Do or Die: 3 things the Celtics must do to bounce back against Miami

Celtics #1: Generate efficient offense

Another reason for the Celtics’ downfall is that they simply cannot make shots. They rely heavily on threes and need just the right spacing, but when no one is hitting shots from behind the arc, that offense is very ineffective. It is time to take a page out of Miami’s book and move towards a more flexible offensive system that simply works with what it has at the moment.

Driving, kicking, and shooting threes is what the Celtics usually do well, but right now it is what is killing them. In Game 3, their starters combined for 6 threes. Duncan Robinson, Caleb Martin, and Gabe Vincent made 15 in the meantime. It is very difficult to win a game like that, especially if shooting threes is your only weapon.

They struggled especially against Miami’s zone defense, settling for threes because they did not move the ball enough. Miami does not really have any weak links defensively other than Robinson, so trying to beat them one-on-one every possession is tough. The Celtics need to start moving the ball, making the defense shift and rotate, and finding gaps to attack.

So far, they have been slow to make these adjustments, however. Their starting lineup with the two bigs was outscored easily in Game, 1 but they did not change it until Game 3 when Al Horford was the lone big on the floor. Considering that Rob Williams is shooting over 80 percent on field goals in the playoffs and the high pick-and-roll with him and Tatum works great, maybe he should have started.

With the way the Celtics are shooting threes right now and how their two stars are struggling, they need a new offensive strategy to score efficiently. They are too talented and experienced to settle for low-percentage shots all series long. It is time that they start attacking the paint, involving Williams more, and moving the defense to their advantage. Otherwise, the Heat will continue to outscore them.