3 observations about what happened to the Celtics’ spacing after a stellar first half
The Celtics looked like a completely different team on offense in the second half.
Before they got blitzed by a 46-25 Miami run in the third quarter, the Celtics looked like they were in sync offensively.
- Marcus Smart dished out 10 assists in the first half, during which the Celtics scored 40 points in the paint. They were enough of a threat from outside to keep Miami on its toes.
But that all came to a rather abrupt stop in the second half. The Celtics began the third quarter leading by nine and were down 12 at the end of it.
Obviously getting outscored by 21 points in a quarter has much to do with a loss of defensive intensity. But the fact is they weren’t able to keep up the pace offensively, either.
Here’s a look at what changed on offense during the second half.
Marcus Smart shot more and passed less.
Smart was sensational in the first half. Before Wednesday night, no Celtic had 10 assists in a half of playoff basketball since Rajon Rondo in 2012.
Even though he only took one shot, Smart was putting on a clinic by showing exactly how to impact a game without having to shoot the basketball.
The kinds of reads he was making, like screening for Jaylen Brown at the top of the key, being ready to catch the ball as he rolled to the hoop, and finding an open Al Horford for three, propelled the Celtics to a strong start.
But as the defensive intensity slipped in the second half and Miami made its run, the Celtics grew more desperate for buckets and Smart increased his shooting attempts. He went 3-of-6 in the second half, which is actually solid percentage-wise. But it didn’t move the needle nearly as much as when he was setting everyone else up.
“I think they will watch film and see that they probably have to utilize him more. I would,” Heat guard Jimmy Butler said of Smart. “I’ve got a lot of respect for that guy and what he does on the defensive side of the ball and for sure what he does on the offensive side of the ball, because he plays his role to the T. We are going to have to lock in on that. Ten [assists] in a half is some pretty good basketball.”
The Celtics lost focus and the offensive pace slowed down.
When the Celtics are at their best, they are swinging the ball crisply around the court, pushing the ball in transition for dunks and layups, and making sure they’re in the right spots to maximize their 3-point shooting prowess.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown went for a lot of one-on-one isolation attempts in the second half.
Granted, those are the guys you want taking most of the shots. But, the offense didn’t look nearly as free-flowing as it did in the first half.
The easy looks for Rob Williams (6-for-6 from the field) dried up. The team as a whole didn’t play with enough urgency to create open looks.
“We’ve got to play with more pace,” Tatum said. “I think in the third quarter we kind of played too slow, mainly because we weren’t getting stops. In the fourth quarter we made a couple runs, got to push the ball, and those go hand in hand with getting stops and getting out in transition. So, it starts on the defensive end. Just play with some more pace, play a little bit faster.”
Defensive frustration turned into guys just standing around.
The Celtics got frustrated when the Heat made their run and their body language showed it.
They let their defensive issues mess up their offensive flow by stopping the movement that got them off to such a hot start.
“We get tired of doing the little things sometimes. I think that showed exactly what we was talking about earlier, our spacing,” Smart said. “We have a lot of great players, but when we’re all on top of each other, nobody can be great. You’ve got a good defensive team like Miami, they’ll make you pay for that. We’ve got to make sure we do those little things, and we can’t get bored with those, and we’ve got to realize what has got us the lead or what was working for us.”
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