Boston Celtics: 3 advantages Cs have over the Miami Heat
By Mark Nilon
Boston Celtics advantage No. 1) Quickness/ speed
Throughout the 2019-20 season, the Boston Celtics proved to be one of the quicker teams the league had to offer. With speedsters such as Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Marcus Smart this should come as no surprise.
On the season, the Cs finished their campaign ranked 17th in possessions per game (103.4) and 16th in pace (101.9). While this may not seem too impressive on the surface, when looking where Miami ranks in both categories — 22nd in possessions and 27th in pace — it’s evident that Boston easily has the advantage in the quickness category.
We’re certainly not the only ones who feel Beantown’s speed could cause trouble for the Heat in this Eastern Conference Finals matchup, however. According to The Atlantic’s Josh Robbins, because of their quickness, this particular matchup could prove to be even more challenging to Miami than their second-round bout against the Milwaukee Bucks.
"Unlike the Milwaukee series, Miami’s defensive matchups I think are less favorable (against Boston). You can say nobody really matched up with Giannis. But he had a height advantage; he didn’t have a quickness advantage. If you go through Miami’s defenders — (Jae) Crowder, (Goran) Dragic, (Jimmy) Butler, (Duncan) Robinson — none of those guys are very quick, and they’re going to be playing three of the quickest offensive guys in the league. So I think their defense is going to be on their back heels a lot."
Should Boston find themselves with ample opportunities to run in this game, Miami may have a hard time stopping them.