How the Celtics' perplexing defense prepared the stage for red-hot Heat's Game 2 shock.How the Celtics' perplexing defense prepared the stage for red-hot Heat's Game 2 shock.How the Celtics' perplexing defense prepared the stage for red-hot Heat's Game 2 shock.How the Celtics' perplexing defense prepared the stage for red-hot Heat's Game 2 shock.

How the Celtics’ perplexing defense prepared the stage for red-hot Heat’s Game 2 shock.

April 25, 2024 admin Uncategorized 0

The Boston Celtics aren’t some regular-season paper tiger. Any team in NBA history would struggle to emerge victorious when its opponent shoots 53.5% from beyond the arc en route to 23 made triples. Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier both remained sidelined, but the shorthanded Miami Heat‘s stunning 111-101 victory over Boston in Game 2 should still come as no surprise given how well they shot the long ball.

Joe Mazzulla hinted at his team’s drastic defensive strategy after the game, noting Boston needs to close-out harder to shooters going forward while still respecting their ability put pressure on the rim off the bounce.

“A lot of those guys that made shots tonight are also good drivers, especially getting downhill,” he said. “So we’re gonna have to find that balance of making sure we close-out appropriately, but we don’t want to open up the other side of that.”

What Mazzulla neglects to mention is specifics