The Celtics lost homecourt advantage in the first round on Wednesday night with an ugly 111-101 loss to the undermanned Miami Heat. Boston now hits the road in a 1-1 series to try to take command of the series once more after beginning the night as the strongest title favorites. However, Jayson Tatum acknowledged after the loss that he never expected the path out of the first round to be a breeze.
“I mean, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Tatum said. “There’s a lot of history between these two franchises, especially recently. Regardless of seeding or who’s in and who’s out. It’s the playoffs and especially with that team, it’s never going to go how people expect it to go. That’s the beauty of being in the playoffs and playing at the highest level, it’s part of it.”
The Heat made several clear adjustments in Game 2 to bounce back from a Game 1 rout, including increasing their 3-point volume and switching more in their own defensive matchups against Boston. As the series turns to Miami, Tatum called on his own team to fight back with some changes of their own amid a lackluster offensive shooting.
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“I think we’ve gotta be more creative,” Tatum said. “The playoffs are about making adjustments game to game, and they did that. They’re not just going to let us catch the ball, they’re not just going to let us throw it to KP easy. They’re supposed to try to mess things a little up, and make it a little bit tougher. So it’s our job to react in real time, as well as make our adjustments going from game to game.”
Jaylen Brown also had high praise for Miami’s moves after the loss as Boston was punished all night for their willingness to let Miami fire at will.
“I think they’re well-coached,” Brown said. “I think that’s a credit to the coaching staff and organization. They put together a good game plan for them, and they feel confident and they come out and execute. I think that’s what they do. Tonight was an example of that. I just thought they made a lot of shots that we normally feel comfortable with. But it’s the playoffs. It is what it is. We gotta adjust and we gotta play ball, so you gotta respond.”
In contrast to Tatum and Brown, Jrue Holiday does not want his team to overreact to a historic shooting night by Miami. Boston had won four straight games against the Heat this season before Wednesday’s loss.
“I think we stay solid,” Holiday said. “I think we stick to the game plan, whatever the game plan is for next time, for next game. We know that they’re going to be at home so they have a little more juice, but I don’t think we react at all. I think we stay as even-keeled as possible.”
The Celtics get two full days to rest and debate any potential moves before a Game 3 showdown in South Beach on Saturday night.
