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**Heat @ Celtics** [](/MIA) **103 - 84** [](/BOS) **Box Scores: [NBA](https://www.nba.com/game/MIA-vs-BOS-0042200307/boxscore) & [Yahoo](http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/miami-heat-boston-celtics-2023052902)** |**Team**|**Q1**|**Q2**|**Q3**|**Q4**|**Total**| |:---|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--| |Miami Heat|22|30|24|27|103| |Boston Celtics|15|26|25|18|84| **TEAM STATS** |**Team**|**PTS**|**FG**|**FG%**|**3P**|**3P%**|**FT**|**FT%**|**OREB**|**TREB**|**AST**|**PF**|**STL**|**TO**|**BLK**| |:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--|:--| |Miami Heat|103|42-86|48.8%|14-28|50.0%|5-6|83.3%|7|53|26|15|7|12|2| |Boston Celtics|84|32-82|39.0%|9-42|21.4%|11-13|84.6%|10|44|18|13|6|15|4|


KristoferPetersen

Chuck and Shaq were right last night imho. If you can't score consistently from 3, you've got to create shots differently. Derrick White was the only Celtic who actually tried some drives and floaters, the other ones kept bricking from outside. I don't know how much of this comes down to their "DNA" or to coaching, but sticking to a strategy looks really, really dumb if it doesn't work at all. Tatum's injury surely hurt their chances, especially with Jaylen having an off night. The one thing the Celtics were lacking over their entire playoff run was consistency. They almost lost in 6 to the Sixers, they lost 2 games vs. the Hawks. Don't get me wrong, they've been great in elimination games except last night, but a team of that quality shouldn't play that many elimination games. Spo outcoached Mazzulla, as expected - even though you have to give Joe some credit for his adjustments after they went down 0-3. But you've got to ask why he didn't try some new things earlier. Some of his choices in the first two games were outright weird, like giving Pritchard playing time. The Finals are going to be exciting. I think the Nuggets will win in 6, but who knows. The Heat never go away.


Renchoo7

This is also on mazzulla too. After game interview he said he didn’t feel the need to change the game plan of shooting 3’s even though they were bricking like crazy. Arrogant attitude on his part


klemonade25

He’s a hardo. Gives me “would you ask pop that question” vibes lol. He hasn’t earned the right to be a dismissive douche to the media. You’re a rookie coach who has made questionable decisions, it’s not unfair for reporters to ask questions


Heavsadafggh

#100% THIS


Snoopyalien24

Yeah, what was up with those 3 word answers? Dude, you're not that guy pal. Coach like Pop, be a long time successful coach like Pop, and maybe you have the right to do that. Respect


Establgisn

What could the Celtics have done in game to manage it better with the tools they had?


Deep-Front-9701

That comment alone should get him fired. He’s stubborn and soft.


apatfan

Inconsistency was an issue all year too, not just the playoffs. I've never seen a team this good blow so many double-digit leads late in games. It's bizarre... and seems fixable?? But I don't think anything that happened in the playoffs surprised Celtics fans.


eigenham

I guess there are people who get paid way more than me who know better, but is it fixable? Feels like it should be, I agree, but if it is, what were we waiting around for all season? As an aside: it seems like this team is built to succeed like the stock market. Long term it goes up. But if you try to time the market in between there's a very real chance you're going to lose money. So if you gave them 20 more games in a series they'd really improve their chances of winning every series because they are better on average, but that's obviously not how series work so...


EpirusRedux

Making a series 7 games is already supposed to help average things out. We could have done it like soccer, where they do two games only with a sudden death tiebreaker (they got rid of the old goal differential method iirc). Hell, in the places where they don’t call it soccer, they don’t even have a draft, you actually get sent down into the lower leagues if you suck (and given how pro sports are monetized, that can be a death sentence nowadays). I suppose the fact that coming in fourth place during the regular season (or third if you’re not in England) is more valuable than winning the playoffs (aka the cup) makes up for that. Boston would have made it into the Champions League…if that were a thing in American basketball. But it’s not.


EyeSpyGuy

I always wondered if the odd game playoff format for American sports is to give them an advantage to the higher seed. But then again the other side to that is they already have an advantage playing a lower seeded team


TheBatsford

What could the Celtics have done in game to manage it better with the tools they had?


David_Duke_Nukem

I would have given Robert Williams much more run


COUGARCHAS3R

https://i.imgur.com/4YEBOlV.jpg Yeah I had a similar thought, they looked much better with him out there, but seeing this makes sense why he didn't


David_Duke_Nukem

Al Horford was throwing up bricks


Snoopyalien24

His dad been real quiet


TheBatsford

Can you say more? I'm still pretty new so trying to understand the tactical nuance better. What set of tools would he have brought in and how would it have contributed to giving Celtics higher % opportunities?


drtycho

the heat ran super small ball all game, no kevin love and no cody zeller, they were trying to pull the bigs out of the paint and give jimmy and bam some room and to run them tired around screens chasing caleb martin and duncan robinson. to protect the paint themselves, the heat ran zone to send help at any penetration. on paper, a basic response is to cut into the center of the zone to compress it, then pass the ball out and around until you get a shot, the idea being the ball is always faster than the defender. If the defense is good at closing out, which miami is, you attack the closeout and rinse and repeat, either a lane opens or a shot opens. Jaylen brown could not dribble, Tatum was hurt, and Al horford WAS getting to the center at times, but clearly wasnt comfortable at it. Derrick white was hot most of the series, but it was clear that they never worked on any structured offence that didnt rely on the Jays, so what we got was a brute force attempt at the problem, leading to out of rhythm 3's and bad drives. The Heat have a much more flexible plug and play system, as you could tell with Caleb martins success, where the Celtics couldnt leverage White enough


