Patrick Beverley Says Celtics Got Back In Series By Attacking Offensively

Beverley now picks the Celtics the win the series.

Minnesota Timberwolves’ point guard Patrick Beverley joined ESPN’s talk show “Get Up” Thursday to discuss how the Boston Celtics managed to defeat the Miami Heat in Game 5.

“Man, they are attacking these guys offensively. I had the Heat winning before, I’m way off,” Beverley said. “I had the Heat winning the series. But what Boston is doing to the guards right now, they’re attacking them, they’re getting in them. Boston is rebounding way better. They’re just playing with a little bit more swagger, a little bit more edge. They’re keeping them in 1-3 pick-and-rolls, 1-2 pick-and-rolls, getting the match-ups they wanted. Exploiting that Miami defense for sure.”

The Heat shot just 31 percent, the second night in a row where they shot under 35 percent. Sports analysts Alan Hahn describes how Boston contributed to that slump.

“It (Celtics’ defense) certainly is a big part of it because it’s all about contesting those shots,” Hahn said. “They were 0-17 on the contested threes. It’s just the defense that has been a big part of this and it demoralizes you.”

He continues saying, “If you aren’t making shots and at a rate where the Heat weren’t making shots painfully. They were the number one three-point shooting team in the NBA this season and they have shot under 30 percent in the series. Like they just haven’t been able to knock down threes. It does demoralize you.”

Former NBA player Vince Carter chimes in with what impressed him about the Celtics.

“It was their defense,” he said. “It was their aggressiveness”.

Cory Nelson is a contributor to Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson