What We Learned From Celtics-Heat Eastern Conference Finals Series
The Boston Celtics and Miami Heat gave us quite a show in the Eastern Conference Finals this year!
While the Western Conference Finals may have only gone five games and seemed to be over rather quickly, this matchup between Boston and Miami went the distance and it was full of some of the best moments from this postseason.
Some of the games in the Eastern Conference Finals may have ended up being 20-plus point blowouts, but Game 7 on Sunday night was a game that will be talked about for a while.
Not only did Boston’s defense step up, but Jayson Tatum really proved to be the All-NBA First Team talent that he is, putting up 26 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks facing elimination in Game 7.
As for the Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler had yet another memorable playoff performance with 35 points and 9 rebounds, but the talk for a while will surround Max Strus and whether or not his heel was actually out of bounds.
Early on in the third quarter of this final game, Max Strus was on the receiving-end of a pass to the corner where he had a wide-open look at a three-pointer. Hitting a massive shot from the corner, Strus was able to cut the Celtics’ lead, which had been 17 at one point, to just 2 points!
A couple of possessions later when there was a stoppage of play, the referees ruled that the three-pointer did not count upon review. Well, I guess you can be the judge of this one because there are a lot of mixed reviews.
An official review was later given by the NBA Official Twitter account:
Ultimately, one make or one miss does not “win or lose” the game for a team unless it is truly at the end of the game, but this was a huge call to overturn live during the action.
The Miami Heat went on to lose this game 100-96 and if this shot had counted, who knows what would have transpired!
All in all, this was a terrific Eastern Conference Finals series between the Celtics and Heat and now with the 2022 NBA Finals set, let’s take a look at the biggest things we learned from this series between Boston and Miami.
Derrick White Has Been The Most Impactful Trade Acquisition Of The 2021-22 Season
Jayson Tatum was great in the Eastern Conference Finals, earning the series MVP award, and both Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart stepped up in big moments, but the one constant for the Boston Celtics in this series was the production they received from Derrick White.
Whether it was on offense or defense, White played his role to perfection and he has been playing some terrific basketball since the birth of his first child.
Derrick White missed Game 2 of this series as he and his wife introduced their first child to the world. Since then, White has averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and has shot 45.5% from the floor, 35% from three-point range.
He has been one of the most impactful bench players in the playoffs this year and for Boston, this is exactly what they needed when they originally traded for White at the deadline this season.
All year long, the talk surrounding the Celtics has been about their lack of depth and how their bench is one of the last in the league when it comes to overall production.
Payton Pritchard and Grant Williams have had some nice moments in these playoffs, but Derrick White has really helped elevate head coach Ime Udoka’s rotations and has been a steady, experienced presence for the Celtics in the backcourt.
Being someone who can take pressure off of Tatum and Brown to be the team’s primary ball-handler, as well as coming into his own as a really strong perimeter defender, White has given the Celtics everything they have needed from a steady bench player.
It is not hard to believe that he has been the most impactful and most important trade acquisition of the 2021-22 season, especially if Boston goes on to win the title this year.
Boston’s Length Makes Their Defense Elite
The turnaround the Celtics have made as a team this year has been remarkable, especially when earlier in the year, many were calling for this front-office to blow up the team and split their All-Star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Getting things done on the defensive-end of the floor has been Boston’s identity, as they finished the regular season ranking second in defensive rating and first in opponent’s points per game (104.5).
Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart out on the perimeter is a big reason why Boston’s defense is so good, but the key reason why they are a strong defensive team is because of their length.
Robert Williams III and Al Horford are two proven rim-protectors in this league and both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have really stepped up their games defensively to aid the Celtics.
Tatum and Brown are not the biggest wings in the league, but they both have near 7-foot wingspans and are heavily regarded as two of the better two-way wings in the league right now.
Playing well above their size, Boston’s starting rotation features just one player, Marcus Smart, under 6-foot-6.