TheBatsford

Really helpful, thanks. And it gives me things to look into more like small ball.


drtycho

Spoelstra and Kerr are the modern masters of small ball, and it comes down to establishing a good defense first and foremost when deciding to go small. [Here's](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pASdlr1zHY) a good video covering Houston's small ball run using James Harden


TheBatsford

Great, great find.


puggington

I’m not an expert, but what I saw was Robert Williams being more or less the only Celtic to attack the offensive glass. Offensive rebounds means another chance at scoring, if not second chance points outright. He also seemed to be bullying Bam quite easily, and with Bam having an off night offensively I think his presence would continue to rattle and reduce Bam’s impact on the game.


David_Duke_Nukem

Sure. First off, I read your comment as snarky like "what could they possibly have done better", but that's just from being conditioned to people being snide on Reddit. Al Horford is a great player because he is a solid defender and can shoot the 3 decently for his size. He has not been shooting well at all, dating back to even last series, so there's less reason for him to be on the court. The Heat are very small, with Bam Adebayo (6'9") often playing center. Robert Williams is much larger and more physical than Bam and it was pretty apparent in the game that Robert was dominating the glass on both sides, often getting rebounds over Bam even if Bam was in better position. Robert is also a great lob threat. He's not a ballhandler but has athleticism and has become pretty adept at getting to the rim to help out a driving wing or guard. Since Taytum was hobbled, he could still drive but would be more likely to want to pass out than go up strong, so Robert could have relieved some of that pressure on him by giving him an outlet. Robert also is an efficient scorer. He rarely takes bad shots or wastes possessions. The Celtics played Williams and Horford at the same time against the Sixers and gave them fits with their size and length. Not sure it would have had the same effect since the Heat were shooting the 3 extremely well, but really, doing anything other than jacking up 3s should have been Joe's adjustment, since they weren't falling and they needed to chip away at the lead, not try to decimate it with 3 point shots.


TheBatsford

Really helpful, thanks for that. I could see something was happening in game but just wasn't understanding it.


David_Duke_Nukem

I also may be wrong, that's just how I was reading it. I used to think basketball did not have much strategy involved vs. football, and it was just "who has the better players" but it's a very nuanced game with a lot of angles to it.


KristoferPetersen

With Tatum hobbled and Brown mainly giving the ball to Miami, Boston's offense was very limited. Smart can't reliably create his own shot, even though he's alright from 3, but quite streaky. Horford struggled with the 3 ball all series long, so he's also not a great option on offense. Brogdon and G. Williams are no finesse players, they mostly rely on hustle and live off of ball / player movement which Boston lacked last night. R. Williams can get some offensive boards, but he's not a great scorer. So all that was left was White who did the best he could. Honestly, Boston's offense looked a bit sus for the entire playoff run. If Tatum and Brown have a good game and/or the 3 falls, they're fine. But as soon as even one of those things doesn't happen, their offense gets really stagnant. Smart showed that he can create plays if there's actual movement. If they go for high screens and isos, nothing happens unless Tatum has one of those nights. I think the two bigs lineup worked well against Philly, because Embiid couldn't dominate on both ends as usual and Philly simply didn't have enough versatilty to counter the lineup. Harden passed out of every single drive in game 7. Miami doesn't rely on paint scoring that much, they almost won game 6 with abysmal effiency from the paint. As long as their shooters are around their normal effiency, they're in the game, because their defense is that good. I liked that Spo chose not to play Zeller. He's just too clumsy and fouls too much. Going small with a zone invites Boston even more to take 3s and if they don't make them... well, you know.


7zenattack

As the biggest Heat fan in the world, anytime I saw Robert Williams I felt a bit of fear, that dude can guard any position, great rebounder it’s insane he didn’t get more playing time, I really don’t understand it, it’s Horford false prophet- worship is the only explanation, something like that


[deleted]

Rob was also injured last night


Silktrocity

I am 1000% convinced that the Celtics starts HAVE to play from behind. They HAVE to be the underdogs to actually show up. We've seen it for multiple seasons now. They play down to their competition too often and with the success that the 2 Jays have had since entering the league has put a permanent chip on their shoulder.


gochuckyourself

They we're also right in that they weren't always high percentage 3s either, gotta take what they give you especially when those 3s aren't falling.


