Boston Celtics: 3 keys to victory over the Miami Heat

1. Matching the Heat offensively, limiting bad looks

There aren’t any standout defensive worries for the Celtics. What could be a cause for concern is their ability to score consistently to make sure the Heat never get the separation they need. Over the season, the Celtics ranked seventeenth in effective field goal percentage 53.1, which has fallen to 52.3 percent in the playoffs. This is highly down to low-percentage looks.

When you have scorers like Tatum, Brown, and Kemba Walker on your team you can be comfortable taking shots from just about anywhere. In big-time games, the important thing is to find the right shot and knowing when to take it, no matter who’s in that position. The Celtics have been very good with so many great players at moving the ball well and being unselfish as to who is getting the look.

Tatum’s assists are up from 3.0 per game in the regular season to 4.3 in the playoffs, and when he’s passing the way he was in the deciding game against the Raptors – where he got seven assists – it’s a scary scenario for opposing defenses. That type of offense is going to be vital against the Heat, and when your star scorer is recording dimes at a rate like Rajon Rondo then it’s going to be hard for anyone to stop you.

Miami’s 3-ball is the main cause for concern from a scoring standpoint. They’re 38.0 percent from beyond the arc as a team, in the playoffs. The Celtics are 34.1 percent and are going to have to dig deep to keep up the pace in that battle. As good as the Heat is from 3-point range, they’re also good at driving to the Bucket. Butler, Herro, and Goran Dragic have all caused serious damage from a slashing standpoint in the postseason.

Boston has good perimeter defenders. Marcus Smart is a different animal and Tatum and Brown provide elite wing defense. The load that the offense has to carry to match the Heat won’t be extraordinary because of how good a defensive team the Celtics are, but they definitely can’t afford too many sloppy quarters against a team of this standard.

When it comes down to it, when you have the scorers that the Celtics do have, any night could easily be a productive night on the offensive end. This Celtics offense is clever, with enough shot creators and basketball IQ to know when and where to take their shot. They just need that to come into fruition enough to get themselves in positions to take care of business on the opposite end.