Boston Celtics: 3 key takeaways from crucial game 5 victory
By Mark Nilon
The Boston Celtics live to fight another day after attaining a crucial victory in game 5 of these Eastern Conference Finals.
Though the Boston Celtics may be the better team on paper, it is the Miami Heat who have the upper hand in this year’s Eastern Conference Finals. Through the first four games played, the boys from South Beach seemed to be more motivated, energized, and, frankly, more ready than the Cs.
That all changed in game 5.
With their backs against the wall, Boston found a way to push forward — though it took them two quarters to fully figure things out — and, in turn, wound up coming away with an impressive 121-108 win, which marks the biggest final point-differential of this best-of-seven series.
In regard to their highly impressive victory, there are many factors that played massive roles in the game’s overall turnout. Today, however, the Houdini will bring to light the 3 biggest takeaways from the C’s 13-point triumph:
Boston Celtics key takeaway No. 1) Enes Kanter is useful in this series
Coming into game 4, Enes Kanter had only seen on-court action for a combined 7:34 over the previous eight playoff games. In that Wednesday outing, Brad Stevens opted to throw him a bone in the shape of 10:48 and, in turn, he produced admirably — nine points, six rebounds on 100 percent shooting from the floor, and a box plus-minus of +7.
Game 5 saw a continuation of this positive play for the Boston Celtics journeyman.
Logging a total of 5:46 of playing time, the Turkish-born big posted four points, four rebounds, and some solid defense while showcasing those impressive post moves that have made him a menace throughout the years.
A major reason why we haven’t seen Kanter play in this series was the fear of a feast from Bam Adebayo attacking his lackadaisical defensive skills. That said, as we said, the veteran center actually managed to hold his own on that end of the court — albeit, in limited action — while also even proving to be a problem for the defensive stalwart in Adebayo on the other end of the court.
Moving forward, the Boston Celtics should highly consider continuously throwing Kanter some “change of pace” minutes, especially if they’re in need of a scoring punch and are seen going up against a smaller Heat lineup.