Final: Celtics 95, Heat 78 - Celtics put together best effort of the season, cruise in Miami

Game 9: Celtics (3-5) vs. Heat (6-1)
FTX Arena
7:30 PM, NBC Sports Boston, NBA TV

PROJECTED STARTERS

BOSTON: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Robert Williams

MIAMI: Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Duncan Robinson, PJ Tucker, Bam Adebayo

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Josh Richardson is out with a left foot contusion. Victor Oladipo (knee) and Max Struss (knee) are out for Miami. KZ Okpala (ankle) is questionable.

- Miami boasts the NBA 2nd best offense (114.3 offensive rating) and 2nd best defense (97.9), which adds up to the league’s best net rating (16.4). By contrast, Boston’s offense is 21st (103.7) and its defense is 18th (107.4) for a net rating of -3.6, 24th in the league. 

- Miami is favored by 6.5

GOING A LITTLE DEEPER

- The Celtics are hoping to build on the win over Orland by putting a full 48 minute effort together. 

“I think we've done that at times offensively and defensively, but probably not in the same game to the extent we want to,” Ime Udoka said. “Guarded Washington well and didn't shoot it well offensively, so if we can put one full game together on both ends, that's really what I'm looking for; carryover from the last three games where we did play well.”

While we get caught up in the meltdown versus Chicago, the Celtics were good for most of the first three quarters. They were mostly good versus Orlando, even though Orlando is not a good team. They could have won the Washington game if one shot went down.

“We've really played well, whether we won or lost some of these games,” Udoka said. “Regardless of the back-to-back, it felt good to get guys lower minutes last night and be prepared for this. We have three in four days on this trip and just an opportunity to test ourselves against one of the better teams that's playing well right now.”  

- Erik Spoelstra has some love for Ime Udoka. 

“Yeah and I've known Ime for a while. I think his story is great. All the basketball experiences that he's had overseas as a player and obviously coaching with the Spurs for so many years just makes him such a qualified coach. And I feel like I know his staff really well. It's like it's a prerequisite, you have to be from Portland.”

Spoelstra moved to Portland as a child. He’s seven years older than Udoka, so they never crossed paths on the court, but they knew each other.  

“I grew up in Portland with him, watching him and Damon Stoudemire playing in pro-ams and all that growing up, went to the University of Portland,” Udoka said. “ So I knew him well back then and got to know him throughout the years coaching, USA stuff we did together, playing against him in the championship two years, so got to know him pretty well.” 

Spoelstra believes Stoudemire, currently a Celtics assistant, will be a head coach someday.

“I think it's great that Damon's gotten into coaching,” Spoelstra said. “He was a really successful college coach ... he did a great job at Pacific and I think he's also meant to be at this level too. ... He has the basketball experience, the IQ, and is absolutely obsessed with the game. But he's fun to talk to, because he really studies and knows the history and everything.”

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Can Tatum get going?: Tatum’s career true shooting percentage (which factors in 3-pointers and free throws) is a full 10% lower than his career average right now. He’s struggling. 

“My staff and myself feel he’s had great looks. He’s had wide open 3s, he's been wide open coming off pin-downs, in isolation he’s missing some chippies,” Udoka said. “He’s pretty much getting looks that he’s knocked down his whole career. He's just not making them right now, so we don't expect that to continue.”

He’s probably right. Tatum didn't just suddenly forget how to shoot, and he’ll probably go on a tear at some point to level those percentages out a bit. The Celtics can help grease those skids by trying to find ways to get him easy baskets and maybe some more free throws so he can see some more shots go down. 

2. Starters vs. Bench: Miami has the highest scoring bench in the league, led by Tyler Herro, at 47 ppg. Boston’s bench averages 28 points per game, 26th in the NBA. By contrast, 83.1 of Boston’s points are scored by the starters, 2nd-most in the league. Miami’s starters average 68.6 ppg, 27th in the league. 

So don’t be shocked if Boston takes a lead and then gives it up. This could be a serious game of runs.

3. Will Aaron Nesmith get a chance? Without Richardson and the need to keep up with the Heat bench, with Ime Udoka go with Nesmith to chase Miami’s perimeter threats and maybe knock down some shots? Miami’s defense will certainly make it tougher on the Celtics to score. A boost off the bench would be huge. This could be Nesmith’s chance to really show he deserves rotation minutes. 

GAME THREAD

Stick around for more comments below as the game goes on. Feel free to add your two cents in the comments.