With the expectation that Marcus Smart will be back for Game 2 vs. the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics should get a huge boost.
In Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics looked like a completely different team in the second half compared to the first.
Whether you want to chalk that up to tired legs, missing depth, or the Heat’s defensive adjustments, one thing is clear – if the Celtics want to win this series, they’re going to need to look more like the first-half version of themselves than the second-half version of themselves.
Heading into Game 2, the Celtics should be set up for success. After feeling out the Heat in Game 1, a game that they probably believe they should’ve won, they’ll have an extra pep in their step with the return of Marcus Smart.
Smart missed Game 1 with a foot injury but is expected back for Game 2. Al Horford, who also missed Game 1 due to health and safety protocol, has been listed as doubtful for Game 2.
Even though it’s unlikely that they’ll get both Smart and Horford back, there seems to be a good chance that they’ll get, at least, the defensive player of the year back in the lineup. And considering the Celtics were punished by Jimmy Butler’s 40-point explosion, Boston will welcome back his presence.
And it’s not even just the simple defensive assignment of Jimmy that the Celtics get with Smart’s return. Smart takes a lot of the ball-handling pressure off of Jayson Tatum and would help alleviate some of the playmaking responsibilities too.
That part of Game 1 looked like it weighed on Tatum, especially considering how much his game suffered during the second half. Not to mention that they had just exited a grueling seven-game series with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Boston’s Game 1 second-half performance was probably a cumulative of things. But it’s clear that the team missed Smart at various points in the second half. That isn’t expected to be a problem in Game 2.
The Celtics will get their DPOY and one of their sparkplugs back in Game 2. Will that be enough to steal one on the road, or did the Heat truly find something in the second half of Game 1? We shall see.