Can the Boston Celtics save their season again in Game 5 against the Miami Heat?
The Boston Celtics were able to avoid elimination as they defeated the Miami Heat in Game 4 of their best-of-7 series. While the Celtics live on to play another game, history is not on their side as teams who have faced a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Playoffs have only come from behind 13 times.
Before Game 4, all Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart talked about to the media was “just getting one game”. Now that they have gotten that “one game” under their belt the series will shift back to Boston where the Celtics still appear to have an uphill battle.
Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla also admitted that he didn’t have his his team prepared to play Game 3 as he took all the blame, criticism and held himself accountable for his team being down 3-0.
But then again, these are the NBA Playoffs and that should be motivation enough for any player. The keys to victory in Game 4 for the Celtics were better shooting with a much improved defensive effort. The Celtics shot 51.2 percent compared to the 39.8 percent they shot in Game 3. They also shot much better than the atrocious 26.2 percent from downtown in Game 3 but were able to knock down 40.9 percent of their three-point attempts in Game 4.
In a collective effort to protect the paint, the Celtics accumulated eight blocks and eight steals as they were able to capitalize off of rebounds, deflections, and loose balls. The duo of Brown and Jayson Tatum played much better as their individual performances truly make the difference in the Celtics winning and losing.
During the Game 3 loss, Tatum only had 14 points, 10 rebounds, and two assists while Brown only had 12 points and six rebounds to go along with two assists and that’s just not going to get it done. Tatum bounced back nicely in Game 4 as he scored a game-high 33 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists while Brown also improved putting up 17 points, four rebounds, and four assists, While we are used to seeing Brown putting up much better numbers, his effort on the defensive end made up for his lack of offense.
Brown will have to pick it up if the Celtics are going to make history and come back from their deficit. He can’t afford to have another off night and he and Tatum both have to remain consistent. The Celtics got back to their style of play which allowed them to be successful during the regular season as they were able to shoot a scorching hot 40.9 percent from behind the arc.
During the regular season, the Celtics were 2nd in the NBA in three-pointers made and were 6th in three-point percentage. Tatum and Grant Williams were on fire as they both made 4 shots from deep. Al Horford, Derrick White, and Marcus Smart joined in on the hot shooting with three three-pointers each.
The Celtics also scored 27 points off of the 16 turnovers they forced and Game 4 was their first time winning the turnover battle all series long. Forcing those costly turnovers will be key for the Celtics going forward.
Can the Miami Heat finish the job on the road?
The Heat failed to capitalize in the 3rd quarter of Game 4 which is uncharacteristic of them as that has been the money quarter for them throughout the series. The Heat had a 6-point advantage coming out of halftime but the Celtics fought back and made a strong push and were able to produce a 9-point lead going into the 4th quarter.
Jimmy Butler had another efficient game but Bam Adebayo’s struggles on the offensive end hurt as he only produced 10 points and grabbed five rebounds. Even though Butler can close a game and get the Heat to the finish line, it’s Adebayo who has to provide the spark and be that other threat they need on both ends of the floor.
Butler has done an excellent job getting to the foul line and keeping the Celtics in foul trouble. During the Heat’s playoff run, Butler is 3rd among all participants making 7.7 free throws per contest, and is 2nd in attempts with 9.5 per game. It always appears as if Butler has a mismatch especially when he catches the ball and posts up on the low block.
Whether it’s Grant Williams, Brown, Tatum, or Smart, Butler has just been having his way. But what killed the Heat was their cold shooting from downtown as they only connected on 25 percent of their attempts. The Heat made too many careless mistakes and on top of the off night from Adebayo, the Celtics just appeared to want it more.
Surprisingly, the Heat were unable to close out the Celtics on their home floor. They were undefeated at the Kaseya Center until their Game 4 loss but the Celtics have had trouble winning on their home floor as they have a 5-5 record at TD Garden this postseason. If anybody can pull out a victory on the Celtics’ home floor, it’s the Heat.