Boston Celtics: 3 thoughts on a gritty win over the Miami Heat

Just a few days ago, things seemed quite bleak for the Boston Celtics. Fresh off blowing a 14 point lead in the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bulls, the team was set to head on a quick road trip that saw them playing three games in a span of four days. With games against the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, and Dallas Mavericks, things certainly were not looking good for Boston.

Yet two games into the trip, the C’s have made a remarkable turnaround, and on a back-to-back nonetheless. After an impressive outing against the Magic in which they held them to just 79 points, they managed to one up themselves last night against the Heat by holding them to 78 points.

Of the two, the victory over the Heat obviously is more impressive. The Heat came out of the gate, well, hot to say the least, and had a 6-1 record coming into the game. Their last five victories all came by 13 points or more, as they were just dominating teams from start to finish.

Even with a relatively poor offensive showing, Boston managed to limit Miami’s scoring output, and picked up a key victory early on in the season. While not every issue this team has is now fixed, it’s clear a lot of progress has been made in quite a short amount of time. Here are three initial thoughts on their beatdown of the Heat, starting with a key development from the coaching staff.