CLNS Media
  • Home
  • NBA
  • NFL
  • MLB
  • NHL
  • Betting
  • NBA History
  • Podcasts
    • podcast
      • A List Podcast
      • Bruins Beat
      • Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman
      • Cedric Maxwell Podcast
      • Celtics Beat
      • Celtics Lab
    • podcast
      • Celtics Postgame Live
      • Dome Theory with Bobby Manning
      • First to the Floor
      • The Garden Report
      • Greg Bedard’s Patriots Podcast
      • Patriots Beat
    • podcast
      • Pucks with Haggs
      • Patriots Postgame Show
      • Pats Interference
      • Poke the Bear
      • Patriots Daily
      • Red Sox Beat
      • Winning Plays
      • View All Podcasts
  • About
    • About CLNS
    • Our Sponsors
    • Talent
    • Job Opportunities
    • Join Our Network
    • Advertise With Us

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

What's Hot

Celtics React to Jrue Holiday Trade and Questions that Follow

10/02/2023

Film Review: What Went Wrong for the Patriots Offense vs the Cowboys

10/02/2023

Taylor Kyles Shocked by Mac Jones Meltdown vs Cowboys

10/02/2023
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube TikTok
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube TikTok Discord
CLNS Media
Subscribe
  • Home
  • NBA
  • NFL
  • MLB
  • NHL
  • Betting
  • NBA History
  • Podcasts
    • podcast
      • A List Podcast
      • Bruins Beat
      • Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman
      • Cedric Maxwell Podcast
      • Celtics Beat
      • Celtics Lab
    • podcast
      • Celtics Postgame Live
      • Dome Theory with Bobby Manning
      • First to the Floor
      • The Garden Report
      • Greg Bedard’s Patriots Podcast
      • Patriots Beat
    • podcast
      • Pucks with Haggs
      • Patriots Postgame Show
      • Pats Interference
      • Poke the Bear
      • Patriots Daily
      • Red Sox Beat
      • Winning Plays
      • View All Podcasts
  • About
    • About CLNS
    • Our Sponsors
    • Talent
    • Job Opportunities
    • Join Our Network
    • Advertise With Us
CLNS Media
Home » Celtics Putting Eastern Conference on Notice Following Win Over Heat
NBA

Celtics Putting Eastern Conference on Notice Following Win Over Heat

Josue PavonBy Josue Pavon12/05/2019Updated:10/09/20214 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Share
Facebook Twitter Email

With 20 games under their belt, the Celtics continue to prove why they’re the deepest team in the Eastern Conference.

Not even the loss of Gordon Hayward — who was playing his best basketball in two years — to a fractured left hand can slow down this year’s Celtics team. They’ve won eight of their last 12 games in his absence and Wednesday night, without Marcus Smart, Boston added another impressive victory to its win column.

  • More from Pavon: Why Celtics Need Grant Williams, Brad Wanamaker to Anchor Second Unit’s Defense

Capitalizing on an 18-5 run, the Celtics took a 52-44 lead into halftime and essentially never looked back. Jaylen Brown had a lot to do with that, he flirted with a career-high (34) after scoring 21 of his team-high 31 points in the second half of Wednesday night’s 112-93 win over the Heat.

However, Brown’s electric performance doesn’t tell the entire story of what happened Wednesday at TD Garden. Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum combined for 30 first-half points, Celtics buckled down defensively in the second quarter, which led to an absurd run to end the half and eventually set the stage for the third-year forward.

Trending
Bucks Overtake Celtics As NBA Finals Favorites Following Damien Lillard Trade to Bucks

Led by guys like Semi Ojeleye, Daniel Theis, Robert Williams, and Brad Wanamaker, the Celtics closed out on Miami’s shooters, clogged the passing lanes and consistently applied pressure on the Heat in the paint and from the perimeter. Boston’s commitment to defense led to 18 Heat turnovers.

“We played hard. That was the key,” Stevens said. “We played hard. We played really hard in the second and third quarter. Defensively, those were two of our better quarters of the year.”

The effort from top to bottom shined through against the Heat, it’s been an ongoing pattern of late. Theis finished with a plus-24 game rating to go with his three blocked shots and pulled down nine rebounds, Walker finished with 28 points and Tatum scored 19 to go with three blocks of his own.

