Celtics and Heat pushing all-in
Everyone available on both sides for Game 7
MIAMI » In Game 7 there’s no such thing as tomorrow, and with that in mind, both teams listed their full lineups as available Sunday night.
For the Celtics, that meant starting Marcus Smart (right ankle) and Rob Williams (left knee) for the third straight game. For Miami, that meant bringing back Tyler Herro (groin) after a three-game absence.
“Right now it’s all hands on deck,” said Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. “He passed his testing with the trainers. He’s really been working diligently the last few days. Each day he’s made significant improvement, and he was able to do shootaround this morning but more importantly he was able to do things in the training room and pass those tests to be available.”
A full lineup in hand, Ime Udoka made the decision to not have a pregame shootaround on Sunday.
“It’s just we know what’s on the line. Elimination game and possible last game of the season, or we continue to move on and have some time to rest,” said the Celtics coach. “So we want to be as full as we can. Guys are going to play heavier minutes, and some did last game, so strictly that. With our guys, I think we try to wear on other teams and wear them down throughout the game, so those end of game shots are a little bit tougher. The looks aren’t always there and they are rushed at times. With our guys, I feel they can play adequate minutes if we need to increase them like they have throughout the playoffs, they would still be fresh. That was just more geared toward longer minutes possibly and being fresh tonight.
“Fresh legs, energy, juice. The series is what it is. There’s no surprises from either side, and we want energy. It was optional, but a lot of the guys (went) out and got shots, anyways. Get out of the monotony of doing the same thing and keeping our legs and fresh energy for tonight.”
Defending Tatum and Brown
Few teams, if any, have done as
good a job at limiting the shot opportunities for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But few have as good a scheme as Miami.
“It’s very complex,” Spoelstra said of the Tatum/brown challenge. “Obviously, they both put a lot of pressure on your defense and in different ways. You know, they both can get into the paint at the rim
They both can stretch you out past the three. It’s really more than schematics. It’s about you have to commit to doing tough things against great players, and we’ve developed a lot of those habits during the year. Sometimes they are going to get you. Hopefully you can make it tough on them more often.”
A grinding postseason
The postseason, if nothing else, has been a long march for the Celtics. Spoelstra noted earlier in the series that it was only fitting that it go to seven games, everything considered.
Udoka had to agree. “It’s not only the series for us, it’s been all season long. Even in these playoffs, it hasn’t been easy,” he said“The Brooklyn series was a sweep but, like I mentioned, that was separated by 18 points total. so it was a hard-fought series. Obviously Milwaukee, we had to battle ourselves back from two elimination games, and this was has been up-and- down.
“A lot due to what we’re doing and we can be better for sure. As much as you love to finish it on your home court, we’ve been up-and- down this series, and due to that, it’s where it is right now. We can be much better. We’ve won two games there and we carry on the road well, carry our defense, carry our game and don’t really get phased by that.
“Going into Miami is nothing new for us, it’s just another opportunity and we obviously see the big picture ahead.”