BOSTON — Midway through the third quarter Monday night as the Celtics were pushing their lead to as much as 32 points, Rudy Gobert couldn’t resist.
“This Boston defense is tough” the Utah Jazz center tweeted.
This was both innocuous and accurate at a time when the Celtics were smothering the Miami Heat and rewriting a slew of records on their way to a 102-82 victory that tied the Eastern Conference finals at 2-2.
But Gobert, it sure seemed, was subtweeting. He had a point, though maybe not his preferred one.
Gobert was noting the Celtics looked great on defense even though Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart was out because of an ankle injury.
Gobert, a three-time DPOY, appears to still be salty that Smart beat him for the award.
What Gobert was saying without saying, though, is the Heat were powerless to score against Boston in the half court, Smart’s absence notwithstanding.
The Heat are hurting at the moment, and they look like they’re going to need some help to take two out of the three games left to reach the Finals. Be it the injury gods, the Celtics themselves or some yet to be discovered offensive savior.
They don’t see it this way, at least publicly. They projected a strong and satisfied front after the loss, looking forward to going back home for Game 5 with home-court advantage.
“This is part of the playoffs, there are these extreme highs and lows,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’ve proven that we can find solutions offensively in a lot of different ways.”
Spoelstra is speaking the truth. The Heat have shown throughout the season they can manage adversity. They were walloped by injuries and constantly changing lineups, yet in the end still had the No. 1 seed in the East.
Spoelstra was once again a Coach of the Year candidate for his ability to consistently piece together a functional engine. The situation Miami is in at the moment, though, is a real test of that track record.
Three of their most important offensive players are dealing with…
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