2024 NBA Playoffs Takeaways: How worried should Boston be?
Things move fast in the NBA playoffs, so to help you stay on top of things, from now through at least the end of the second round, we will have nightly takeaways from the postseason action.
How worried should Boston be?
It would be easy for the Celtics to write Wednesday night’s Game 2 loss to the Heat off —Miami shot a ridiculous 23-of-43 (53.5%) from 3, setting a franchise record for a playoff game.
The story of tonight's game... MIAMI'S 3-POINT SHOOTING
▪️ 23 3-pointers (23/43), the most by the @MiamiHEAT in a postseason game!
▪️ 62% of their points came from downtown pic.twitter.com/LtQaIAT9mU— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2024
That’s not something they can replicate, right? RIGHT?!?
Except that last year, when these teams met in the Eastern Conference Finals, Miami shot better than 50% from beyond the arc three times. That’s what Tuesday’s loss did to Celtics fans, it brought to life the ghosts of Heat series past. Intellectually, Boston fans can say, “They can’t do that again,” but Erik Spoelstra is a master of the Dark Arts, and killing off the Heat is like killing off Michael Myers.
What are the differences between this season and the last? Miami does not have Jimmy Butler or Terry Rozier yet—without those shot creators, this kind of game is much harder to replicate. The other big difference is that this Celtics team is better. With a backcourt of Jrue Holiday and Derrick White and Kristaps Porzingis protecting the rim, expect a more focused defensive effort in Game 3.
Celtics fans shouldn’t be too worried… yet. This feels like a one-off game. But if Miami can get a split at home and make this a best of three, then it’s time to become a little worried.
Zion would have made Pelicans vs. Thunder more fun
Oklahoma City looked like a talented young team that was more comfortable in a playoff setting on Wednesday night, blowing out New Orleans by 32. This series feels over, with Zion Williamson out and Brandon Ingram not his peak self returning from injury, there isn’t some magical adjustment Willie Green can make that changes this series. Especially as the Thunder get more and more comfortable.
Still, it’s hard for me not to wonder how much a healthy Zion and his physical downhill attacking would have changed this series.
The outcome almost certainly remains the same, OKC would have advanced, but Zion would have made it a lot closer and more interesting. Maybe the Pelicans steal that first game with him, the vibe would have been different.
Alas, we will never know.
