Boston Celtics: Will they be able to make the adjustments to avoid elimination?

Can the Boston Celtics avoid elimination?

The Miami Heat has the Boston Celtics on the ropes down 3-1 in what has been surprisingly a one-sided series. The Celtics will have to come out swinging or they face the threat of elimination officially ending their quest for an NBA championship.

For the majority of the series, the Celtics have been outplayed, outhustled, and has failed to deliver in clutch moments with the game on the line. However, there are things the Celtics must improve if they wish to stave off elimination as they will continue to try and claw their way back in the series.

First and foremost, the Celtics must sustain the leads they establish, especially in the second half. In two of their losses, the Celtics were up by double-digits. In Game 1, the Celtics were up by 12 points going into the fourth quarter and lost the game by three. In Game 2, they led by as much as 17, but the Heat fought back and walked the lead down heading into the final period.

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With 4:25 left to play, the Celtics went up by five on a 3-pointer by Kemba Walker but the Heat managed a 17-7 run to end the game, winning by five. In Game 4, Heat guard Tyler Herro lit the Celtics up for 17 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter as they retreat to the drawing board to figure out exactly how to prevent him from having another game similar to the one he just had.

One strategy would be to assign lockdown defender Marcus Smart to play him straight up and pester him with his tenacious defense. Smart is good at fighting through screens and running shooters off the 3-point line and has the energy to chase Herro around the perimeter.

As the Celtics’ best defender, it would be wise for head coach Brad Stevens to allow Smart to shadow Herro forcing him to take tougher contested shots deep into the shot clock. As an emerging superstar, Jayson Tatum is expected to carry the Celtics and make plays in the clutch but they also have Walker and Jaylen Brown to help ease the burden and share the responsibility of coming through late with the game on the line.

Brown will have to assert himself more often, especially when the Heat are keyed in on Tatum as they did in Game 4 when they held him scoreless for the entire first half. Brown could force the Heat’s hand and make them have to account for him on the offensive end which would allow Tatum to get cleaner looks and better shots with more opportunities to score.

Brown is very effective catching passes while slashing in the lane and finishing at the rim while creating some type of spark for his team. While Tatum has been aggressive and is capable of making meaningful baskets, the problem has come on the defensive end and keeping the Heat off the boards.

Rebounding has been problematic for the Celtics as the Heat has snatched 40 offensive rebounds, averaging 10 per game. Many of their offensive rebounds have contributed to second-chance points. Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler have collectively accounted for 22 offensive boards, well over 50 percent of the team’s total. The Celtics can’t afford to give the Heat second-chance points off of offensive rebounds combined with fastbreak points so it’s important for the Celtics to avoid turning the ball over.

Celtics big men Daniel Theis, Robert Williams, and Enes Kanter must block out and secure defensive rebounds to limit the critical second-chance points the Heat are getting while the Celtics team as a whole needs to make it a point of emphasis. The Celtics could also deploy a full-court press at times to prevent the Heat from setting up their halfcourt offense.

Even if they don’t force turnovers, it could buy them time by pressuring the Heat to get the ball into the flow of their offense in time to get off a decent shot. This strategy could be effective late in the game, but concerns about fatigue could play a factor.

It’s also important to the Celtics’ success to score in the paint. In their lone win in the series, the Celtics scored 60 points in the paint while scoring 26, 46, and 38 in the losses. The Celtics must also do the one thing all teams must avoiding doing and that’s preventing turnovers.

The Celtics average right at 16 turnovers a game in this series and must do a better job of protecting the basketball. Last, but not least, the Celtics can’t become stagnant in their halfcourt sets. They are very effective moving the ball around the perimeter while moving around on pick-and-rolls, while in the high post or working the back door on the baseline. Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler, and Jae Crowder are plus defenders who the Celtics have to make work for everything and can’t cut them any slack or do them any favors by not being aggressive.

The Boston Celtics have very little margin for error going forward, but they have the camaraderie, chemistry, talent, and winning mentality to get back in this series.