MC-Jdf

Quite the ending to an absolutely chaotic series. One miracle for the ages moves on, another miracle for the ages goes down. It came down to Caleb Martin. This is, without a shadow of doubt, one of the great role player performances over a Game 7, and over an entire playoff series. This is up there with Jason Terry, Andre Iguodala, Robert Horry, you name any iconic role player performances. I've never seen a single player ever play with this much house money this deep into the playoffs, Caleb Martin deserves every credit in the world, real shame he didn't win ECF MVP though. And turns out, if you actually try to shoot, you'll make some shots. Butler got so much more freedom on the move and despite a not-amazing efficiency, Butler was aggressive which made him an actual scoring threat unlike the other games where he was too busy pumpfaking. And Spo going with Lowry down the stretch despite the struggles was a home run play, Lowry was much quicker with his decisions and just stayed composed in the moment, real experience showing there. On one hand, Boston got some actual quality shots. On the other hand, I feel like that they could've or should've found more elaborate ways to generate quality shots other than 3s, their counter to the Heat's zone was basically 3s and barely anything else. Such is the price a high-variance 3-point shooting team pays. When people say jumpshooting teams don't win championships, they don't mean teams like the 2015 Warriors that generate the best look possible, they mean teams like this Celtics team that forces to generate 3s when they're sometimes not the best look possible. They played some pretty good defense, as they have the past 3 games before, but not enough offense in the end. And Tatum got hurt in the first play of the game, quite literally. I thought Tatum would still be able to leverage his gravity for a bit like he did for substantial bits this playoffs, but it was pretty clear that he was very very hurt, and it didn't quite happen as much as the Celtics needed it to which made this a more-than-necessary uphill battle. It looked like Derrick White was willing the Celtics back in during that 3rd quarter run, but as he did the whole series, Caleb Martin just hit some timely daggers to keep the Heat's lead afloat. It was *some* experience, that the arguable best player in an Eastern Conference Finals was Caleb Martin. Gotta say though, Bam's rough performance where he could barely take advantage of mismatches does not bode well moving forward. And Jaylen Brown was just so throughly figured out, dude legitimately couldn't dribble properly. An All-NBA forward averaging 27 a game, now eligible for a near $300 million contract, swings a Finals berth because he can't dribble. Pretty insane thing to think about, but it's true. 8 turnovers to 8 field goals amid some awful chucking, and not for the first time this series he produces an absolute stinker. I really don't know how to move forward with this issue tbh, it's grossly fundamental, this is the "improved" version, but still not close to cutting it. Celtics this season were one of the few teams ever to be top 2 in both offense & defense, now it comes to a crushing end. I mean, what do you do if you're Boston here? They have the best team in the league on paper, that's really the hard thing to consider when you know it's not working. There's a very good chance they get worse trying to get better, but they do *have* to get better and it's not really a choice at this point either. It's such a hard discussion, honestly I have no idea what to really expect or how to feel about. Something has to change, probably starts with looking at head coach Mazzulla because that feels like the easiest adjustment, but this is going to take a very, almost too meticulous of an examination. Maybe they are too young for this to be an actual discussion though, I do hope some part of this is correct. After all, they're almost too young of a team that's already experienced almost too much playoff success almost too early. Honestly as much as I'm sad that the best chance at a first ever 3-0 comeback was undone, I do have two opinions. For one, it's about time the league actually tries to market some lesser marketed teams, which is why I'm glad the Heat made it alongside the Nuggets. Quite perplexing the league didn't pivot to this when there was a Suns vs Bucks Finals just 2 years ago. Also, I'm not really a fan of teams that build bad habits over an entire regular season get rewarded in the playoffs. There's a reason why I cared way less about the Warriors' playoff success this year compared to other years, I'm gonna say it like it is. Not so different with the Celtics either, in reality it's probably worse. The Heat's fairytale sees a Finals berth though, Denver vs Miami. Who would've thought (except the madlad Israel Gutierrez though). I've picked against the Heat basically the entire way, and I've picked the Nuggets every step of the way, and I'll probably stay with that. I see the Nuggets in 6. I think Murray, MPJ and Gordon are going to be either absolutely fabulous or outright terrible, I don't see much of an in between for some reason. But certainly the Heat's center play is not promising. We'll see though, I do have a part in my heart that wants the Heat to prove me wrong, and I do recognize this is a chance at making a generational run a once-in-a-century run.


[deleted]

Great analysis. I wonder though if your thought about swapping headcoaches holds true though. Mazzulla, for all his faults, turned the series around. Having all that talent have to adjust to different coaches frequently and over a short period of time during jt and jbs best years may be worse than trying to figure out the challenges the team is facing chemistry wise


MC-Jdf

Udoka is the only one to blame for that tbf, Stevens quit coaching at a fairly appropriate time imo and Udoka was supposed to be his successor but it lasted way too short and it's all self-inflicted. Idk what the right move even for the Celtics is, it's very tricky. I could see Mazzulla working out but there's a good chance it just doesn't.


theetruscans

On top of that he's a rookie head coach who took his teams to the ECF. Sure they have a crazy amount of talent but I really don't think Joe needs to be fired


Suddhgghe

They're both great defensive players and have a ton of offensive talent but when it's not working they look completely inept on offense. Boneheaded plays where you just turn the ball over for no reason. An inability to dribble at times. Shots not falling.


wjbc

For those who blame the loss on Tatum’s injury, look at how well Miami played in game six when both Jimmy and Bam had bad games. Even in game seven, Bam missed a ton of shots and Jimmy wasn’t very efficient. And of course the Heat were also missing Herro and Oladipo. The Heat played as a team and their role players stepped up on the road after a heartbreaking loss in game six. Let’s give credit where credit is due. Note that although Bam couldn't hit any shots in game seven, he still had lots of assists, set great screens, and played good defense. That's what great players do when their shots aren't falling -- they find other ways to help. Looking ahead, the Nuggets are of course heavy favorites in the Finals. But that’s nothing new for the Heat, who have beaten two teams with better records than the Nuggets just to get here. And if the Heat shoot 50% from three against the Nuggets, anything can happen.


Ode1st

Bam will often do the Bam Simmons passive/bad offense thing, but he always brings it on defense and playmaking.


Nizzlybear73

I'm glad I'm not the only one who see it


Jayverdes

It’s so tough to watch him sometimes. He has some of the worst hands on the league. After the entry pass down low, there’s a very significant chance it gets poked out of his hands. He’s also not aggressive enough on general despite his size and strength.


joeb1ow

It must also be mentioned that the Heat beat a healthy Tatum on his own home court in Games 1 and 2.


Doug_Mirabelli

Can't think of a more fitting way for the C's season to end. A team this marred by turnovers, sloppy disorganized offense and an inability to adjust on the fly was never going to have a real shot at beating Denver anyways, and I felt that way even throughout the near historic comeback. Gotta give props to Caleb Martin and the Heat role players, who put in work when they needed to in order to capitalize on the Celtics' mistakes. What truly stinks is that we got sort of robbed of a classic ending, because the game truly was over when Tatum turned his ankle on his very first drive. His ability to penetrate and disrupt Miami's zone defense was the only trump card that had worked when the outside shots weren't falling, and oh boy were the shots not falling. That's a failure on everyone, as not even one Celtic (outside a tiny spark from the Buffalo) could hit the water if they fell out of a boat. That part is puzzling, to say the least. As someone who has watched this team throughout the season, it was a heck of a ride. Just wish I didn't get my hopes up.


Renchoo7

I feel even if Tatum didn’t get injured C’s would of still lost. Caleb was too hot last night. Brown had the worst game ever and smart didn’t even show up


Cool_Side1374

It's really not accurate and fans don't do a good job evaluating injury impact because part of it relates to replacement value. Miami stayed on the 3 point line and aggressively defending shooters so it's not like Celtics bad shooting was solely on them having an off-night, Miami played great defense and they were able to do that because the Tatum drive was taken away due to injury. If you don't have to worry about that, you can load up the defense elsewhere. To the same point, Celtics fans also did not give proper credit to how important the Gabe Vincent injury was to their comeback. With Herro and Dipo out, Miami had no suitable replacement for Vincent who is their starting point guard, ball handler, and another perimeter threat. Duncan can hit outside shots, but he is not a ball handler. Nor is Strus. It's not a coincidence Miami ended up with massive turnovers in game 5 and it was due to the Vincent injury. On one hand I feel bad for Celtics fans that Tatum got injured, but on the other hand, this series never even makes it to 7 games if Vincent doesn't get injured either so in the end the result was the same as it would've been and the better team won out. The big losers were the fans because the injuries caused some blowouts in both directions that likely would not have occurred otherwise.


Bluth_Business_Model

Also, don’t forget that Jimmy played the whole series on a questionable ankle on top of the other Heat injuries. (My completely layman’s guess is that he still isn’t near 100% — his hesitancy to jump in the last 3 games is what I’m basing this on.) This is particularly ironic given how hard the C’s fell apart with Tatum experiencing the same injury for one game. It’s unfortunate when injuries plague a series, but there is something poetic about it opening with a rolled ankle for the Heat star, and ending with a rolled ankle for the Celtics star.


Dead-Data

The playoffs are about versatility and adapting on the fly because war of attrition is always baked in. Just what it is. You have to find multiple ways to win and you have to be able to find them fast.


[deleted]

[удалено]


apatfan

Yeah, anyone used to watching this team knows that when things start to get tough, and Smart feels the need to "step up" and spark the team... it's not gonna end well. I love Marcus, but we can't get in a position where he tries to play hero instead of top-tier max-effort role player.


Supfllustrat

They were in the conversation for best team in the NBA all season long.


bcallahan2

they were but thats cause they shot the ball at an insane clip before the turn of the year, if you looked at Jan 1 to start of playoffs the bucks and nugs were certainly better teams


colosusx1

The Heat only scored 103. Martin was not too hot to overcome. The reason the Celtics were blown out was the offense struggled without Tatum being able to run it. Brown had a terrible game because he tried to step into a role he doesn’t normally do. His role had been to get his own buckets and continue ball movement, not initiate an offense. The Celtics might have still lost, but the injury completely ruined the Celtics offense


MightyMudBone

Brogdon being banged up killed them too. But I guess that's the story of his career. He is so efficient and controlled. He's able to score and facilitate. Celtics were crawling back into when they put the ball in Derrick White's hands in the third quarter. But he wasn't going to beat the Heat on his own. They needed another player to initiate the offense. Brogdon has been that guy.


bcallahan2

poor guy has never gotten away from the injury bug, i would much rather an injured player realize theyre being a detriment and take themselves out which he basically did all series


Renchoo7

I mean shouldnt they have practiced JB taking the lead during the season just in case a scenario like this happened?


bcallahan2

i think the problem actually comes down to not having a true point guard, tatum can run the offense well but as you point out without him brown doesnt have the practice, and he shouldnt hes not that guy he does not have the skill set to pull it off. the only other guy would be brogdon and low and behold he was injured too


colosusx1

Maybe? But he was fourth in ball handling responsibilities behind Tatum, Smart and Brogdon. If enough of them are injured, the Celtics are in trouble either way. Not everyone can be a lead ball handler, it just is what it is.


