The Celtics Lost Game 2 Due to Heat Pressure, & “It’s Definitely Mental”
The Celtics Lost Game 2 Due to Heat Pressure, & “It’s Definitely Mental”
The Celtics Lost Game 2 Due to Heat Pressure, & "It's Definitely Mental"
A queue of staff members gathered around Jayson Tatum at his locker following the Celtics‘ second straight loss to the eighth-seeded Miami Heat to open the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Tatum waited until 80 minutes after the final horn to leave the locker room after his teammates had left Friday’s 111-105 loss to the Heat with the burden of needing to win four of the five games in the series.
Miami will tip the ball on Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
“It’s a challenge.” “Who ran his fourth-quarter shooting numbers to 0-for-3 from the field through two games? There’s no point in being up here sad and s***, right? They came in and won two games. They played well. You give them credit, but we’re not dead or anything. We have a great opportunity. I still have the utmost confidence. Everybody has the utmost confidence, and we must prepare for Game 3.”
Jayson Tatum
There is a lot of responsibility for Friday’s loss, including the stubbornness of Joe Mazzulla, the Celtics’ rookie head coach, who is battling Erik Spoelstra, the veteran Heat coach, and publicly insists that every decision he makes is the right one, in-game adjustments be damned; his players’ failure to value every possession a year after that same flaw cost them a championship; and Grant Williams‘ challenge of Jimmy Butler, of all people, when the Heat’s hard.
However, one risk factor outweighs all others in squandering another double-digit advantage.
“It’s a series of disciplines and mindsets.” “So it’s mental from the standpoint of who can make the right plays at the correct times, who can make the simple plays, and who can win those details and margins.“
“So, yeah, it’s definitely mental.”
Joe Mazzulla
You become who you are at some point, and the Celtics have a history of dropping crucial playoff games, returning to their matchup with the Heat in the conference finals of the previous season. Miami is just as confident in its ability to play well down the stretch of tight games as Boston is in its propensity for dips in performance.
Instead of listening to what the game tells him, Mazzulla has remained true to the game plan. The most recent instance was when Al Horford replaced Robert Williams III for the last 7:41 of the game. The 36-year-old was increasing his recent 3-point shooting slump to 5-for-29 (17.2%) while avoiding efforts that may have made it worse. Despite his shaken state, Williams was the more active and productive player of the night.
Did the Celtics consider riding him instead? “No.” “Al’s finished every game he’s played.”
Joe Mazzulla
When it mattered most, Bam Adebayo manhandled Horford for an offensive rebound and an open dunk with a minute left and the Heat leading by three, extending Miami’s lead to two possessions for the first time since the beginning of the third quarter. Boston’s 89-77 lead had long since been erased.
Meanwhile, Spoelstra confused Jaylen Brown (16 points on 7-of-23 shooting) with various looks the Celtics weren’t expecting, including a zone defense they had seen the Heat use numerous times before.
“We just haven’t figured it out in terms of how to exploit it every single time down the floor.” “Who is now 2-for-13 from distance in the series? We’ve got to recognize certain situations. Credit to them.”
Jaylen Brown
Tatum and Brown made three additional errors in the fourth quarter on Friday after making a combined total of five the night before, almost handing the Heat many more points.
Brown traveled within the final five minutes, holding onto a 98-94 lead. Marcus Smart narrowly missed the shot, and the score was tied 100-100. A few plays later, Tatum collided with Butler while running out of control, and the Heat capitalized on all three of Boston’s top players’ errors.
“We need to get together, man.” “Who scored 7 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter but grabbed only 3 rebounds in 23 minutes? Time’s running out. We ain’t got time for these mess-ups.”
Robert Williams
In the second game, Grant Williams replaced Payton Pritchard, making the late move that almost everyone had requested since the first game’s second half. After his lone 3-pointer of the game gave the Celtics a 98-87 lead with 6:37 left, he continued to play effectively until he angered Butler.
Williams was backed into the paint by Butler in response, who then scored over him from seven feet away and was penalized. Butler collided head-to-head with Williams before he could make his free shot, earning the mismatched duo two technical fouls.
Butler beat Williams to the ball on Miami’s subsequent possession, this time from five feet.
Williams decided to reply as the Celtics were losing the game, forcing an ill-advised and careless jumper over the bigger Adebayo. Butler picked out Williams on Miami’s next two possessions, and Williams converted two more pull-up jumpers to turn a 2-point deficit into a 102-100 lead.
Butler soon exited the court, saying to viewers of the national broadcast network:
“They thought he was the answer. C’mon. That’s your answer to the Jimmy Butler problem? That’s their answer? C’mon. That can’t be the answer.”
It’s debatable if Butler would have tormented the Celtics regardless of the slurs, but the entire incident served as a metaphor for Boston’s attitude of inferiority. Even if the task is not over, the Celtics behave like they have triumphed.
The Heat know Boston will release the rope if they continue to pull. In the second, third, and fourth quarters, the Celtics established double-digit leads but promptly surrendered each one.
“We’ve got to execute better.” “We’ve had double-digit leads in both games, and a turnover has changed the momentum or offensive rebounds led to a 3 and changed the momentum.”
“Those plays, when we’re up 12 and could go up 15, they go on an 8-0 run, and now it’s at 4. Now, the momentum has shifted. We’ve been up. We’ve got to do a better job of making those winning plays in those situations.”
Jayson Tatum
It’s more straightforward to say than done. The Celtics not only need to win four out of the next five games, but they may also need to win all of them handily since we have seen this movie too many times before when the score is tight.
Boston may have a better-talented squad, but the Heat is physically and mentally more resilient under stress.
“We’ve just got to come out and fight. Play basketball.” “Seemingly attempting to convince himself the Celtics can rewrite the ending for 93% of 0-2 deficits. In both of these games, they’ve been able to come out on top, but who’s to say we can’t come out on top in the next two games? We’ve just got to come ready to play basketball. Can’t lose confidence. It’s the first of four. Should make for a better story.”
Jaylen Brown
All the images used in the story are grabbed from video.
