The Boston Celtics came out swinging in Tuesday night’s Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, seeing multiple double-digit leads and an eight-point edge heading into halftime while being led by their franchise cornerstone, Jayson Tatum, who had 21 points, five assists, and four boards by the midway mark.
Unfortunately, the second half of the contest saw a totally different turnout for the visiting C’s, as Miami (guided by Jimmy Butler and his tremendous 41-point, nine-rebound, five-assist, four-steal, and three-block performance) simply erupted during the final 24 minutes of regulation, pummeling Ime Udoka’s squad 39-14 in the third, giving them the momentum they needed which, ultimately, led to a 118-107 victory for the top-seeded Heat.
Now, heading into Game 2, Boston will try to even the series at one game apiece and, in doing so, steal homecourt advantage away from their foes from South Beach.
That said, in order for the Celtics to pull out a win Thursday night, obviously, they’ll need to make some changes and alterations to their approach and play style, for their execution from Game 1 cannot roll over into Game 2.
With this, today we at HH discuss 3 adjustments the C’s must make in order to tie up this series:
Boston Celtics adjustment No. 1) Hold onto the dang ball!
Though there were many factors that played into the Heat’s comeback in the second half of Game 1, perhaps the most polarizing and troubling ingredient came in the shape of forced turnovers and, with this, the points that wound up coming as a direct result.
During the third quarter drubbing, the Boston Celtics let up a whopping eight turnovers, which led to 11 transition points (combining fast breaks and free throws).
Cut those untimely flubs in half, and, not only would Miami have had less to capitalize on, but perhaps the C’s would have been able to put up more than just 14 points in the period.
Now, granted, these turnovers were almost certainly a result of not having their starting point guard and primary ball-handler, Marcus Smart, in the mix which, in turn, forced guys like Jayson Tatum (six turnovers in the quarter) and Jaylen Brown (two turnovers) to take on a larger on-ball role. As we’ve seen throughout the season, this is not really their strong suit.
Hopefully, in Game 2, they’ll have their starting one back in the mix to take on a large chunk of ball-handling duties, which should certainly aid in their efforts to cut down on turnovers and Miami Heat fast-break attempts.