Celtics

Smart nearly had a triple-double Thursday night, falling just a rebound short. By Chad Finn, The Boston Globe. May 20, 2022 | 1:43 PM.

The most amusing dichotomy regarding Smart is that a player who plays with an electric current of emotion running through his limbs has become a model of stability, proper execution, and poise. He was 2 for 11 from the field in the first half, but was essential to dominating in so many other areas that his plus/minus was plus-26. Miami had cut the Celtics lead to 17, jostling the remaining crowd awake, when Smart put an end to the notion of a comeback. He confidently hoisted a team-high 22 shots (Tatum made eight field goals, as many as Smart, on nine fewer attempts), swished a baseline shot (plus drew a foul) from behind the backboard that was reminiscent of Larry Bird in execution if not style, argued with the refs that a Heat player had “grabbed [the ball] with his feet” (something he’s surely attempted himself before), and missed a layup on the break when he wrapped the ball around his waist for no particular reason. “As always, he sets the tone,’’ said Celtics coach Ime Udoka. “Defensive Player of the Year for a reason. Williams is back to being his springy self after missing four games in the Bucks series with a bone bruise in his knee.

Los Celtics arrollaron al Heat en el Juego 2 de las finales de la Conferencia Este rumbo a un crucial Juego 3 en Boston el sábado.

En general, Butler anota el 38 por ciento de los puntos de los titulares en estos playoffs. 2.- Hay que moverse rápido: Si Miami pretende ganar el Juego 3 en Boston deberá tratar de sumar asistencias, hacer circular rápido el balón y realizar dribles para provocar disparos con vistazos abiertos. Y en el tercer cuarto, Boston respondió a un rally de 17-3 del Heat con otro de 12-2. Además, atinó el 91 por ciento de sus intentos desde la línea del tiro libre. Después, los Celtics tuvieron un par de corridas más que aniquilaron desde temprano las esperanzas de Miami; 9-0 y 21-8 en el segundo periodo. Además, la NBA sabe que es uno de los mejores bases/escoltas defensivos del basquetbol.

Jimmy Butler y el Miami Heat lanzaron el primer golpe con su victoria en el Juego 1, pero los Boston Celtics dieron su propio golpe en el Juego 2.

“Básicamente tengo que hacer el trabajo (de Kyle Lowry) y asegurarme de que los muchachos estén en lugares donde puedan sentirse cómodos y tener más éxito”, dijo. m. en NBC Sports Boston con Celtics Pregame Live. Boston llegó a tener una ventaja de hasta 34 puntos, y después de un comienzo lento del juego estuvo en control durante los últimos 40 minutos. Otros titulares de Miami tuvieron un total combinado de 31 puntos. No me gusta seguir adelante con esto porque tiene que doler", dijo Butler. "Trataron de avergonzarnos, nos avergonzaron, así que creo que debemos darnos cuenta de eso. Tenemos un trabajo difícil que hacer para ir allí y ganar.

The Celtics subbed Grant Williams in for Robert Williams halfway through the first quarter, leading to a 57-27 run to close the first half.

The Heat have now won a single quarter through the first eight in this series -- that decisive third quarter of Game 1 -- and have been outscored by 36 points across the other seven. It certainly didn't hurt that Smart returned and had a virtuoso performance at both ends of the court. Smart, meanwhile, was the last defender on Jimmy Butler -- who demolished Boston with Smart sidelined in Game 1 -- on 28 of the 46 plays Butler was on the court. "They tried to embarrass us," Butler said. The Celtics could point to winning three of the four quarters in the first game, losing thanks to being outscored 39-14 in a truly disastrous third quarter. If he did, he had to work for them. "Spaced the floor well," Udoka said of why those lineups were so effective. Suddenly, the Celtics were flying around at both ends of the court. "We got to attack some matchups that we wanted to and space out Adebayo and [P.J.] Tucker and some of those guys. But things didn't truly click into place for the Celtics until Boston went away from the starting five that had been a dominant five-man unit all season midway through the first quarter. They scrambled to Miami's shooters, forcing them to go 2-for-8 over the final few minutes of the first and 3-for-15 over the final 20 minutes of the first half. They allowed the Heat to get multiple second-chance opportunities.

Smart, the Celtics' point guard, made an impact on offense and defense as Boston beat Miami in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

In the first round against the Nets, Smart averaged 16.5 points and 7 assists in Boston’s four-game sweep. Against the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round, Smart averaged 14 points and 5.7 assists, while shooting 39.4 percent from behind the 3-point line. Smart initially struggled adjusting to his new role, as did the rest of the Celtics. In his first 50 games this season, Smart averaged 11.7 points and 5.3 assists. Tatum said Thursday that Smart had given the Celtics “another guy who can handle the ball under pressure and get us organized and get us in position where we need to be.” After a November loss to the Chicago Bulls, Smart incurred the ire of his teammates when he publicly criticized the two best players on the team, Brown and Jayson Tatum, for not passing the ball more. But Smart was one of the best players on the court, because of his seven assists and zero turnovers. Smart missed the first game of the series on Tuesday because of a foot sprain, and his absence was evident. Smart did not enjoy the same kind of trust earlier in his career. In Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, Smart had 24 points, 9 rebounds and 12 assists in a game the Celtics thoroughly dominated, 127-102, to tie the best-of-seven series. “I leave it in his hands, and he usually makes the right decision.” Right from the opening tip on Thursday, Smart affected the game. He had only a single turnover in one of the best playoff performances of his career.

Marcus Smart's fingerprints were all over the Celtics' Game 2 rout of the Heat on Thursday night. As Chris Forsberg writes, Smart has silenced plenty of ...

"As always, he sets the tone,” said Udoka. "Defensive Player of the Year for a reason. Smart has always had an All-Star ball-handler in front of him, from Isaiah Thomas to Kyrie Irving to Kemba Walker. Even this year he had to navigate clunky two-point-guard lineups with Dennis Schroder early in the season. He set the defensive tone, he quarterbacked the offense, and he tossed in some scoring for good measure. Smart owned a plus-13.7 net rating while logging just over half his total minutes this season as the lone point guard, per Cleaning the Glass tracking. As a defensive player, as a competitor, he's going to make you work and he's going to make you better. Smart tried his best to steer his teammates back on course when they got wayward in the third quarter that night. So too will Smart’s crosscourt, falling-out-of-bounds dish that threaded about four white jerseys to find Jaylen Brown for a 3-pointer on Boston’s first bucket. After sitting out Game 1 with a mid-foot sprain suffered in Boston’s Game 7 triumph over the Milwaukee Bucks, Smart returned Thursday night to log a team-high 40 minutes, 18 seconds of court time. He understands his team's strengths. He understands his strengths. Smart wasn’t perfect and Butler still had an efficient night, but Smart made him work for everything. More notable: Smart accounted for 30 of Boston’s 64 total assist points.