In Games 1 and 2, it was Boston's discipline and attention to detail that was tested. Now, entering Game 3, their heart will be tested. The Celtics cowered in the fourth quarter of Game 2. As much as people will be quick to blame Grant Williams for "poking the bear" in Jimmy Butler, at least he showed some fight.
Miami has been the tougher team this series, and credit to them. As an eight seed, the Heat have that dog mentality and the Celtics have shied away from matching their intensity.
Now time is running out for Boston. Trailing 0-2 in the series after dropping both games at home puts Boston in a position not many teams have been able to recover from. It's now or never for the Celtics. It feels like they need to take both games in Miami in order to have a chance to pull off this comeback series win, and in order to do so they are going to have to find some toughness and fight.
It's the stuff that doesn't always necessarily show up on the stat sheet that will be the key for the Celtics in Game 3. Discipline, attention to details, and finding some heart, which they have severely lacked so far in this series.
This is when Boston's superstars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, need to step up. Tatum has disappeared in the fourth quarter in consecutive games, and Brown is coming off one of the worst postseason performances of his career in Game 2. The Jays need to set the tone on both ends of the floor for Boston, and it needs to happen quickly, because time is running out.
Here are three things to watch entering Game 3:
Lineup change?
Entering Game 6 in the Philadelphia series, Joe Mazzulla made a lineup change, as he turned to the double-big lineup with both Al Horford and Robert Williams on the floor together, which Boston leaned on for a majority of last postseason.
The double-big lineup did a fantastic job against the 76ers, as it allowed the Celtics to completely take away the interior and give the league MVP, Joel Embiid, fits. The double-big lineup has not been nearly as effective in this series against the Heat.
Horford and Williams have played 14 minutes together this series, and the numbers are ugly. The double-big lineup has been outscored 41-25, are shooting just 36.6%, and are being out-rebounded 16-9.
Entering Game 2, Mazzulla was asked how he liked the double-big lineup and was evasive with his answer saying, "That's a good question. I thought each lineup presented things they did well."
Mazzulla got away from the double-big quickly in Game 2, subbing in Derrick White for Robert Williams at the 7:35 mark of the first quarter. Mazzulla then stuck with the change coming out of halftime, as it was Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford to start the second half.
It's a small sample size, but the lineup of Smart, White, Brown, Tatum and Horford has outscored the Heat 24-17 in their 11 minutes together. It would not be a surprise at all if we saw Mazzulla revert back to that lineup -- the starting lineup we saw for the first 11 games this postseason -- for Game 3.
On the perimeter
Live by the three, die by the three. We've heard that in regards to this Celtics team all season long and they have struggled mightily from deep so far this series. Boston is shooting 20-of-64 (31.3%) from deep this series, as they have recorded just 10 threes in each game.
Boston has totaled more turnovers than made threes in each game this series, which is a recipe for disaster for this Celtics team. If you aren't going to knock down the threes, you better be able to defend them, and that's another area where the C's haven't been good enough. Boston's perimeter defense has struggled mightily so far this series.
Miami shot just 34.4% from deep in the regular season, which was good for 27th in the league. The Heat are shooting 43.9% from deep so far this series, and are doing it without Tyler Herro, who shot 37.8% from three this season.
Boston's perimeter defense has been lackluster at best this series, and with the team struggling as much as they are shooting, it has not been a pleasant combination.
Matching Miami's physicality
Marcus Smart called his team out for their lack of physicality in Game 1, but it was much of the same in Game 2. The Celtics have simply been out-toughed this series, especially late in games.
Boston showed in the third quarter of Game 2 that they can match Miami's physicality; it's just a matter of wanting it. The third quarter of Game 2 was Boston's best quarter of basketball so far this series, and it's no coincidence that's when they played the most physical.
It truly is impressive how every player in the Heat rotation has bought into that dog mindset, as it has made things extremely difficult for Boston. If the Celtics out flat, especially on the road, there is no way they will beat this Heat team. Boston needs to take some pointers from their third quarter of Game 2 and piece it together for an entire 48 minutes.
