle of the game rolled around it looked like the Celtics could potentially make a run in this one. Jayson Tatum (23 points, 7 rebounds) was driving to the rack and heating up a little and Gordon Hayward (15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) was looking pretty solid. Boston was slowly creeping up on the Heat and things were looking promising. Brown was looking pretty solid and seemed to be carrying Boston back into the game. Kemba Walker (15 points, 4 assists) even nailed a half court shot to end the third quarter. The momentum seemed like it could shift in the Celtics’ direction.
Then the fourth quarter hit. With Marcus Smart (3 points, 2 steals) fouled out and Tatum in foul trouble, the Celtics put out an interesting lineup of Brad Wanamaker (8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), Brown, Romeo Langford (0 points), Semi Ojeleye (3 points, 5 rebounds, 1-6 from the field), and Kanter. As much as I love every single player on the Celtics, that lineup just isn’t equipped to keep up with a very good Miami Heat lineup. Boston’s defense just looked gassed at times. There were some possessions where the rotations looked great, but for the most part the Heat were able to get wide open looks from deep.
Also, don’t even get me started on how many easy looks the Celtics weren’t converting on. The field goal and three point percentages don’t look bad on paper, but during the game it seemed like a lot.
Then late in the fourth, the Celtics played with everyone’s emotions once again. For a few possessions it really seemed like they could battle back into it. Even at the end there Goran Dragic (20 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists) was called for a travel and Walker nailed a contested three to make it a one possession game. Once again, however, the Heat just out hustled the C’s and got open looks. It was the same story as the rest of the game. A rough, rough game for the guys in green.
Also I’m not saying it’s the reason the Celtics lost, because Boston was very disappointing in this one overall, but the referees are just very tough to listen to in Orlando so far. I just remember Brad Stevens getting super heated late in the fourth at almost every call. Boston was getting called for a foul on what seemed like every other possession. I wouldn’t play aggressive either if I thought I was just going to get a foul called on me that often. Then that technical on Tatum capped off another questionable performance from the referees. The guy was just getting frustrated at himself under his breath and got punished. Crazy.
Boston needs to play with a lot more energy, more aggressiveness, and much better defense if they want to take home a win in their next game. The Heat ran faster, played harder, and hustled more than the Celtics did throughout the entire game. Not a good look for a Celtics’ team that’s supposed to be competing for a championship this year.
The Celtics play the Brooklyn Nets tomorrow, August 5th at 9:00PM. This has been your Banner Town Breakdown, tune in tomorrow for another! Thanks for reading!