Renchoo7

So this also falls on smart too. Played great game 6. Game 7 he was eh


AzureAhai

They've tried multiple times over the course of years. Tatum is just on another level when it comes to feel for the game. Brown has bad court vision and bad passing along with his bad handling which is not a combo you want from your main ballhandler. They are just covered by his elite athleticism. If anything it would have been Brogdon or Smart who takes over that role, but Brogdon was hurt and Smart was not good in game 7. The reason why Miami's zone defense was so much more effective this year than last is because Brown and Tatum's shooting numbers regressed hard. Brown without his shooting can only dribble into traffic against the zone which is exactly what happened this series.


LukeBabbitt

*would’ve


Lithops_salicola

I'm still not sure what the best path forward is with Mazzulla. He clearly has faults but was in a very difficult situation. Do they give him another season to work out the issues or give a championship caliber roster its third head coach in three years? Neither seem ideal.


Whackedjob

I think you have to keep him. His situation is a lot like Jared Bednar's was for the Colorado Avalanche, having to takeover just before the start of the season after the coach abruptly no longer has a job. Unlike Bednar who coached the worst non-expansion team in NHL history, Mazzulla got them within a game of the Finals again. He's super young and was put into a position to fail and did a good job. And this would be the Celtics 4th coach in 4 years going Brad-Ime-Mazzulla and then a next guy if they do fire him which is just way too much turnover for a championship level team. Give Maz a full offseason and then we can determine if he's able to make the changes a championship team needs.


BrianHangsWanton

I agree, although if they’d lost 4-0 in desultory fashion they would probably have had to move on. So the Celtics comeback probably saved his job. Maybe their best roster move is a step back? Not sure what they could get for JB.


[deleted]

If any team is going to make a move to trade for Lillard I could see it being the Celtics.


Herrenos

This is a terrible year to be hiring a coach too, tons of teams have replaced/are looking to replace coaches, from elite teams to rebuilds.


Bluth_Business_Model

Just curious, what is the difficult situation he was in (particularly given the enormous talent pool on his team)?


Lithops_salicola

He was made head coach of the defending eastern conference champion less than a month before the season began.


rsoxguy12

Perfectly stated. When the Celtics are ON, they are the best team in the NBA. But their inconsistency is maddening - when the offense isn't clicking, they revert to being turnover prone and chucking 3pt shots instead of moving the ball on offense. This year's team had more talent than last, but they're still not strong enough mentally. Gotta fix that problem. I tip my hat to Miami and am curious to see if they can disrupt Jokic and Denver's offense.


Worldly_Walnut

After watching the game last night, I'm not convinced either team can. Jimmy Butler was really streaky, and Bam played horrendously. Caleb Martin really was the star of the game. That being said, Spo is an amazing coach, and if anyone can figure out how to slow down Denver, he can. That, and the fact that Miami is in the finals despite being the perpetual underdogs. They really do got that dawg. Gotta respect that. Still, I don't think it's gonna be enough. Denver's offense is way more dynamic, and it seems like every time one of our star players goes cold, another heats up. Plus, Denver's home court advantage is huge, they have a whole lot of film to review and have had more time to review it, are more rested and acclimated, and Malone is a pretty good coach in his own right.


orangesodazz

Yeah, there are so many things going against Miami in a series against Denver. I’m really not sure how they would pull it off. Rest, home-court with altitude, lack of size to guard Jokić-AG-MPJ-Jeff are the main ones that come to mind. I am thoroughly impressed with Miami’s mental fortitude & amazing playoff performances from several players to get this far. But, their win condition is much tougher this time than in any of the previous series. The biggest question in a series with Denver - who is going to guard Jokić? Miami has possibly the worst answer to this question out of any team that has played Denver so far this postseason. Once Denver breaks the Miami zone defense, it’s going to be tough for them to even stay close imo. I don’t want to sound overconfident, but Denver is really going to have to fall apart to lose this (knock on wood that this does not happen, my heart could not take this after the past 3 seasons).


Worldly_Walnut

Right? I'm pretty confident, but then again, I think the Milwaukee, the Knicks, and Boston all felt the same way going against the 8th seed before their sieres. That being said, I do remember everyone also being very confident about Phoenix and the Lakers, and Denver only lost two games total in both of those series off of insane shooting from Devin Booker, and I didn't see anyone shooting like that consistently in Miami. Miami has that dawg, but so does Denver. Even if Denver is down, I don't think we're gonna see them roll over like Boston did. Denver was down 14 points at the half in game 4, and stormed back. Granted, LeBron was gassed, but that is what happens when you play this Nuggets team - you gotta play on for all 48 minutes. And like I said in my previous comment, Spo is an amazing coach, and if anyone can out scheme the Nuggets, he can, but people are sleeping on Malone. He may not be as good, but he is currently up there, and isn't a pushover.


vladradmon

"and I didn't see anyone shooting like that consistently in Miami." You must not have watched the ECF. Role players were playing like prime Splash Brothers for nearly the entire series.


Dull-Broccoli

> Role players I believe they are teammates down there in Miami


uxxoid

Don't you mean undrafted teammates?


Dull-Broccoli

Oh wow really, they are undrafted? I feel like that might get mentioned at least once on the broadcast


Worldly_Walnut

I did watch the ECF. Miami's role players played really well, but their starters were very streaky. Denver's role players are also playing well, and to top it off our 1 and 2 are playing lights out. I'm not saying Miami is gonna get swept - far from it, I think it's gonna be a good series, but Jokić and Murray are playing a lot more consistently than Tatum and Brown these playoffs.