It is hard to attack this team on the drive because of their length in the lane and opponents have a tough time getting shots off as well because of the Celtics’ ability to contest virtually any shot from any spot on the floor.
Against smaller teams, Boston has really thrived this season, which is why this year’s NBA Finals series has a chance to be terrific. Everyone knows what the Golden State Warriors are capable of offensively, but against a taller, lengthier Celtics team, this smaller Warriors squad could have some problems early on.
The Celtics’ length has made them one of the best defensive teams in recent memory and heading into the NBA Finals, they have the clear advantage in this department.
Health Proved To Be Miami’s Downfall
At the end of the day, the Miami Heat just were not healthy enough to get past the Boston Celtics. Health always plays a major factor in the playoffs and for Miami, they had way too many players every single day sitting out of practices and shootarounds because they were receiving treatment for some sort of ailment.
Kyle Lowry missed the first two games of this series with a hamstring injury that would have likely sidelined him for a few weeks during the regular season, Jimmy Butler played through a knee injury, P.J. Tucker had all sorts of injuries he was dealing with, both Max Strus and Gabe Vincent had hamstring injuries and perhaps the most devastating injury was to Tyler Herro, who had been dealing with a groin injury.
Everything piled up at once for the Heat in this series in terms of the “injury bug” and while they are a very deep team with a lot of talented players, the Celtics physicality just wore them down.
Jimmy Butler was absolutely fantastic in this series playing through his knee injury, but everyone else was banged up and could not play at the level he was at.
Herro’s injury really impacted this series, as the young guard was named this year’s NBA Sixth Man of the Year and finished the regular season as Miami’s second leading scorer.
Playing 82 games during the regular season and finishing with the best record in the conference is great, but health means everything in the postseason, especially when a title is on the line.
For Miami, they just were not healthy and their lack of production proves this.
Playing In Transition Strengthens Celtics’ Offense
The Celtics' effort on the defensive-end of the floor has brought them within four wins of bringing another title back to Boston, but perhaps the biggest thing they learned over the course of this seven-game series with the Heat is that their offense can be lethal in transition.
Whether it is off a miss or a make, the Celtics began to push the tempo over the course of this series and they really found success attacking in transition during Game 7.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are more than capable of pushing the pace of play and with big men that are able to run the floor as well, Miami looked frazzled at times getting back on defense because of the Celtics looking to score as many fast break points as they could.
In Game 7, Boston finished with 20 fast break points and you can probably add a few more points with a asterisk next to it due to them getting fouled and converting these free-throws from transition opportunities.
Looking ahead to their next series in the NBA Finals against the Warriors, it is going to be imperative that Boston continues to be aggressive and takes chances offensively, much like they did against Miami.
Marcus Smart and Al Horford hoisting up contested three-pointers is not necessarily the risk Boston needs to take, but they do need to look to rebound, get the ball out on the edge and begin attacking the Warriors in transition.
This not only allows the Celtics to potentially get 2-on-1 or 3-on-2 opportunities, but this could lead to a major factor that could potentially shift the balance in the NBA Finals – foul trouble.
If Golden State gets in foul trouble, they do not have many options to turn to in their frontcourt, especially given that they are already playing undersized compared to Boston.
Kevon Looney and Draymond Green are the Warriors’ only big men and if either of them get in foul trouble because of the Celtics attacking in transition, Boston will have the upper hand in this series.
Continuing to find ways to score fast break points and push the tempo will go a long way in the Celtics potentially winning a title this year. However, they must take care of the basketball and not be sloppy with turnovers because the Warriors could look to do the same thing to them.
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- Here's What Jimmy Butler Said After Missing The Shot: Jimmy Butler met with the media after the Miami Heat lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals to the Boston Celtics on Sunday night. The Celtics will play the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals with Game 1 on Thursday. CLICK HERE.
- Jayson Tatum's Viral Instagram Post After Game 7: Jayson Tatum posted several photos to Instagram after the Boston Celtics beat the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday night. The Celtics will now play the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. CLICK HERE.
