Boston Celtics: 3 keys to game one victory over the Miami Heat
By Mark Nilon
Boston Celtics key to victory No. 1) Win the 3-point battle
Like has been the case seemingly all postseason, 3-point efficiency will play a major factor in the Boston Celtics’ success during this Eastern Conference Finals series, especially when going up against the Miami Heat.
Throughout the 2019-20 regular season, the Heat proved to be one of the best perimeter scoring teams in the entire association, as they finished second in the league in 3-point percentage (37.9), sixth in attempts, and ninth in makes.
This high-level of long-range efficiency has seemingly rolled right along into the playoffs, as they rank third in this category, knocking them down at a 38 percent clip.
When squaring off against the Heat this year, Boston saw themselves win the 3-point battle in two of their three games and, subsequently, wound up winning the regular-season series two games to one. The only outing they wound up dropping against the Heat was when they lost the long-range battle during their August 4th bout (Cs shot 30.3 percent from deep in comparison to 34.9 percent).
Like virtually all of their other opponents from this season, it’s a known fact that the Celtics won’t be able to completely stop this South Beach squad from launching it from deep. What they can do, however, is try and contain their efficiency while also finding success from that range themselves.
They’ve done it before during this season and wound up walking away victorious. In game one, it’s more than likely that whichever team comes out on top in regard to the 3-point battle will escape the contest with a ‘W’.