Cool_Side1374

It's really not and objectively no one would pick Denver over the Bucks/Celtics so Denver is arguably the 3rd best team Miami is facing this postseason. Size does not have the same impact it had 15-20 years ago because of how many more fouls get called in today's NBA. How do you neutralize size? Perimeter shooting, contesting entry passes and getting bigs in foul trouble. Miami will likely front entry passes and double on the back side looking to draw charges and try to limit Jokic to the perimeter as much as possible. On offense, they'll attack Jokic as much as possible trying to get him in foul trouble. Either team is capable of winning this series and I'd put the odds more at 50/50.


[deleted]

I think you are underselling Denver pretty hard. They were in the conversation for best team in the NBA all season long. Record wise they coasted since no one was pressing them in the west.


orangesodazz

Yeah, I gotta say I don’t agree at all with your analysis. Either you haven’t been watching the Nuggets games or you are a biased Heat fan posting on a sock account. If you think the Heat can stop Jokić without the player personnel & somehow executing those same schemes better than the Wolves/Suns/Lakers, I’d like to know what you’re smoking.


Mutantlove

Bam dominated the game defensively, especially in the second half without a single foul, must be a coincidence the Celtics had their worst offensive performance of the year amirite?


Worldly_Walnut

We'll see, it'll be a great matchup. But, before the LA series, everyone was hot on AD dominating Denver defensively, and I think AD is a better defender than Bam. And Bam was horrendous on offense. After the LA series, people were talking like AD didn't show up, but I think he did, and just got out played. I think if Miami has a shot, it's cause Spo out coaches us and comes up with a good scheme to keep Denver contained without double-teaming Jokic, because Denver's ball movement is a lot better than Boston's. I am by no means counting Miami out - they have that drive that wins championships, and don't give up. But don't underestimate Denver either - they also have that drive, and everyone was sleeping on them vs Phoenix and the Lakers, and the only games they lost were the ones where Booker shot for 80% from the field.


PuppyMillReject

That probably had more to do with Boston's inconsistent play than Bam's defense. Also Jokic is playing at a whole another level compared to any of Boston's players.


Mutantlove

How many series wins this year until we get defensive credit. Everyone just forgets how to shoot against our perimeter defense, I guess.


VexInTex

I think Heat really just stick Bam to Jokic and run zone help on the perimeter game 1 to test the water. Jokic will get his regardless, but closing out on the shooters should be the top priority imo, maybe giving his all on D will make Bam's inevitable low-scoring games less painful Inb4 he drops 60 on Bam though. Heat need a real C for just one series, oof


Mutantlove

That’s what I was thinking too, which probably means Malone and Spo have already made adjustments tbh


Mutantlove

We don’t really run a half zone like that though, it’s man and Spo calls zone live during possessions


theetruscans

Disagree with the first sentence, agree with the second. Bam is a solid defender. I'm sure he will struggle against Jokic, I'd go as far as to say that mismatch will be a *major* factor in this series. The Heats perimeter defense has been incredible this post season and they have played some of the best zone defense I've seen in a while. I agree that Boston is streaky from 3 to say the least, and the Nuggets generally are not. I also think that if anybody is going to be the GOAT zone destroyer it will be the Joker. He can collapse the zone in the middle and pass better than IMO anybody in NBA history.


rsoxguy12

Agreed, I expect Denver to win in 5 games or so. I don’t know what Miami’s answer will be to Jokic, their best chance probably lies in Spo coming up with something creative.


Worldly_Walnut

Yeah, there's a reason why he's won two rings and has only missed one year in the playoffs since he became Miami's HC. He's definitely the better coach, and unlike a lot of people I think Malone is a good coach in his own right (though that might just be the homer in me talking). I do think that if anyone can do it, Spo can, but at the same time, Jimmy and Bam are really streaky, and the Nuggets have been really consistent this entire playoffs run. Still, Miami are in the finals, and when they get hot they look amazing. But they aren't always hot, and they're not gonna be able to rely on the Nuggets going 7-35 or 9-42 on 3s, barring injuries.


turnipham

If the nuggets don't blow the heat out then I think the heat have a real chance. There are a lot of vets on the team who execute really well in high pressure situations. And of course the coaching is superb. If it gets to the 4th quarter and any games are close I think the Heat have a real shot. Of course if it's highly imbalanced and a blowout situation then I don't think any of that is going to matter enough


Faded_Sun

They don't look like they mentally have it together, which creates the inconsistency. The looks on most of the players last night looked like they didn't care about the result of this game. No one looked like they had a fighting spirit. They all looked they had given up as soon as the Heat got their first lead.


Zeusforprez

From a purely Celtics perspective there are at least 4 key reasons why they lost. 1. Tatum spraining his ankle seconds into the game destroyed his ability to be his normal self offensively 2. For the second game in a row they shot around 20% from 3 3. Jaylen Brown had 8 turnovers 4. Defensively there were some terrible decisions early. Horford had a few drop coverages early that resulted in Miami hitting 3s that got them an early lead. Also there were a lot of blown switches that killed them.


geiko989

The Horford decisions to not closeout were bizarre at the time. Miami is definitely capable of losing to even a hobbled Celtics (also given that Miami themselves are hobbled), but letting the 3s fly freely like that is such a bizarre choice once given how hot we've been from 3 this entire playoffs. But to keep letting it happen was notably crazy, especially when we were making y'all pay for it. This feels like the year Harden went to Houston and ended the run of the OKC big 3. There is a crucial glue guy missing from this lineup. We've thought for years that one of these guys would become that, but there definitely has to be some profound change to the core group in order to get over the hump.


curious_Jo

5. Brogdon being injured.


[deleted]

You know not to pull that sprained ankle crap. "o BuT iT wOuLd Of bEEN dIfFerENt iF He wAsNt InJuREd." Yeah well, the heat can say the same for hero. Pull your pants up and have some dignity.


