BOSTON – The Boston Celtics had a long film session Thursday afternoon to address the issues from their 123-116 loss to the Miami Heat during the previous night's Eastern Conference Finals opener.
From that, head coach Joe Mazzulla observed and concluded, “There were moments where we executed, there were moments where we played well, and then there were moments where we didn't. And this series is a test of discipline, it’s a test of mentality, and we got to be extremely detailed in our effort and our consistency.”
The Celtics were detailed and consistent in their effort for the most part. They won the first two quarters and led by as many as 13 points in the first half and also had a strong fourth quarter. However, they let go of the rope in the third quarter, allowing a 46-25 Heat advantage, which ultimately led to their defeat.
It looked similar to their Game 1 loss in the second round against Philadelphia, during which they also built a 13-point first-half lead before allowing the 76ers to get back into the game after the break.
In both instances, the opposing team upped their physicality in the second half, and Boston took too long to match it.
“How you start quarters and end quarters are extremely important,” said Mazzulla. “And then you also have to know the other team's gonna go on a run. And so how do you manage that as a team? How do we work through that? I thought we had some good moments of that in the third quarter when it was 76-75 and we came down with a transition three and it was 78-76. And then we give up the and-one on the offensive rebound. So just knowing what allows teams to hang around and what gives teams momentum throughout games.”
Boston’s defensive breakdown had a lot to do with its offensive stagnancy and not getting back on defense after misses, which allowed Miami’s shooters to get out in transition and find good looks.
“It starts with spacing,” said Derrick White. “When we have a lot of good spacing and then they try to help, it gives people opportunities to make plays for others and get good looks. So, it's just being well-spaced and making the right play.”
Boston made only 10 3-pointers the whole night – five in each half – which tied for its fewest in a game since March 3. Meanwhile, Miami shot 16-of-31 from 3-point range, marking its best long-distance shooting effort since March 22.
“They switched defenses and switched more in the second half,” said Mazzulla. “And switching defenses slow you down and you have to fight for your spacing, fight for advantages. You have to fight to create separation, and so being able to make the adjustment on how we play versus one defense versus a switching defense is important. So we just have to fight for that and we can generate those threes by creating separation, by creating advantages.”
Even with their lack of spacing, the Celtics were still within fighting distance toward the end. They opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run and pulled within four points of the Heat late in the game. But their lackadaisical third quarter came back to bite them in the end.
“Letting go of the rope is something that if you don’t fight through spacing on every possession, you’re letting go of an opportunity to put ourselves in a good position,” said Mazzulla. “And if we don’t pay attention to the tendencies and details we let go of the rope. So it wasn’t like we purposely did it. It’s just you have to understand the details are the most important thing and we do a good job of fighting for that through a lot of moments of the game. But we have to do it for 48 minutes.”
That was the main point of emphasis that the Celtics took away from Thursday’s film session, and now they’ll look to turn the page for Game 2 Friday night.
“Obviously we were disappointed we lost, and all the things we saw in film as well,” said White. But we understand the bigger picture ahead and things we need to improve on, and I think we’ll do that.”