Spoelstra has a new big 3: ‘Force and speed and pace’

Listen to Erik Spoelstra often enough and he’ll convince you the Boston Celtics not only have one of this season’s best defenses, but one for the ages.

It’s his way of making sure the Miami Heat remain on the move in these Eastern Conference finals.

“I say it time and time again: You have to do things with force and speed and pace,” Spoelstra said ahead of Thursday’s Game 2 of the best-of-seven series. “If you don’t, and you just are mindlessly running around out there without spacing, without those level of details, they will flatten you out and they will do it and make you feel some pain, getting into some tough shots.

“We understand their defense is really good. We’ll see what layers thatwe’ll have to get into aswe can.”

Theapproachclearly is a touchstone for theHeat this round, with Spoelstra’s players parroting the fear of flattening.

“They do a lot of switching and they can flatten us out on that end of the floor,” guard Tyler

Herro said. “If we’re not detailed and not doing things with precision, that’swhere they can flatten us out and they can get us late in the shot clock and we end up taking shots thatwe don’twant to take.

“Just doing things with detail and getting the ball where we want it, and that’s how we get the best shots and work it to our advantage.”

Otherwise, guard Duncan Robinson said, the Heat will find themselves dealing with a flat.

“As we learned from the other series,” he saidof theHeat’s8-1run through the first two rounds of theseNBAplayoffs, against the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks, “teams are going to adjust and findways to take things away.

“For us, it’s really going to be about executing the detail and not letting them just flatten us out. Whatever it is, catch-and-shoot, ball screen action, drives, all that sort of stuff.

For us, it really just comes down to execution and really being locked in.”

Eclectic mix

Spoelstra

said

among

the

reasons for his team’s success has been the mix of 30-somethings and neophytes.

“We have a lot of veteran guys that have been in playoff series before,” he said, noting Jimmy Butler, GoranDragic, JaeCrowder and Andre Iguodala. “You start with that. You need guys that have been playoff-tested and have that experience.

“Jimmy, Goran, Jae, Andre, they have been through so many tough playoff series before and felt disappointment, felt elation. They knowhowhardit is inthe playoffs. You have that kind of stability and leadership that trickles down to our young players that allows them to be themselves and allows them to play without knowing what they don’t know.”

The balance has youthful enthusiasm.

“We do have a lot of different personalities with this group,” Spoelstra said, “but we share the same values about competition. Guys are very serious about their approach to competition and competing.

“But then you get outside the four lines andit is a fun grouptobe around.” been the