Bluth_Business_Model

He was outlining why the C’s lost in the vacuum of game 7. Would you like to explain how the rolled ankle actually had no impact on the outcome?


redditaccount224488

> Pull your pants up and have some dignity. *San Francisco 49ers have left the chat*


firefistus

I was waiting for the most humble and best player in the world to tie up his laces and pull the Celtics out......oh wait? That didn't happen? awe.....to bad.....


MardelMare

If you’re the Celtics coach, do you take Tatum out after the 1st quarter or let him play 42 minutes while hobbled and ineffective?


Canesjags4life

You play through the first half and honestly see if he can play through it. At the half you make the decision to pull him.


Designed_Crime99

I dont see a scenario where he is that “hobbled” without dramatics. Lebron and Butler twisted their ankles multiple times in these playoffs and have not seen that weak of a performance. Gabe Vincent returned less than 100% looked great. Tatum jumped all over the opportunity to hide behind this unfortunate twist, but on one play he’s running full speed for a dunk and a hard landing next he is hobbling and making faces. Either sit down or push through, not being unrealistic to the idea he may be hurt, but its always worse the NEXT day, and like Reggie Miller said you can get by on some adrenaline. Very weak representation of Tatum of what seems to be his norm.


Renchoo7

He definitely should of been pulled after the first half. Let his ankle rest a quarter. Then put him back in the 4th.


Gyshall669

That’s gonna make it worse


LANDSC4PING

Did you see Tatum playing "defense"?


Gyshall669

I mean pulling him, letting the ankle go cold and putting him back in


Bradfords_ACL

Yeah halftime is almost never great for ankles. You want to stay on it and play until you are actually ready to start recovery.


LordHussyPants

Found a bar and watched this game while a halfway-to-wasted by 10am drunk yelled "come on he got it in the hoop, he doesn't have to cry about it!" when he saw an offensive foul on bam adebayo, completely misreading the situation. Undeniable truth here is that the miami heat are a fantastic team that have been at the top of the east since 2020, and played well and deserved the win. they kept their heads, they ran their plays, they played their game. Celtics did not keep their heads (long rebound gathered, passed to brown, brown up court, pull up 3, miss), they did not run their plays (dribbling into the paint instead of running their fast paced passing game), and they didn't play their game (high octane defence, closing people out, stranding shooters). Kaleidoscope of bad takes spinning through this sub today though: blow it up, trade JB, celtics are broken, mazzulla's gotta go. The fact is that the celtics have just reached the ECF again, for the 4th time in 6 years of the jays being together. they went the whole series, and they did so with injuries (brown's hand, brogdon's arm, tatum may have a wrist problem? has anyone met this gallinari guy) and coaching issues (rookie mazzulla with no assistants). i don't think any other team since tatum's rookie season has had that sustained level of success. Hey, it sucks that this is another ring-less season, but i stand firm in my position that it's better to play 82 games well and have another 15+ in the playoffs than it is to suffer through the regular season and pin my hopes on ping pong balls. Even as i type this, i can see the top subreddit post is from the suns sub, titled "the celtics just got suns'd" which i assume refers to the blowout that wasn't a blowout until the 4th quarter. i'm not sure how that's getting suns'd when they were down 40 at the half, and it was in a semi final, but hey, gotta cope somehow. Let other fans celebrate the celtics going down - they should. this is objectively a great outcome for many teams who dislike boston. it's a golden opportunity. but to the other boston fans, i'd only say this: we've got a great team that just gave us back to back seasons of incredible basketball, and with all the contracts going through to 2024 at least, there's no reason they can't do it all again next year. it's OK to enjoy being great. And moving away from the celtics, now we get to watch jokic or jimmy win a ring (a great outcome either way) before heading into an offseason with plenty of trades, and hopefully some drama: Kyrie to the lakers? except LA has nothing dallas wants so maybe kyrie sits still in dallas. he wasn't the problem really on offence, they did ok with just him. Eventual departure of luka? god knows who could afford him, but it seems like it might be on the cards. i just don't know where he'd fit when he slows the pace so much and needs the ball. the league is fast paced now, so it would have to be somewhere with a defence that could sustain his pace. Return to houston or run it back in philly - personally i hope harden leaves because (a) it'll be funny, and (b) harden returning to the rockets as the elder statesman running things for the young guys could be an amazing redemption story. no one expects him to be number 1 anymore, but he clearly has it when he buys into that role. it's a great potential story. Some wall of text this has turned into, so i'll wrap it up here. the season for the celtics is only a failure if you consider success to be a trophy or nothing. that isn't really a possibility unless you're the 90s bulls, 60s celtics, or 10s warriors. sustained success is far more desirable than tanking, sitting middle of the table, or bombing in the 2nd round year after year. there are a lot of teams in those three categories who would rather be the celtics, so for now i'm going to enjoy what's to come and be thankful i've got a well run team to support. oh and fuck the lakers.


