The Boston Celtics are giving fans a reason to be encouraged as the playoffs approach with a 112-102 victory over the Miami Heat Wednesday night.
Don’t let the Boston Celtics fool you. The No. 4 seed and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs is important.
Tied with the Indiana Pacers entering Wednesday night’s game with the Miami Heat, the Celtics needed to keep pace with their first-round opponent. Down both Jaylen Brown and Marcus Morris along with playing against a desperate, hungry Heat team battling for a playoff spot, it did seem like a pretty good spot for the Celtics to drop a game.
That has actually been the trend of this year’s up-and-down squad who tend to play with a lack of urgency against lesser opponents.
That wasn’t the case on the back end of a home-and-home series with the Heat. Behind Gordon Hayward and his 25-point effort, the Celtics found a way to solve Miami zone defense in route to a 112-102 win over the Heat.
Most importantly, the team did it led by their three veteran stars. Kyrie Irving added 23 points and the suddenly resurgent Al Horford contributed 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
In a tight battle for most of the night, it was very encouraging to see the Boston Celtics not fold when the Heat went on runs. They answered with timely shooting and timely defense in a playoff-type atmosphere against a team fighting for their playoff lives.
At 47-32, this is not the position fans or even the team themselves expected to find themselves in, however, the team is showing signs of encouragement which may just spark a deep playoff run.
Following the 112-102 victory against the Heat, here are three of those signs of encouragement.
The front-court duo
When both Aron Baynes and Al Horford are on the floor and healthy, the Boston Celtics are a tough team to beat period.
In Wednesday night’s game, Horford filled up the stats line once again and Baynes added a double-double as both big men continue to prove that they are keys to the team’s playoff success.
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With the defensive presence Baynes provide combined with the versatility of Horford, the duo once again displayed Wednesday night against the Heat that their chemistry when both are on the court makes the Celtics a tougher and more physical team overall.
"“Defensively, they clog the paint and that’s what we need,” Kyrie Irving said following the team’s victory against Indiana last Wednesday night. “We need basket protection and the do a great job of that. They have great chemistry as a four and five, so it works for us.”"
While Heat big man Hassan Whiteside did do some damage in the paint with 18 points and 15 rebounds, Al Horford and Aron Baynes as a duo outweighed that production with a combined 31 points and 18 rebounds.
That type of production and physicality will go a long way in the playoffs. When both are healthy, the Boston Celtics are simply a better team defensively and when Horford is allowed to play the four, the team is also better offensively when it comes to ball movement.
Hayward has arrived
Patience means everything when it comes to Gordon Hayward.
Coming off a horrific lower leg injury, the Boston Celtics star has teased fans with a few All-Star caliber performances throughout the season but following his 25-point output against the Miami Heat, there is a feeling that Hayward is finally ready to produce for this team on a consistent level.
The timing is perfect as was his timing on Wednesday night. To go along with his eight rebounds and five assists off the bench, Hayward showed extreme aggressiveness offensively in leading the Celtics to victory.
With 3:56 left in the game, Gordon Hayward hit the shot of the game that led the team to running away with the game in the final minutes. Those types of shots are definitely confidence builders. Also, when Hayward is aggressive in looking for his shot like in Wednesday night’s game, the Celtics are a better team.
"“We’re best when he’s looking for his shot,” Kyrie Irving said, as transcribed by Celtics.com. “He’s a great facilitator, but we need ‘G’ to score. I told him that, and I’m going to keep telling him to stay aggressive, be himself, and really be the 20-point scorer that he was (before the injury).”"
The Boston Celtics happen to be 5-0 when Gordon Hayward scores over 20 points in a game. It is worth noting, however, that those games typically happen when either Kyrie Irving or Jaylen Brown are not playing.
Kyrie and Stevens bond growing
The biggest encouragement came after the game when Kyrie Irving made the following statement about his relationship with Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens, via MassLive:
"“Our relationship has just grown tremendously just in terms of our communication, what he likes and what I like, but ultimately what’s best for our team and how to get the most out of guys. So its made my job a lot easier going to the sideline knowing we’re on the same page. It makes it easier to just go out there and play free and really do my job of leading this team.”"
Following a 23-point performance, a more jovial Irving referenced his relationship and admiration with the coach in talking about the differences between Stevens and the other four head coaches he has had.
The positive tone was nice to hear in that there seemed to be some disconnect between the two during times when the team was struggling.
As great and important as it is to have Gordon Hayward playing more aggressively and Al Horford filling up the stat sheet, it is probably more important to have Brad Stevens and Kyrie Irving on the same page and respecting each other’s value in leading this team to where it desires to be…in the NBA Finals.