When Al Horford spoke to the media after Thursday’s practice, one thing was clear: the Celtics need to step up their defense on the perimeter to win Game 3.
Throughout his five-and-a-half-minute chat, Horford hammered home this point repeatedly:
“We just have to be better. We have to be better defending the three-point line.”
“Defensively, we limit them on those three-point attempts. That’s going to put us in the best position.”
And in no uncertain terms, “We’ve got to be better defending the three. It’s as simple as that.”
Horford has seen a lot of basketball. In this author’s opinion, he would be a terrific addition to a team’s coaching staff down the line. Yet, even without his insight, it’s clear the Celtics need to tighten up their perimeter defense, considering 62.2% of Miami’s points came from beyond the arc, the highest percentage for any team in NBA playoff history.
Conversely, it was the most threes surrendered by the Celtics in postseason franchise history.
“I thought most of those were moderately to heavily contested,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “We’re going to have to make the adjustment on some of those.”
This author concurred with the coach’s sentiment. However, upon video review and with the aid of NBA tracking data, it became apparent that these assertions were erroneous.
NBA tracking data revealed all but six of Miami’s 43 3-point attempts were “open” or “wide open.” The Celtics sagged off the perimeter, overreacted to drives, and had quite a few soft closeouts.
“I think you got to have better closeouts. Take away the ones in transition. I think we gave up 12, four or five open ones, in transition,” Mazzulla said after watching the film. “And then reading their drives. They’re still driving the ball, and we got to do a good job of reading the drive, and when it’s a non-threatening [drive], work to get out, and when it is threatening, fight for multiple efforts. It’s definitely a test to that, and we can definitely be better on that end of the floor.”
Math is tricky. Basketball math is not.
Miami made 12.5 threes per game this season on 37.0% shooting. They shot north of 50% just five times this season and made more than 20 just twice. Game 2, folks, is what they call an outlier.
However, just because the odds are in their favor doesn’t mean the Celtics can just sit back. They need to close out and protect the perimeter, which is a clear emphasis entering Game 3.
“Just got to close out better,” Mazzulla said. “Got to close out better. Close out more [with] a better high hand. Just got to do it better.”
Co-stars need a bounce-back
After a dominant Game 1, impacting the game on both ends of the floor, Kristaps Porzingis had arguably his worst game as a Celtic.
The big man shot 1-of-9 (11.1%) in Game 2. His woes extended beyond the arc, where he failed to connect on all four of his attempts en route to a staggering -32 plus-minus, marking the second-worst mark of his career and his poorest as a Celtic.
“Being extra. Extra swiping at the ball, handsy. Gambling on some of those possessions worked out for them,” Porzingis said when asked what went into Miami’s success denying him in Game 2. “It’s small margins. Us getting a little bit better position, a little bit cleaner looks at the pass. A little better positioning makes a big difference. They did a hell of a job, to be honest. And I didn’t have a good offensive game at all.”
Porzingis had previously found success against Miami this season. However, Game 2 marked the first time they posed significant resistance against him. Along with his commanding Game 1, in his three games against the Heat, Porzingis finished with 61 points on 57.1% shooting from the field and 50.0% from deep, with 22 rebounds, despite suffering injuries in two of those games.
“KP will be fine. As far as that goes, I feel like we’ll be a little more organized. He’ll have opportunities,” Horford said. “He missed a lot of touch shots that he normally makes. That’s bound to happen. I’m confident that he’ll be good to go on Saturday, and he’ll be much better.”
This setback may mark the first instance of “adversity” for Porzingis, but it’s unlikely to last long, given his track record.
“No,” Porzingis said when asked if he does anything personally to wipe away a tough offensive game. “I almost like to get away from basketball a little bit — just rest. I always do my same routine. Nothing changes for me. Good game, bad game, I stay the same. We just looked at the things we could better, I looked at my possessions. I’ll make sure I’m better offensively.”
Boston will also need Jrue Holiday to bounce back, who has struggled a bit offensively early on in this series. Through the first two games, Holiday has scored just 15 points on a team-worst 6-of-20 (30%), with just five assists and three turnovers.
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