NBA Bubble

Taylor Snow

Amidst the disappointment in the immediate aftermath of Sunday night’s season-ending, Game 6 loss to the Miami Heat, the Boston Celtics took a moment to appreciate the magnitude of their run to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Inside the Celtics’ locker room following the 125-113 defeat, coach Brad Stevens listed off all of the ways in which his team made him proud during their yearlong campaign together, which he later discussed with reporters during his postgame teleconference.

“My message, I think, was simple,” Stevens said. “I really appreciated the way that they played basketball all year. I really appreciated the way they competed. I really appreciated the way they blocked out stuff that didn't matter. I really appreciated the way that they inspired with their voice while they were here (inside the NBA bubble), and before. I appreciated the way they empowered all the different NBA employees that weren't here, including Celtics employees, and everybody else that benefited from them putting everything they had into this. And I appreciated the way they played and found joy and stayed together.”

Stevens wasn’t alone in his feelings, as several players relayed their appreciation of the unique journey as well. Kemba Walker, for one, was thankful for finally getting to experience a deep playoff run for the first time in his eight-year career, and also shared that he had no regrets throughout the experience.

“I’ve learned a lot, just the intensity of the playoffs, where every possession matters so much, from game to game,” Walker said. “Things switch from game to game, adjustments, every game is just different. Biggest regrets? Don’t have any. Lot of credit to Miami – those guys are really good – but I thought we fought hard. I’ve got a lot of respect for the guys I play with.”

Even for the players who have made it this far in the past, there were still plenty of positives to take away following Sunday’s elimination.

Jayson Tatum, for example, made it to the conference finals during his rookie season as well, but this year’s ECF run was an entirely different learning experience for the 22-year-old in that it was his first time leading a team while serving in a high-pressure, superstar role.

“If you want those expectations, if you want to be that guy that’s capable of doing those things you’ve got to go through some tough things, some ups and downs, some stuff I can learn from,” said Tatum, who averaged 25.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game throughout the 2020 Playoffs. “I think I can learn a lot moving forward, from this season and this series overall.”

Marcus Smart believes that the whole group can learn a lot from this experience, and already can’t wait to see how they respond next season.

“We're great competitors, so we have to use this to fuel us to come back stronger, better, mentally, physically, emotionally, psychologically, all of it,” the veteran guard said. “We gotta use it to our advantage to come back. It's over. We can't change the past. We can only change the future.”

It is a future that looks bright for an up-and-coming Celtics team that managed to make it all the way to the final four despite having the youngest roster among all 16 playoff teams. Based on that knowledge, Walker believes they are just getting warmed up.

“This is our first year together, so we’re going to have some time to grow,” the All-Star point guard said. “It’s going to be a fun group over the next couple of years.”

And as the Celtics continue to grow, this will be a great experience for them to look back upon. There was so much to be learned throughout this yearlong journey, and so much to appreciate.

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For Boston, There was Much to Appreciate From This Playoff Run

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The Boston Celtics put themselves in a solid position to win Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals Sunday night after going on a 22-8 run midway through the second half, which put them ahead of the Miami Heat, 96-90, with 9:15 left in regulation.

Miami, however, managed to steal Boston's momentum away by finishing off the game on a 35-17 run of its own, sending the Celtics into the offseason with a 125-113 defeat.

The most crushing point of the stretch ran from the 5:40 mark of the fourth quarter to the 2:19 mark, which was when Miami turned a 103-102 lead into a 116-102 advantage. During that span, the Celtics missed five 3-pointers, a lay-up and a technical free throw, all while five different Heat players combined for 13 points.

For Boston, there was no recovering from that ice-cold stretch, as it never managed to pull within single digits of the Heat from there on out.

During his time inside the NBA bubble, Jayson Tatum has emerged as a top facilitator for the Boston Celtics. During Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals Sunday night, he had his finest playmaking performance to date.

With Boston’s season on the line, Tatum logged his first career double-digit assist effort, dishing out a game-high 11 helpers to account for nearly half of his team's 26 total assists. On top of his facilitation, the third-year wing tallied 24 points, finishing just two points shy of Jaylen Brown's team-leading scoring mark, while also corralling seven rebounds and snagging two steals during a game-high 44 minutes of action.

In the end, those numbers didn't mean much, but Tatum's recent facilitation is still a promising trend to keep an eye on as he heads into Year 4.

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Keys to the Game: Heat 125, Celtics 113

Sunday, September 27 - Game 6 - Celtics at Heat

Pregame – Fall Working Behind the Scenes on Ball Handling

Celtics rookie Tacko Fall hasn’t had the opportunity to play much during these Playoffs, but don’t let that take away from the work that he’s doing behind the scenes to get better every day.

