Everyone take a deep breath.
That Game 1 loss was a doozy. It felt like the Heat beat the Celtics at their own game and were the more imposing and physical team.
The Al Horford situation is brutal timing, yes. Robert Williams and Marcus Smart still aren’t 100 percent. The Derrick White news comes at an inopportune time (how dare he skip the game for happiest moment of his life?) but is more than understandable. The Celtics are shorthanded, but that won’t deter them in the slightest.
“Things happen in life,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “We want them to be there for their families in those situations.”
Even with all those uncontrollable factors, the Celtics still have a prime opportunity to win Game 2 and ultimately win the series. Here are five things they need to do better to prevail Thursday night.
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They need to take care of the ball.
It’s no secret that Jaylen Brown’s handle needs some work, but in Game 1, it was Jayson Tatum who coughed it up more than Brown. He turned it over seven times and often looked out of sorts.
The difficult part is that the Heat are extremely deep and can throw a variety of looks at Tatum and Brown. P.J. Tucker, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are all elite defenders, and their team defense is so strong that average-to-below-average defenders such as Gabe Vincent, Max Strus and Tyler Herro look above-average.
It’s hard to play at your pace when a team tries to speed you up, but it’s not impossible. Valuing the ball would go a long way in Game 2 and beyond.
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They need to be more physical with Jimmy Butler.
Jimmy likes physicality. Jimmy is a bully. Jimmy will end your season. Seinfeld jokes aside, all those things are…
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