Boston Celtics: Analyzing the C’s play against the Miami Heat in 2019-20

Boston Celtics v. Miami Heat analysis No. 2) Defensive performances

Alongside the fact that both teams ranked within the top-15 in offensive efficiency by the regular season’s end (Boston at fourth overall, Miami at seventh overall), so too did they in defensive efficiency, with the Cs ranking in at fourth and the Heat coming in at 12th.

Here is where each team ended up ranking in various other defensive categories:

Opponent’s field goal percentage

• Boston: fourth (44.1 percent)
• Miami: seventh (44.8 percent)

Opponent’s 3-point field goal percentage

• Boston: second (34 percent)
• Miami: sixth (34.7 percent)

Opponent’s points per game

• Boston: second (107.3)
• Miami: tenth (109.1)

In regard to individual accomplishments on the defensive end, two players in this series recently found themselves being selected to an All-Defensive team for 2019-20, with Marcus Smart landing on the All-Defensive First Team and Bam Adebayo landing on the All-Defensive Second Team.

Combined between talents on the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, a total of five players received votes for a spot on one of the two All-Defensive teams (Jimmy Butler received 28 votes, Jayson Tatum received 20 votes, Jaylen Brown received two votes).

Looking specifically at their three matchups together, Miami managed to win the steals per game battle, where they averaged 8.7 per game in comparison to 6.7 steals per game while Boston won the blocks battle, as they saw averages of 6.7 in comparison to the Heat’s three.