One of Fall’s main focuses throughout the past year has been improving his ball-handling skills. Before every game, assistant coach Jay Larranaga runs the 7-foot-6 center through a long set of dribbling drills, which can be tricky for a man of Fall’s size, but he has stuck with it and shown improvement.

Head coach Brad Stevens touched upon the importance of Fall going through such drills prior to Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals Sunday evening, noting how many teams nowadays rely on their bigs to handle the ball at times.

“The ball skills of big guys is critical,” Stevens commented ahead of tip-off against the Miami Heat. “The ability to hand off, the ability to take two or three dribbles and make a play for somebody else, the ability to catch it in the seam and read the attack and the action, what that does, all those things that Jay creatively comes up with, is it builds just this ability to handle all of that.”

This is a great series for Fall to observe, considering the fact that Boston is facing off against one of the league's best ball-handling bigs in Bam Adebayo, who averaged 5.1 assists per game this season while often playing a point-center role for Miami.

“Bam Adebayo, in a lot of ways, is the hub of their offense,” Stevens noted. “They're running everything at the elbows through him, at the top of the key through him. He plays point a lot for them. Not necessarily that you would ever put Tacko in those positions, but he does have to be able to hand off, hit a backdoor pass, drive it from the top of the key if he's open and do what he does best. That stuff just makes him better. The more a big can handle the ball, the more a big can make the quick right read, the more versatile their options are as they move through their career.”

While Fall hasn’t had many opportunities to showcase his handling skills just yet, he will continue to work behind the scenes at every practice and before every game. As long as he maintains such a strong work ethic, those skills should come in handy for him down the line.

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Pregame Post-Ups: Fall Working Behind the Scenes on Ball Handling

Two teams that hope to have learned something from the second half of their previous encounter will attempt to put their new information to good use Sunday night when the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics square off in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals near Orlando.

The fifth-seeded Heat remain one win away from their first NBA Finals appearance in six years after squandering a seven-point halftime lead in a 121-108 loss in Game 5 on Friday night.

The win allowed the third-seeded Celtics not only to remain alive in the best-of-seven but move to within two wins of another NBA Finals appearance of their own, an opportunity the 17-time champions haven't had since 2010.

Both teams came out of Friday's game talking energy -- some used, some kept in reserve.

"We knew we had to play better. We were fighting for our life," Celtics star Jayson Tatum said of the mood at halftime of a game his team trailed 58-51. "It was going to take a collective effort in the second half, and that's what we did."

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra agreed, then spun it in his team's direction.

"Boston played great in the second half. They deserved and earned what they got," he assured. "We understand how tough it is to win in the playoffs. We did not compete hard enough defensively and we paid the price for that."

With Tatum and Miami's Jimmy Butler neutralizing each other's brilliance, the first five games have swung in the favor of the team with the more productive supporting cast.

The Heat got that from Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder with a combined 51 points in an overtime win in Game 1. Then from Duncan Robinson's six 3-pointers and 18 points in Game 2. And most notably, from Tyler Herro's historic 37-point flurry in Game 4 that brought the Heat within arm's length of advancing.

The Celtics countered that with a combined 67 points from Jaylen Brown, Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart in their first win in Game 3, and with an out-of-nowhere double-double from Daniel Theis that helped keep Boston alive on Friday.

Such has been the up-and-down nature of the series. Herro followed up his 37-point explosion with just 14 in Game 5. Meanwhile, Theis had totaled just 18 points and 21 rebounds in Boston's three losses before going for 15 and 13 on Friday.

Something else that reversed itself in Game 5 was the series' turnover disparity. After the Celtics had averaged 4.7 more per game in the first four meetings, they had two fewer (13-11) than the Heat in Game 5.

That led to the Heat losing their greatest advantage in building a 3-1 lead: Shot attempts. Even though Boston had connected at a greater rate, Miami had averaged 6.0 more shots than the Celtics before Friday, when Boston held a 93-86 edge.

Neither team lists a significant injury for Game 6, but you have to wonder about Heat center Bam Adebayo, who has been nursing a sore left wrist in the series.

He shot under 50 percent (5-for-11) for the first time since Game 1 and was held to a series-low 13 points on Friday, accumulating a minus-15 plus/minus after having been in the positive in each of the first four games.

"I'll put that game on me," he said afterward. "I feel like I was a step behind today. I wasn't a difference-maker today."

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9/27 Game 6 Preview: Celtics at Heat

It’s easy for players and coaches to get caught up in the competition taking place inside the NBA bubble. Celtics coach Brad Stevens, however, is making sure not to lose touch with current events taking place outside it in the real world, particularly when it comes to the upcoming general election.

