TRYING TO BEAT THE HEAT
Spoelstra could be important factor in matchups
MIAMI » The Celtics never seem to quite get their bearings upon entering the realm of Erik Spoelstra.
The Miami coach generally keeps them off-balance with annoying, random zone coverage. He attacks with waves of shooters and, in Bam Adebayo, one of the best playmaking centers in the game. Most of the same characters are back from 2020, when the Heat eliminated the Celtics in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals in the Orlando Bubble.
And they now meet on that stage again, with Game 1 set to tip off Tuesday night.
“We did mention it,” Ime Udoka said Monday of the 2020 conference finals. “The coaches that were here obviously went back and took a look at that, we talked about it amongst ourselves and then players brought it up as well.”
More recent lessons apply now, too.
“I think us talking about kind of being caught off- guard in Game 1 against Milwaukee will bode well for us going into this one, understanding there are a lot of differences with the teams we’re facing and what they are all about, but being prepared is the main thing,” said the Celtics coach. “We look at a lack of rest and preparation or whatever, but also look at consistency and kind of some momentum on our side. Tough, hard-fought series just ended, but we have to turn the page and focus on Miami now. Guys have mentioned that. I think there’s a lot of familiarity between the groups and I think that should bode well for us.”
And now for a rapid turnaround against a relatively rested Heat team, and a look at the initial matchups.
Bigs
Al Horford (6-foot-10, 240 pounds, 15th season) vs. Bam Adebayo (6-foot-9, 255, 5th season): In what will go down in Celtics lore as the “Al Game” — career playoff high 30 points, five 3-pointers, and a colossal dunk while elbowing Giannis Antetokounmpo in the chin/ throat area in Game 4 — Horford pulled his team to a 2-2 series tie. His leadership and defensive work on Antetokounmpo were invaluable. And now comes another unique challenge. Adebayo plays a lot like the young Horford, except with more offensive upside and a terrorizing presence on the glass. He averaged 14.1 points, eight rebounds and 5.7 assists over three games against the Celtics this season. But then he always plays well against the Celtics.
EDGE: HEAT
Grant Williams (6- foot- 6, 236, 3rd season) vs. P. J. Tucker (6-foot- 5, 245, 11th season): In what will go down in Celtics lore as the “Grant Game,” Williams buried the Bucks with a 27-point Game 7 performance on Sun
day that thrived on 7-for18 3-point shooting. The Bucks dared him to shoot that many, and he gamely stepped into the opportunity. And now he faces the player he was often compared to in college. Tucker is a hard-nosed, 3-and-d prototype, and based on the raves Williams drew for his work on Antetokounmpo, he’s coming on as a young version of Tucker, maybe better. Both players love physicality — Williams will also get his chance to collide with Adebayo — and will be responsible for their fair share of fouls and agitation.
EDGE: EVEN
Wings
Jayson Tatum (6-foot8, 210 pounds, 5th season) vs. Jimmy Butler (6foot-7, 230, 11th season): If he wasn’t there before, Tatum placed himself in the NBA’S top tier with his performance over the last three games of the Bucks series, scoring at a 33.2 clip in that span. Now, though, he faces a Heat team that has routinely confounded the Celtics with its random waves of zone coverage in recent years, including the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals. And as good as the likes of Jrue Holiday, Wes Matthews and Kevin Durant were against him over the previous two rounds, Butler will make him work even harder — with help — for good scoring chances. Butler is a great playoff player. An improved — albeit not great — shooter, but the Miami forward is as clutch as they come in the postseason. Another great matchup is on tap between these two.
EDGE: CELTICS
Jaylen Brown (6-foot- 6, 223, 6th season) vs. Max Strus (6-foot-5, 215, 3rd season): Strus, the former Celtics camper, is good enough that he beat out Duncan Robinson for a starting job. And Brown has to be wary of nodding off when Strus, one of the finest spot-up shooters in the league, starts searching for those open spots off the ball. Brown, on the other hand, could really have a breakout moment in this series. Miami’s zone coverage aside, there really isn’t anyone in the Heat lineup who can handle Brown in isolation, because Butler will likely be busy chasing and bumping Tatum across the floor.
EDGE: CELTICS
Point Guard
Marcus Smart (6-foot3, 220, 8th season) vs. Kyle Lowry (6-foot- 0, 196, 16th season): Befitting the way Smart and Lowry sacrifice themselves physically, both are banged up — Smart with a deep quad contusion and Lowry with a strained hamstring. They’ve missed a respective one and six games this postseason. Smart said he doesn’t plan to miss another game, and Lowry, clearly in more trouble physically, has already been scratched from the Game 1 roster. He’s averaged 6.2 points and 5.2 assists over five games. Gabe Vincent has filled in at point guard in the meantime. Smart should have plenty of room to create his usual mayhem.
EDGE: CELTICS
Bench
Celtics ( Rob Williams, Derrick White, Daniel Theis, Payton Pritchard) vs. Heat ( Tyler Herro, Victor Oladipo, Duncan Robinson, Dewayne Dedmon): Miami has as much firepower off the bench as in the starting lineup, and in Herro, the NBA’S reigning Sixth Man of the Year. Oladipo has averaged 12 points in eight playoff games, and on most teams, Robinson would still be a featured sniper. That’s quite the offensive load for the Celtics reserves to handle. They often haven’t been up to the task in the past, but the Celtics are a different defensive unit now. Of note is the status of Rob Williams, whose problems with knee soreness have left him with an “if needed” designation. He obviously changes the game defensively, and with Adebayo on the rampage, will run up minutes if able to compete.
EDGE: HEAT
Coaching
Ime Udoka vs. Erik Spoelstra: Udoka has done wonders with his defensive game-plans, finding ways to make two future Hall of Famers — Kevin Durant and Antetokounmpo — painfully inefficient. The Heat have more balance than either Brooklyn or Milwaukee. Spoelstra has been very good over the years at throwing the Celtics off-balance with his own defensive ploys. These two share Portland (Ore.) roots, and know each other well. Let the chess match begin.
EDGE: EVEN