Jalen Rose Praises The Miami Heat's Defense

The ESPN analyst said he was impressed with the Heat's win against the Celtics

After the Miami Heat's victory against the Boston Celtics, ESPN analyst Jalen Rose talked about the Heat’s impressive defensive performance.

The Heat held the Celtics to 98 points, their lowest total since March 13. 

“The defensive end is where they locked down the Celtics,” Rose said on ESPN’s Jalen & Jacoby. “In maybe the last four to five minutes, Boston only scored six points and Jayson Tatum had two of those points. As we look at the Eastern Conference standings and teams start to jock for a position, you can’t underestimate that the Miami Heat won the Eastern Conference just two seasons ago with this basic core group of players and Erik Spoelstra on the sidelines.”

Rose draws comparisons between this rendition of the Heat to the squad that went to the 2020 NBA Finals. He says that they have the depth and players to compete in the postseason.

“Pat Riley is about winning at all costs respectfully,” Rose said. “He’s done it basically at each stage that he’s been in during his NBA career. One thing I’ve noticed about the Miami Heat over the last couple of years: when the Heat made the Finals, he was also paying attention to the other top players who were making an impact on other teams.”

The Heat will face off against the Chicago Bulls tomorrow, another Eastern Conference opponent looking to secure a playoff spot.

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Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant