After the 3-point demonstration (23/43) and the victory of Game 2 in Boston, we wrote in our summary, in the form of a question, that “To overthrow the best team in the league, the Heat did not rot the game, on the contrary, they beat the Celtics at their own game. Doing it away is remarkable, but having such skill is- Is this really sustainable over an entire series? “.
Two matches later, we have the answer: no, it is not tenable. In the third round, Erik Spoelstra's players scored 84 points. Then, in Game 4, they did (a little) better with 88 units. With a lost 3-point address: 18/61 over the two matches, i.e. 29% success…
“Our guys are fighting. It's hard to realize it when you look at the score, but they gave it their all. All “, assures the Heat coach. “There’s not much left in the tank on defense. We need to score points. Keeping this team around 100 points is pretty significant. I know we have a game in our legs, we just need to get the ball into the basket more often. »
Efforts in defense, limits in attack
In the three losses, Miami only scored 88.6 points. And even the heat of the second round only finished at 111 points. But with 111 points, the Heat would have won the last two games since the Celtics were held to 104 and 102 points.
“For the moment, we haven't given our audience a match to get excited about. It doesn’t suit us”says Caleb Martin. “If we maintain our attack when they accelerate in the first quarter, we would have been good,” believes Bam Adebayo after this defeat. “We throw ourselves into the lion’s den. Everyone knows where we are: 3-1, backs to the wall. We must respond. »
Is this really possible when Jaime Jaquez Jr, Miami's third offensive option in this series, injured his right hip and did not play the last quarter of Game 4? “I tried to come back, I gave everything. I've never been hurt before.”, concludes the rookie, author of 9 points in this game. Answer Wednesday.
