MIAMI — I remember these guys.
We haven't seen much of these full-strength Boston Celtics this postseason, which makes this run even more impressive so far.
They swept the Brooklyn Nets basically without Robert Williams. Marcus Smart missed Game 2 of the Bucks series and then Rob went down again with a bone bruise. Then, Smart and Al Horford missed Game 1 here in Miami.
So when the Celtics threw their regular starting lineup from the regular season out there, with Williams and Horford both together and healthy, and Smart at the point of attack, it was like a blast from the past.
“It felt good,” Horford said. “That's what our team is about. We've been talking about this bit since January, when we really started getting at it and kind of creating that identity and how we wanted to play, that's who we've been.”
In a complete reversal from Game 1, Boston dominated half-court play while Miami suffered through misses and turnovers. According to Cleaning The Glass, the Celtics scored 120.5 points per 100 half-court plays. They scored 84.7 in Game 1. Miami went from 112.2 to 86.5.
Boston made shots and protected the ball, but they defended like maniacs.
“We saw Herro get downhill a little bit too much, Butler as well last game and wanted to have bodies in front of bodies,” Ime Udoka said. “What we showed them at halftime was good physicality, good pickup points and good attention to detail on certain guys, aggressive reads, aggressive switches, and they pretty much saw a body every time they came off and didn't get a lot of clean shots, so we're happy with what we did tonight.”
Life is a little different defensively when your three best defenders are all on the floor and healthy.
It starts with Smart, whose ability to simply make plays like this is enough to force teams to second guess themselves.
“As a Defensive Player of the Year, night in, night out, taking that matchup and being able to play on both sides of the ball, that's crucial for them,” Jimmy Butler said after the 127-102 Game 2 loss. “He was a big part of them winning this game tonight, along with Al Horford, and obviously (Jayson Tatum) and (Jaylen Brown) do what they do. But they came out and willed that organization, that team to a W. You have to respect him and what he does.”
And life isn’t quite as easy on the perimeter for guards when Robert Williams switches onto them.
The Celtics switched a lot, just like they always do, but this personnel package tends to have a different impact. When a guard turns the corner and sees Williams there in the right position, he generally just decides to give the ball up and find a different matchup to try to attack.
But Boston isn’t giving teams much to work with there when this whole group is fully healthy. There's just no weak spot when this group, the group that's been the best defensive team in the NBA, is on the floor.
The Celtics made plenty of mistakes, and Miami can capitalize on those in a hurry. But when Boston is at its best, teams are going to have to make really tough shots and work very hard for those difficult looks.
The Celtics were the aggressors in this game, flipping most of the Game 2 deficiencies in their favor. They forced 15 turnovers and turned them into 20 points. Miami took two more shots than the Celtics but made five fewer, including half as many 3-pointers.
The Celtics dominated the game, and a lot of people will rightly focus on the number of shots they hit. But more than what they scored, it’s what they didn’t allow the Heat to do. When Butler was trying to will his team back, the Celtics made a big defensive stop and rebuilt their lead.
“It felt amazing,” Smart said of getting the band back together. “It did feel good to have that unit out there that we know when we're out there what we can do, and it showed tonight.
The Celtics were still shorthanded because Derrick White was witnessing the birth of Hendrix James White (congratulations!). But that didn't matter because their starting was back at full defensive strength after all too much time apart.
“When you have Smart and Al back, we're just that much more bigger and better defensively,” Tatum said, summing things up nicely. “Obviously we miss those guys when they're not playing, but it was great to have them back today.”