The Boston Celtics 88-80 victory over the Miami Heat on opening night was a case of a team beating a collection of individuals.
Whereas the Celtics are familiar with five-man offensive principals, the Heat simply are not.
Boston runs offensive sets involving all five players contributing meaningful action on each play, while against the Celtics, Miami often ran simple isolations or high screen/rolls with little movement elsewhere.
Boston frequently runs weak-side action for profit, while the most weak-side action the Heat would run would be simple wing brush screens for Eddie House when Dwyane Wade or LeBron James would operate at the top.
Boston frequently zipped the basketball along—25 assists to 32 made baskets—while the Heat had the ball stick way too often—15 assists to 27 made hoops.
Boston’s core has played together for so long that naturally, the Celtics would be better at anticipating each other’s cuts and movements—though the Celtics did suffer from miscommunications. Miami, however, looked comprised of assorted streetballers selected for a pickup game.
Boston frequently reversed the ball, while the Heat were content to ...
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Article written by Erick Blasco
Heat-Celtics Breakdown: Celtics Team Play Ices Heat’s Collection of Individuals
October 29th, 2010 by Erick Blasco Leave a reply »
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