MIA vs BOS R1G1
The long-awaited playoffs have finally arrived, and the entire city of Boston is once again filled with a playoff atmosphere. Facing the Heat’s new and old grudges, although there is a gap in combat power between the two teams, it does not mean that the Heat will give up their struggle. They will definitely fight until the last moment.
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Game report:
First quarter》
The Heat adopted man-to-man defense at the beginning. The Celtics actively used their size advantage to tear up the penalty area. Drive & Kick created gaps on the outside. Brown was the most active in breaking through at the beginning. Porzingis’ post up at the free throw line attracted double teams, both inside and outside. They fired at the same time and soon had a double-digit lead. Defensively, the Heat will use off-ball screens to create a gap for the ball carrier, and then execute pick-and-rolls with Adebayo. However, the Celtics’ matchups are very precise, and the Heat’s offense becomes a one-on-one game in the paint. Fighting is the result that the Celtics defense hopes for.
Pritchard and Horford quickly came off the bench, and Porzingis’s twin-tower lineup tried to attack the penalty area without Adebayo. But when Tatum went off the court to take a break as usual, although Brown attacked aggressively, he encountered help defense many times and missed. But Mazzulla quickly changed his strategy and brought Tatum on the court, and pushed the tempo faster. When the Heat’s defense stepped up early, he released the ball early to find a gap in the corner. Pritchard seized the opportunity and made two outside shots, while Horford fought for There were a lot of second-wave rebounds, but unfortunately there were many gaps that were not taken advantage of. The Heat reduced the half-court position battle and relied on Jaquez Jr. to create fast breaks.
Second quarter》
In the second quarter, Tatum was still leading the team. Hauser from the bench stepped forward. Tatum’s continuous low post attracted double teams, and he quickly found Hauser in the bottom corner. He made four consecutive three-pointers and forced the Heat to call a timeout. This period of time is the key for the bench to affect the game in my opinion. There will definitely be a time when the starting bench staggers, and they need to be ready at any time. Defensively, the Heat’s Jaguez Jr. made many successful cuts, and Adebayo made his familiar mid-range jump shot, but they were all individual attacks, which were completely acceptable to the Celtics and did not allow the Heat to launch a team offensive.
Offensively, Tatum has been putting pressure on the Heat in the low post, scoring steadily with mid-range jumpers, causing opponents to foul, and also covering rebounds and assists. At least he has taken the initiative to take on more responsibilities in terms of performance. After the starter returned to the court, the offense stalled. Fortunately, Porzingis’ Pop out three-pointer stabilized the lead. Defensively, the Heat kept pushing a fast pace and caught the Celtics’ slack in retreating to create simple scoring opportunities. However, the Celtics still relied on their outside touch and advantage in the penalty area to take a 15-point lead in the half.
Third quarter》
At the beginning of the second half, Jaquez Jr. slowly replaced Herro as the main attacker. The Celtics’ defense still often couldn’t find anyone to match. Offensively, as long as the Celtics handle the ball patiently, they will be very efficient in scoring. Brown and White’s outside touch has stabilized. After Adebayo took a break, as soon as someone in the penalty area asked for the ball in the low post, the Heat shrunk their defense significantly. Porzingis and Horford opened the gap with consecutive three-pointers. Defensively, the Heat’s lack of ball-holding points began to surface, and many players were not confident in outside shots. The back-and-forth allowed the Celtics to open up a 30-point lead.
Fourth quarter》
By the fourth quarter, the team felt as if they had already won the game. They made layups, missed passes, and took too long to dribble. Mentally, they left work early. Defensively, the Heat took advantage of the slack in defense and kept opening the back door. Wright came off the bench and scored consecutive three-pointers. Even Adebayo was able to score three-pointers, closing the gap to 13 points in one fell swoop. But time passes slowly, and time is not on the Heat’s side, and it is still not enough to catch up with the lagging gap. Although in the end Martin collided with Tatum while rushing for the rebound, causing Tatum to fall to the ground on a plane, and Brown and Martin were each called for a technical foul for their exchange of words, the small conflict was not serious, but we must have this momentum to tell the opponent that we are not easy to mess with. of.
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After game》
The direction of today’s game is actually in line with previous predictions. The gap in combat power makes it impossible for the Heat’s defense to cover up its shortcomings. The Heat must seize the opportunity to catch up with the Celtics when they are slack, even if they switch to fast breaks after making mistakes, they did get something in the fourth quarter. Verification, inaccurate matchups, backdoors and fast break three-pointers, and for the Celtics, such problems are also bad. In the key games later, if this is still the case, they will be asking for trouble.
Another thing to observe is that the Heat did not perform three-pointers today and only started to catch up with the progress in the fourth quarter. Although many players did not dare to take shots because they lacked confidence in shooting, no one can guarantee whether everything will be perfect in the next game. The team is on full fire, especially Robinson who seems to be unable to contribute stably after recovering from injury. Herro also completely disappeared today, and the defense still cannot relax in the next game.
As for Adebayo’s screen, the referee turned a blind eye to his body movement after positioning. When we set the screen, Adebayo would push our man away every time. If the referee ignored him like this, we could only smile bitterly. . In any case, it is still important to have a good start in the playoffs, and to see some sparks. Don’t always be lifeless. A team like the Heat must be completely defeated. It does not need to be regarded as playing against the eighth seed. There is no doubt about their perseverance.
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-Ubuntu
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