The Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics face off in the Eastern Conference finals for the second consecutive year. This time it was Boston that had homecourt in the Eastern Conference finals. Both teams went back and forth early on in the first quarter. Boston then took over the second quarter forcing turnovers and drawing fouls on the Heat. The Heat’s offense was basically stagnant in the second period. However, Miami turned their defense around and limited the Celtics paint drives. And offensively, the team looked better. In the end, Miami came away with the seven-point victory. With the win, Miami moves to 1-0 for the series against Boston.
Jimmy Leads the Way
Coming into Game 1, all eyes were on Jimmy Butler. And it wasn’t just for his basketball game. It was the right ankle that he injured in the last series. Butler played through the ankle last series, but you can tell it affected his game. Well, he put that question to rest early in the game. There seemed to be no limitations for Butler in Game 1. The Celtics threw a lot of different coverages at him. They put smaller guards on him, but he took them to the post. And even tried putting more lengthier players on him as well. When they did that, he ran pick-and-roll action with the bigs for jumpers. Defensively, he played mostly as a safety and stole the ball six times. Overall, another solid performance from Jimmy Buckets. Butler ended the night with 35 points, 7 assists, and six steals.
Aggressive Bam
For the Heat to have a shot this series, they needed more offense from Bam Adebayo. Last year, Adebayo was up and down with his offense. In Game 1, he was very assertive. And the crazy thing is he only took 13 shot attempts. Adebayo had the midrange jumpers going in for in and he scored around the basket as well. The Celtics threw multiple defenders at him but that didn’t stop Adebayo’s aggression. From the start it was clear that Miami’s focus was getting their star center going. Miami did struggle at times whenever he was on the bench. It was confusing at times how the Heat’s coaching staff was managing his minutes. But anyway, it was a solid performance from Adebayo. Adebayo finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.
Kyle Lowry Continues to Impress
With Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo out, Kyle Lowry has been huge for Miami this postseason. Coming into the series, I felt that he was Miami’s X-factor. Last year, Lowry played through the hamstring injury and wasn’t himself. This year, he’s now healthier. Lowry immediately made an impact off the bench. Using the Adebayo screens in the pick and roll actions, the Heat were able to generate good looks. Lowry also knocked down three triples off the pick and roll action. Lowry’s pull-up jumpers are essential for the Heat’s offense without Herro. He had the green light for those shots and was very confident taking them. Lowry finished with 15 points and three rebounds.
Huge Third Quarter
Usually, we call the third quarter, the “Turd Quarter”, when Miami’s offense struggles. In Game 1, it was a strong quarter for Miami. It all started with Adebayo’s aggressive to start the period with his jumpers. Kevin Love also helped the Heat get momentum in the third period. Love’s shooting, full-court passes, and rebounding were key for Miami. From there, Max Strus started to get going from downtown. Most importantly, Miami cut down their turnovers, which was an issue in the first half. The Heat ended up building a double-digit lead heading into the fourth period.
Next Up: Game 2 on Friday. Game tips off at 8:30pm eastern.
