Old blueprint for stopping the Celtics now rendered completely ineffective

Watching the Celtics’ offense completely undress the Heat for 48 minutes on Wednesday night to the tune of 147 points, it was hard to believe that not too long ago, this team used to give Boston all kinds of fits.

Erik Spoelstra masterminded a defense that would disrupt the Celtics' flow, quicken their pace, and make them look like a different team. He would attack the dribble of the Jays, constantly turn them over, and throw zone looks at them that the Celtics simply couldn’t solve. For years, though less talented, the Heat seemed to be something of a bugaboo.

But it has never been clearer that this strategy is no longer useful than on Wednesday night in Miami. The Celtics completely punked the Heat, ripping off a historic 53-point first quarter that included 11-15 shooting from three-point range. Both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown took turns dominating whatever defenses Spo through at them, and when they overcommitted to stopping them, their teammates were picking them apart with one open shot after another.

When nothing else was working, Spoelstra turned to his old reliable zone, which used to bog the Celtics down. But without missing a beat, Boston found Tatum at the nail, and when the defender jumped out at him, he zipped a pass to Neemias Queta underneath for a dunk. Miami made a change to take that away, and Boston simply found openings on the perimeter to quickly shoot the Heat right out of their zone

Heat Culture is dead

The Heat kept adjusting, and the Celtics kept staying one step ahead, seemingly ready for every Spoelstra trick with an even more effective counter. By the end of the game, it was obvious that Spo was out of answers for Joe Mazzulla, the Jays, and the rest of the Celtics’ attack. A team that used to give them nightmares no longer seems scary at all.

Brown finished with 43 points, 7 assists, and just one turnover, while Tatum had an absurd 25/18/11 triple-double. As a team, the Celtics shot 58% from the field, 48% from three on 44 attempts, pulled down 11 offensive rebounds, scored 58 points in the paint, dished out 34 assists, and surrendered just 9 turnovers.

This was about as clean and dominant an offensive performance as you’ll see in the NBA, and for most of the night, Boston looked like a well-oiled machine that was putting on a clinic. It’s crazy to think of how this matchup looked a few years ago versus now, but this was no April Fool’s joke, Celtics fans.

The script has been completely flipped in this one-time rivalry, with Mazzulla now coaching circles around Spoelstra, and the Jays equally terrorizing Heat Nation every time they meet. There was certainly a time when “Heat culture” felt like a real thing, but it’s tough to watch a game like this and not think that narrative is completely dead.