What Stood Out from Loss vs. Heat: Celtics Get a Tuneup for the Playoffs

The Celtics' 106-98 loss to the Heat on Wednesday puts them two games behind Miami for the top seed in the East.

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The Heat elevated their game to another level in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's win, and the Celtics, who badly missed Robert Williams, struggled to match them in the final frame.

As a result of Wednesday's 106-98 loss, Boston, who remains in fourth in the East, is now two games out of first place. The Celtics are one game behind the second-seeded Bucks. The Sixers, who are in third, are also two games back of Miami, but they have a slightly higher winning percentage at the moment.

Now, for a deep dive into a game that serves as a dress rehearsal for the playoffs.

An Old, Ugly Habit Rears Its Head

Wednesday's tilt was a physical contest featuring playoff-caliber defense. That alone will challenge an individual's ability to keep composure; add in the stakes of a game where the top seed in the conference was on the line, temporarily at least, and that's amplified. But the best teams maintain focus in those situations even when the officiating is inconsistent.

The Celtics have come a long way in that regard, but there were segments of Wednesday's game where they backslid.

Boston's Resiliency Also on Display

The Heat, who went on 10-4 runs to close the first half and open the second, grew their lead to 11 with 7:51 remaining in the third quarter. That's when the Celtics landed a needed counterpunch, responding with a 16-0 run and outscoring Miami 25-10 the rest of the frame.

The play below happened before Boston's run, but it's worth including as the Celtics converting four Heat turnovers into 11 points was an essential part of them outscoring Miami 31-26 to take an 83-79 lead into the fourth quarter.

In the following clip, Jayson Tatum goes over a screen from Kyle Lowry, then under one from Bam Adebayo. Max Strus thinks he'll lose Tatum by spinning away from the screen, but instead of his dribble pushing the ball away from Tatum, it's near his back foot and not protected by his body, allowing Tatum to swipe it and take off in the other direction. Adebayo fouls Tatum, and he cashes in on both free throws.

The play below was Boston's best ball movement of the night. Not seen is Al Horford swinging the ball to Derrick White, screening for him, then rolling to the right block. White sends the ball to Tatum, and he gets it to Horford down low, where the clip starts. 

Horford quickly moves the ball to Marcus Smart in the opposite corner. Smart attacks Strus' closeout, then kicks the ball out to White. Brown initially seals Jimmy Butler at the elbow, then relocates as White drives by Strus, which gets Butler's attention. P.J. Tucker does his best, but it's too much ground for him to cover, and Brown buries the open three.

The Celtics Missed A Lot of Makeable Shots

There were possessions where Boston didn't do enough to challenge Miami's defense, but basketball, at any level, is a make or miss league, and in Wednesday's loss, the Celtics generated a lot of clean looks that didn't put points on the board.

For instance, after Jayson Tatum scored 10 points in the third quarter, the Heat used a box and one defense to limit him to three shots in the fourth.

In the play below, Tatum gets by Tyler Herro, charges into the paint, and after Herro goes by him, he has an open one-footed floater, but it's off the mark.

Brown, in particular, had a rough fourth quarter, going 2/10 and missing plenty of makeable shots in the final frame.

In the following clip, Horford grabs the ball after it's deflected and goes into a dribble handoff with Brown, who creates an open look from the mid-range, but it bricks off the back rim.

Then, Tatum makes a great skip pass from the left wing to the right corner, and Brown comes to the ball as it's arriving. He blows by Herro, and Lowry does a good job to contest, but missing that layup exemplifies the kind of luck Brown had in the fourth quarter.

After the game, Horford put a positive spin on the Celtics' adjusting to playing without Robert Williams, who underwent surgery for a left knee meniscal tear on Wednesday, but received an encouraging timeframe for his potential return.

"We know what we've been doing," Horford said. We know who we are, and this is good for our team. With Rob not playing, there are some things that we have to adjust; that we have to see, and I think this is gonna make us better."

The Celtics Sorely Missed Robert Williams on Defense, Too

Without Robert Williams, the Celtics didn't switch as much as usual. The result was Kyle Lowry feasting against drop coverage.

The following clip captures the two main problems Boston experienced defensively on Wednesday. One is Lowry weaponizing the space Horford affords him by being in drop coverage. Secondly, Brown passes Butler off to Tatum, but there's no reason to do so, and he doesn't appear to communicate he wants to switch. Maybe that's the call, and Tatum should've known to get Butler. Either way, it highlights the Celtics being out of sorts more often than one's accustomed to seeing.

In the play below, Lowry, who knocked down a season-high eight threes, is in such a rhythm that he passes up a shot from beyond the arc to attack Horford off the dribble, rattling in a baseline fadeaway. 

Lowry finished with 23 points and eight assists, leading the Heat on a 14-4 fourth-quarter run and pacing them as they outscored the Celtics 18-6 in the final 6:28.

Daniel Theis Plays His Best Game of the Season

The Celtics got an encouraging boost from Daniel Theis Wednesday, who produced 15 points, the most from any member of either team's second unit, doing so on 6/6 shooting.

In the following clip, Theis clears out Duncan Robinson, giving White a runway to the paint; when White gets there, Dewayne Dedmon steps up, and he throws the lob to Theis, who guides the ball in off the glass with one hand.

Up Next

The Celtics host the Pacers Friday night. Tip-off is at 7:30 ET. Inside The Celtics will have content related to the game coming out before, during, and after. And follow @BobbyKrivitsky on Twitter for updates and analysis from pregame to post.

Further Reading

Celtics Receive Encouraging Timeframe for Robert Williams' Potential Return

What Stood Out in Loss vs. Raptors: Under Challenging Circumstances, Celtics Don't Stray from Identity

Celtics Sign Juwan Morgan to 10-Day Contract

Robert Williams Has Torn Meniscus: Where Do the Celtics Go from Here?

[Photos and Videos] Celtics Raise Kevin Garnett's #5 to the Rafters

The Trials, Tribulations, and Growth of Ime Udoka in His First Year as Celtics' Head Coach