Boston Celtics legend believes Heat Eastern Conference Finals hero should’ve been ‘put on his a**’
The Boston Celtics were taken down by an unlikely Heat team, with Caleb Martin serving the most improbable role as Miami’s best player during the series. Celtics legend Paul Pierce doesn’t believe Martin should’ve been able to do what he did, imploring that Boston should’ve put Martin on his derrière.
“They should have put Martin on his ass a few times,” Pierce said on the latest episode of Showtime’s “Ticket & Truth” podcast. “He just kept going to the rack. He hit 3s. I would have been like, ‘He goes to the ground. Imma send him to the baseline and put him on his ass.’ He supposed to fall. He supposed to take the hit.”
Martin was the runner-up for the Larry Bird Award to Jimmy Butler during the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, having averaged 19 points and 6.4 rebounds on an unbelievable 60/49/87.5 shooting slash.
Several Boston Celtics weaknesses were exposed during the Eastern Conference Finals
Being lit up by Martin, who was waived by the Hornets of all NBA franchises back in 2021, was a learning experience for the Boston Celtics — who visibly took a step back defensively during the 2022-23 season. If the team expects to be in the thick of the title hunt next season, there has to be more of an emphasis on perimeter defense and rim protection.
With Sam Hauser serving as the primary backup on the wing, finding a two-way 3 would be the most logical use of the taxpayer’s MLE or their second-round draft pick. As for the center spot, with Robert Williams III proving injury-prone and Al Horford reaching his career’s twilight years, finding an athletic force in the vein of the “Time Lord” who could play for the majority of the season should be the team’s focus.
Should these issues be fixed, the Celtics will deserve to be considered a contender whose window of contention is still wide open. Fail to do so, and Boston could be in for a nail-biting 2024 offseason…if the team doesn’t do anything drastic this summer first.