This is a big early game for the Celtics. They’ve scuffled through a bunch of games recently and there’s some grumbling among the players. Miami is a pretty good team right now, but they are far from unbeatable. The Celtics need a quality win right now… and they can get it if they follow this plan.
1: Get your heads out of your asses
The quotes in today’s dump bugged me, and it’s time for these guys to stop making excuses and just play basketball. I don’t give a damn about not knowing when you’ll play or for how many minutes. When you’re in the game, you play hard.
Period.
I understand guys are still trying to figure out their roles, and that can be frustrating. Maybe we’ll see some passes flying out of bounds from time to time as guys figure out some on-court chemistry. But to go out there and give a lackluster effort and then blame a lack of set rotations is bullshit, and I’m not buying it.
I’ve said it a million times before and I’ll saying it a million more times if it doesn’t change… this Celtics team has to give maximum effort all the time to win games. They can’t half-ass anything and expect to beat any team that isn’t the 76’ers. Everyone else has waxed them.
Play ball, play hard, or don’t play at all.
2: Pass behind Whiteside
Miami is a tough defensive team, and Hassan Whiteside is a shot-blocking beast. But he isn’t your typical rim protector. He notoriously hunts for blocks, and that leaves holes in the defense that can be exploited.
When Whiteside is in, guys need to attack the rim but not try to challenge him… they need to get him to commit and the Celtics need to send a man cutting to the basket behind him. The Celtics can get a few layups by taking advantage of Whiteside’s desire to pad his stats.
3: Attack Dwyane Wade
Erik Spoelstra says that Chris Bosh (ill) was not at shootaround. Luol Deng will not play tonight. Amare Stoudemire (ill) out also.
— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) November 30, 2015
The Heat will be shorthanded in this one, so since Wade will have a lot less help, they need to make his life hell. Avery Bradley needs to hound him and made sure he’s taking contested long jumpers. On offense, run some high pick and rolls with his guy and beat him up.
Wade will keep shooting, and he’s shooting 38.8% in losses. Make his night difficult and he’ll drag the whole team down.
4: Watch out for Winslow
The last thing we need is to be reminded of exactly why Danny Ainge was salivating so much over Justise Winslow. The rookie is already having a big impact on the team… Miami’s offensive rating with Winslow on the floor is 105.9 and 100.2 off the floor. Opponents have an offensive rating of 93 when he’s on the floor, and 106.6 when he’s off.
Try to force the rookie into some early mistakes. See if a Isaiah Thomas can use his craftiness to draw some early fouls. Take advantage of his desire to drive and draw some charges.
Oh, and he WILL drive to the basket.
Try to keep him out of the lane if you can. When he’s out there, he needs to be a jump shooter. If the Celtics allow straight drives to the basket like they did in Orlando last night, this won’t go well.
The Celtics can beat Miami… first and foremost they need to be there and play hard. Then, if they do the rest of these things, they’ll avoid a four-game road losing streak.
Graphics via NBASavant.com. Stats via NBA.com & Basketball-Reference