Jimmy Butler (37 points) had the best performance of the night, he drained 12-of-18 from the floor, including six 3-pointers but it was no match against Boston’s stifling team-defense that distracted Butler’s teammates from finding their offensive rhythm. This was the kind of game where the defense from Ojeleye, Theis and Wanamaker resonated just as much as the 78-point combined scoring production by Brown, Walker and Tatum.

Stevens has been taking on the tough task of filling the void in the frontcourt’s defense left behind by Al Horford and Aron Baynes. Still tinkering with lineups, Stevens started Grant Williams in an attempt to go small against a pair of seven-footers in Bam Adebayo and Meyers Leonard.

It resulted in the Heat grabbing an 11-point, first-quarter lead before Stevens turned to Robert Williams (10 rebounds, 1 block) for help while leaning on his starter Theis, who logged in over 26 minutes, to help anchor the center position.

“We didn’t play the two big lineups after the first quarter,” Stevens explained. “Part of that is we just have limited numbers with guys out. With Smart, obviously Hayward, has been out for a while, but Smart out as well. They are bigger so we thought we maybe could get a way with some of that. We haven’t really tried that two big lineup, but then I thought that their speed was an issue for that.

“In the second quarter, we started playing defense the way we want to play. We probably were the beneficiary; they’ve had a really tough stretch playing last night in Toronto and flying back. It’s just part of it. We played a lot more like we have, I thought our rotations were a lot shorter the rest of the game.”


Recently, he’s had his players committed to defending at a high level, especially in the final frame.

Throughout the last four outings, Celtics opponents are averaging only 23 points per game in the fourth quarter. Making up for Hayward’s offensive production, for the most part, has fallen on the laps of Walker, Tatum, and Brown and lately they’ve elevated their game to another level.

With Jaylen Brown’s 29.5 points leading the way, the trio is averaging 76 points in its last two games — a pair of handsome wins against the Knicks and Heat that has led to a 15-5 start one quarter into the 2019-20 season.

Boston’s defense has led to extraordinary wins against upper-echelon teams like the Raptors, Bucks and now the Heat — three of the conference’s top-5 teams. And with the Sixers only one week away from making their season debut at TD Garden, the Celtics could be on the verge of making another emphatic statement to the rest of its conference.

Brad Stevens celtics heat Jaylen Brown Jayson Tatum Jimmy Butler kemba walker NBA
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Josue Pavon
  • Twitter

Celtics Reporter

Related Posts

Celtics React to Jrue Holiday Trade and Questions that Follow

10/02/2023

Celtics Cedric Maxwell Reacts to Dame Lillard Trade

10/02/2023

Celtics Now Co-Favorites to Win NBA Finals Following Acquisition of Jrue Holiday

10/02/2023

Reacting to Jrue Holiday to Celtics

10/01/2023

Celtics Trade for Jrue Holiday – 10 Reactions and Takeaways

10/01/2023

Celtics Sign Big Man Wenyen Gabriel after Robert Williams Trade

10/01/2023

Comments are closed.

Follow Us
Facebook-f Twitter Instagram Youtube
Featured Videos
Featured Videos

Patriots vs Cowboys Week 4 Postgame Show: New England Blown Out by Dallas

By CLNS Media10/01/2023

Join CLNS Media’s Taylor Kyles and John Zannis as they go LIVE to recap the…

Reacting to Jrue Holiday to Celtics

10/01/2023

Celtics Sign Big Man Wenyen Gabriel after Robert Williams Trade

10/01/2023

Report: Celtics Still Interested in Jrue Holiday Trade

09/30/2023
About Us
About Us

Your source for the lifestyle news. This demo is crafted specifically to exhibit the use of the theme as a lifestyle site. Visit our main page for more demos.

We're accepting new partnerships right now.

Email Us: info@example.com
Contact: +1-320-0123-451

Our Picks

Celtics-Pistons Game 2 Betting Odds, Preview and Predictions | BetOnline.ag

01/03/2021

Celtics-Pistons Game 2 Betting Odds, Preview and Predictions | BetOnline.ag

01/03/2021
New Comments
    Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube TikTok Discord
    • Home
    • NBA
    • NFL
    • MLB
    • NHL
    • View All Podcasts
    • About
    • Privacy Policy

    2023 North Station Media. Designed by J&R Marketing.


    At North Station Media, we don’t just celebrate diversity, we live it. North Station Media is an equal opportunity employer that commits itself everyday creating the most inclusive environment for all its employees and hiring the best and most qualified individuals. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.