Throughout his time inside the bubble, Stevens has used his platform to urge citizens to carry out their civic duty by voting this fall. He did so again during a Saturday afternoon Zoom session with the media between Games 5 and 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

“Obviously this election is really important, and it means a great deal to us,” said Stevens, whose Celtics are fresh off of a Game 5 win and now trail the Miami Heat 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. “But also, I think that it’s really important to the guys, and I think that encouraging everybody to use their voice to vote is really important.”

Stevens has not been alone on this matter. The National Basketball Coaches Association, along with the entire NBA family, has used its voice throughout the 2019-20 season restart to educate people on the significance of voting.

“I’m glad that the NBA is taking that stand,” Stevens said. “I’m glad that the Coaches Association has pushed that, and I’m happy to be a part of lending my voice to that. If that can turn out so many more people or one more person, then that’s really important.”

Kemba Walker stressed that importance a few weeks ago when he discussed with reporters how he was never educated about the voting process while growing up in New York City. He hopes that changes for the current generation of young adults, as well as for future generations.

“Where I’m from, nobody talks about voting when I’m growing up,” Walker stated. “Nobody in school, they’re not telling us to go out and vote. So I can see why a lot of young kids haven’t ever voted in their lives, because that’s not something that you speak about or hear about.”

That’s why Walker appreciates so many of his NBA peers for stepping up and providing such knowledge for the players inside the bubble, along with fans outside the bubble.

“These guys are special, special people – CP3 (Chris Paul), (Andre) Iguodala, my brother Jaylen Brown, just to name a few,” Walker said. “These guys are using their platform to a whole other level and trying to help everyone around the world to just get out there and vote. It’s a very important message, and as a league, we’re trying our best to pass that message along.”

The Celtics, as an organization, have made it a point to pass that message along, as well. Earlier this month, the team  set up a page on this very website  to provide citizens with the proper tools and information to navigate the voting process.

“We realize that it’s extremely important,” said Stevens. “And we continue to talk about it, to make sure each of our voices are all heard in this election.”

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Stevens Uses his Platform to Encourage People to Vote

Kemba Walker’s tranquil leadership came in handy Friday night, as he was able to calm down and focus a desperate Boston Celtics team in order to help keep their postseason alive.

Boston came out with plenty of intensity in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals, urgently seeking to shrink its 3-1 series deficit against the Miami Heat; however, it had difficulty harnessing its energy in a constructive manner early on, which allowed Miami to take a 58-51 lead into halftime.

That’s when Walker stepped in, according to teammate Jaylen Brown.

“What I remember from halftime is Kemba saying, 'We just need to settle down a little bit,'” Brown recalled. “We all felt the intensity that we all had in the beginning. I don't think we came out flat. It was different from Game 4 for us. We had the intensity; it was just coming out all over the place for us. We just had to dial in a little bit.”

Boston opened up the third quarter on a 20-5 run and never looked back, cruising to a 121-108, season-saving victory.

What was the difference from the first half?

“We got back to playing Celtics basketball,” Walker answered after the game. “We were just aggressive and just really feeding off each other energy.”

Walker’s halftime words resonated with the Celtics because it reflected what they all feeling at the time: their spirit was there, but they just needed to calm their nerves, refocus their energy, and they’d be in a much better place.

“I think we all realized it,” said Jayson Tatum, who tallied a game-high 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds and six assists. “Everybody was so anxious, eager to make a play, make something happen. We know what’s at stake - we lose and go home. But at the same time, we’ve got to relax a little bit. Take a deep breath. We know how important every possession is, but we’ve still got to just relax a little bit and play the game, and that was kind of the message at halftime.”

The Celtics realized there was still plenty of time left to settle down, but they made quick work of it thanks to their defensive effort out of the break. During the first six-plus minutes of the second half, Boston limited Miami to just two field-goal makes, and the C’s capitalized off of all those misses by turning them into easy fast-break buckets and wide-open 3-pointers.

“For us, defense is always going to create our offense,” said Walker, who logged 15 points and seven assists. “The goal is to limit those guys to one shot, which is really hard. They’ve taken advantage of us inside, and we did a good job of keeping them off the glass.”

One player who did a great job of keeping Miami off the glass was Daniel Theis, who recorded game-highs of 13 rebounds and three blocks to go along with 15 points. The third-year big man made his biggest impact during that early third-quarter stretch, as he helped Boston turn things around defensively.

“It was a really long game, things aren’t always going to go your way, but one thing you can control is your ability to play hard,” Theis said. “I thought we did that. We kinda just caught ourselves, settled into the game, started making the right plays at both ends of the floor.”

By harnessing their energy and settling down, as Walker urged them to do at halftime, the Celtics were able to take control of Game 5. Now, let’s see if they can carry that mindset into Game 6 Sunday night, when they will look to tie the series up and send it into a Game 7.

