What happened to Jayson Tatum in Game 1?
Trailing in a series, with their backs against the wall. This has been a familiar position for the Celtics dating back to last postseason, and one they find themselves in again entering Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat on Friday night.
Boston enters Game 2 with a 4-1 record when coming off a loss this postseason. While the Celtics have responded well to losses, Robert Williams doesn’t view it as a recipe for success.
“There is no doubt in my mind that we will come out ready to play in Game 2,” Williams said. “But the problem is you can’t keep relying on that… We can’t rely on our backs being against the wall.”
One thing we have learned about this Celtics team, they certainly don’t like to make things easy for themselves. The C’s let one get away from them in Game 1, and they did it to themselves. Boston held a nine-point lead at the half, but watched it slip away as they were run off the court in the third quarter, outscored 46-25.
It’s starting to sound like a broken record. The Celtics need to play their brand of basketball for an entire 48 minutes. For Boston to be at their best, their defense needs to complement their offense and vice versa, and they have struggled to maintain that throughout the entirety of a game this postseason.
Naturally, teams are going to go on runs; it’s simply part of the game. But how a team responds to those runs are oftentimes where a game is won or lost, especially on a stage like the Eastern Conference Finals. For the Celtics, responding to those runs has been an issue throughout this postseason, and it’s something Williams called his team out for ahead of Game 2.
When asked about the team playing their best when their backs are against the wall, Williams said, “That shouldn’t be the only time we respond. That’s what we’re trying to get out of the habit of. It’s all effort and purpose, starting the game right and playing the game right the whole way.”
Let’s face it, this series is pretty lopsided when it comes to talent, and it swings in the favor of the Celtics. With Miami being the inferior team, they will be looking to jump on Boston’s mistakes, and take anything that the C’s give them.
Which brings us to the discipline aspect. Boston can't afford to beat themselves the way they did in Game 1. Head coach Joe Mazzulla acknowledged that ahead of Game 2.
“This series is a test of discipline, a test of mentality, and we gotta be extremely detailed in our effort and our consistency,” Mazzulla said.
Marcus Smart noted after Boston’s Game 1 loss that the team “gets tired of doing the little things sometimes,” which all comes back to discipline. When Boston plays their brand of basketball for an entire 48 minutes, they are a tough team to beat. It’s when they hit these lulls that they begin to struggle.
“You have to understand the details are the most important thing… You can’t take the simple things for granted,” Mazzulla said.
It seems crazy, but the Celtics need to worry about themselves before they start to worry about the Heat. Obviously they can’t take Miami lightly -- they are in the Eastern Conference Finals for a reason, and are far from your traditional eight seed. But Miami is a very beatable team, especially for a team that’s as talented as Boston. When the C’s start to lose their discipline, they throw the Heat a life vest, and that’s how Miami could make this an interesting series.
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