Miami Heat Need To Play More Aggressive If They Are Going to Close Out Celtics

ESPN analyst Mike Wilbon says Miami needs to turn this series into a “football game.”

It’s safe to say that the Miami Heat underperformed in Monday's Game 4 against the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics are undefeated in the playoffs this year following a loss. Jayson Tatum has shined after postseason losses, averaging 32.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. The Celtics star shoots 51.4 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three-point range in these games. The return of Robert Williams III in Game 4 gave Boston the defensive edge to hold the Heat to 82 points. The Heat started the game off with zero field goals until the last three and a half minutes in the first quarter.

Jayson Tatum stats following a loss in the 2022 NBA Playoffs

32.6 points
7.6 rebounds
5.4 assists
51.4 FG%
41.7 3P%
66 TS%
5-0 record pic.twitter.com/AqgRLoJANc

— CelticsMuse (@CelticsMuse) May 24, 2022

All in all, it was an underwhelming show by Miami.

ESPN’s Michael Wilbon talked about how the Heat need to continue playing aggressive, saying that this type of play is “all that works for them.”

“They’re not getting the calls,” Wilbon said in the pregame show. “But that’s their side. I’m talking about culture, the most overused word in sports. We know what Miami’s culture is.”

There has been some controversy regarding the referees during this series, particularly against Miami. However, Wilbon says that the Heat need to disregard that matter and continue to play their brand of basketball.

The Heat starters combined for 18 points in last night’s matchup, going 7 of 36 from the field. Max Strus and P.J. Tucker had zero points the entire game, and Jimmy Butler had his second consecutive single-digit performance. Meanwhile, Bam Adebayo continues the narrative of not being aggressive enough. Adebayo shined in Game 3 with a 31-point performance, but only had nine points yesterday on five shot attempts.

The Heat are looking to improve as they host the Celtics in Game 5.

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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.