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Kemba’s Halftime Message in Game 5 Helps Celtics Keep Season Alive

Marc D'Amico

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BOSTON – Let’s talk about unsung heroes for the Boston Celtics – the ones who helped them save their season Friday night.

Let’s talk about Daniel Theis and Enes Kanter.

Together, those two centers outperformed Miami’s All-Star at the same position, Bam Adebayo, to fuel Boston’s 121-108 victory over the Heat in Game 5. They combined to total 23 points, 17 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots, compared to Adebayo’s 13 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and one blocked shot.

Stunning numbers? No. Significant numbers? No question.

“We got a lot out of that center position tonight,” said Brad Stevens. “That's important.”

So important that Boston’s bigs seemed to disrupt Miami’s groove at both ends of the court throughout the court of the game, a trend which Kanter initiated.

Kanter’s presence during the first half was a surprise to many, as he did not play at all during Games 1 and 4 and totaled just 16 minutes during Games 2 and 3. Stevens, however, felt he needed to shock the game, and he did so by calling Kanter’s number with 9:48 left in the first half as Boston trailed by 10.

Kanter checked in and scored his first bucket 16 seconds later. Then scored his second basket 22 seconds after that. By the time halftime arrived, Kanter had racked up eight points, four rebounds and two assists during nine-plus minutes of action, helping to keep the Celtics within striking distance of Miami at 58-51 at the break.

“Just kind of kept us at bay,” Stevens said of what Kanter provided to the team. “We were struggling. They hit some really tough shots. (Duncan) Robinson was going nuts. Kanter's points there in the paint I thought really helped. That kind of helped steady us, give us a chance at halftime, only being down seven.”

His performance drew praise from Jayson Tatum as well. Tatum acknowledged Kanter’s ability to deliver despite his ever-changing role on the team.

“He's in a unique situation where he never knows when he’s going to play, but he's always ready to give us that boost, that spark at both ends, especially rebounding it and getting the ball in the low post,” said Tatum, who scored a game-high 31 points. “That just shows how good he is. He's a professional. He's always ready.”

Kanter was ready and gave Boston a chance. Theis took that chance and ran with it during the second half.

As good as Kanter was during his first stint, Theis was even better during the second half. His presence was felt at both ends of the court as he racked up a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds over the final two quarters alone, of which he played all but 39 seconds.

“He was great in the middle of the zone,” Stevens said of Theis. “He caught it twice and scored. He was great there on the glass on both ends.”

The significance of those plays cannot be overstated. While some might think that the Celtics go as Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker go, Brown used Friday night as an example while he begged to differ.

“Anytime Theis is great, it's great for our team,” Brown, who scored 28 points of his own, said. “He probably doesn't get the credit he deserves.”

Well, he and Kanter deserve loads of credit following Game 5, and they’re getting it right here.

Those two players were, as Tatum called them, were “big-time” Friday night as they played “with a lot of effort and heart.”

They are the unsung heroes who helped Boston stave off elimination and live another day inside the NBA bubble.

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Centers Save the Day, as Theis, Kanter Serve as Unsung Heroes

Five minutes was all it took Friday night for the Boston Celtics to turn a nine-point third-quarter deficit into an eight-point lead over the Miami Heat. Those five minutes saved Boston’s season, as it capitalized on 20-3 run at the beginning of the second half to set the tone for a 121-108 Game 5 win.

Miami opened the third frame with a 13-foot jumper from Bam Adebayo to give it a 60-51 lead, which it maintained until the 10:25 mark. That’s when Jaylen Brown made a momentum-swinging steal-and-score in transition to start Boston’s run.

Brown scored six of his team’s 20 points during the stretch, which also included five points from Jayson Tatum, four points from Daniel Theis, three points from Marcus Smart, and two points from Kemba Walker. But the defense of that group is what changed the game, as they allowed the Heat to make just one field goal over a six-minute stretch.

By the 5:42 mark, the Celtics had turned their 60-51 deficit into a 71-63 lead, and they were just getting warmed up. Boston went ahead by as many as 19 points during the fourth quarter before cruising to a 13-point victory to bring it one win away from tying the series.

Jayson Tatum's aggressiveness was a game-changing aspect of Game 5, as he was able to drive through Miami's strong zone defense and draw contact time after time. The third-year wing scored a game-high 31 points, including 12 from the free-throw line where he tied his playoff career-high with 14 attempts.

Eight of those free-throw attempts came during a 17-point third frame, which was when Boston turned the game around with a 41-25 quarter advantage.

Not only was Tatum aggressive in scoring the ball; he also asserted himself on the glass where he pulled down 10 rebounds to give himself his ninth double-double of the postseason. Tatum also contributed strongly to the passing game, dishing out six assists for a well-rounded 43 minutes of action.