Gameday Rundown: HEAT vs. Celtics Game 2

Game 1: If one thing was clear headed into a series against a team that forces you into a metric ton of isolations and often only allows paint attacks by sheer brute force, it was that Jimmy Butler was once again going to have to be magnificent. One game in and 41 points later, we can check that box. It wasn’t just that Butler made his shots, which he did (12-of-19), or that he got to the free-throw line (17-of-18), which he did. It was that he was everywhere, on either end, and always exactly where his team needed him. He wasn’t alone in doing so, but there’s a level of pressure that Butler can apply to your offense that makes every pass carry just a little more inherent risk to it – an effect that played a major role as the HEAT’s defense fed their offense over and over and over again in the third quarter. And as usual – after Boston made a run with Butler off the court – he was there to bring it home down the stretch as he hunted the Payton Pritchard matchup relentlessly, holding the Celtics off with free-throws and jumpers. Boston isn’t going to give up anything easy, so the HEAT are going to need Butler to keep earning, or saving, points the hard way. Both teams are going to come out of this one with plenty to like – Boston wound up winning three of the four quarters – and if you came into this game expecting a long series there wasn’t much on hand to dissuade you of that notion. Full Recap