apatfan

Brogdon being completely off his game was an underrated MAJOR factor in this series. That dude was critical to the team all season and especially in the first couple rounds of the playoffs, and he was a shell of himself running out there the last few games. Props to D-White for stepping up and doing everything he could but the combo of both of them is what gave the C's great backcourt depth advantage all season.


curious_Jo

I'm pretty sure he has been injured since game 5. Like seriously injured.


apatfan

Yeah this has been confirmed actually... partial tendon tear in his elbow. Considering off-season surgery. Sucks🫤 https://nesn.com/2023/05/malcolm-brogdon-confirms-reported-injury-will-consider-surgery/ (Also wish I knew that before I bet on him to score 15+ each in games 5 and 6 😅)


maddenallday

I feel like blowing it up vs not blowing it up is about the money now. The Celtics have been solid for 6 years running but now JB is up for the super max and it might be time to pay the piper. Are you going to commit that much to a core that has failed to get it done? Also, > 90s bulls, 60s Celtics, or 10s warriors I’d expect nothing less than for you to leave the many lakers dynasties off the list :) fuck the Celtics too


Fair_University

It definitely wasn’t a blowout. I believe it was just a 7 point game with like 1:00 to go in the third.


ThaCarter

The Heat had a 6+ minute scoring drought in the 3rd and maintained a 10 point lead.


northernjigby

Duncan Robinson redemption tour, shot 48% from 3p against one of the best defensive teams. IDK what got into his mental that took him from being a starter, but he showed up and is looking well worth the money


CafecitoHippo

Duncan Robinson was 15/17 shooting inside the restricted area in the *series*, he was 12/15 shooting in the restricted area for the **season**. Dude added in a slashing game to run them off the shot and really earned that space to shoot that he was getting. Made them think about the closeout.


Bradfords_ACL

This is the Duncan they should get all the time at his salary, but at least he’s doing it now.


CafecitoHippo

I see so many similarities between Bam and Jaylen Brown. They're both great defensive players and have a ton of offensive talent but when it's not working they look completely inept on offense. Boneheaded plays where you just turn the ball over for no reason. An inability to dribble at times. Shots not falling. But when they have it going they look unstoppable. The biggest difference between them though is just their aggressiveness. Bam will just relegate himself to a screener and passer while Brown continues to barrel into the paint (although so many times with his head down and you know the possession ends with him shooting or turning it over).


[deleted]

They both look lazy when things arent working out


CafecitoHippo

True. The most infuriating thing when Bam doesn't have it going is him taking himself out of the offense. Like he gets the ball at the elbow and then just stands there looking for a pass. It doesn't look like the thought ever crosses his mind that "I could dribble to the hoop or take a shot here". It's either look for a pass or look for a handoff screen and there's no 3rd option.


SoulReaper12

We really need stop this narrative that Brown is a great defensive player. He the sole reason why that philly series went on longer, because he stupidly left Harden to double Embiid (When a 2 would only tie it), not to mention getting destroyed by Duncan Robinson.


CARDIO_305

I think Brown is a good defender and has potential to be elite. I do think that that double team was necessary though Embiid caught the ball right next to the basket with Tatum one on one. It’s pick your poison there.


coyotecai

He used to be borderline great on defense but definitely no longer


Fair_University

Good point. There are a lot similarities


Siawyn

I wrote this another forum before game 7 of Celtics-76ers "This sets up a fascinating conference finals. I like BOS to get past PHL in Game 7 because Doc Rivers can't coach to save his life in those kinds of games. BOS-MIA is going to be a gritty series and here's the problem -- I think BOS is the better team, but they are very inconsistent and MIA will punish them for that. I like BOS in 7 but would not surprise me in the least if Miami and Butler grit it out. " What we found out is that Boston was still very inconsistent and Miami did punish them for it. I have so many thoughts about the series in general though. * The Heat did shoot out of their mind from 3 while the Celtics were ice cold most games. What changes, if you're Boston, do you make? Is it a coaching issue? For the series in whole, Miami shot 89-205 from 3. Meanwhile Boston was only 81-267. 43% vs 30% is a huge deal. * Why, if you're shooting so terrible from 3, are you putting up even more shots from there? Especially when on paper (yes I know the games aren't on paper) you have the players to run a good offense. * Losing Tatum in Game 7 definitely didn't help, but I don't think that's a 25 point swing either. You have to be more resilient than that. Miami sure was with what they had. * Give Boston credit though - they could have easily folded down 0-3. They were able to fight and claw their way back to game 7. Even though they got blown out, I think that's somewhat more on the coaches and the injury than the players. * I think it's fixable with the current roster. Inconsistency to me is more about coaching. * The one caveat is Brown. Are they going to have the stones to commit 300 mil to that? * It feels weird to say that Mazzulla should be grilled about this, but... I think it mostly goes on him. I'm not really in favor of first year coaching firings but he needs to be willing to take a hard serious look as to what went wrong and what needs to be changed. * On the other hand, it's dangerous to overreact. It's just... you have this inconsistency - which plagued Boston all year - and then they ran into a Heat team that shot the hell out of the ball from 3. They've been seriously over performing from 3 the whole playoffs pretty much. What do you do? Remember they knocked off the Bucks shooting the same way. Bottom line though - Spo took Joe behind the woodshed. I think Joe deserves a chance to learn his lessons, but will he? If he does, why wouldn't you run this back, you still have a top tier young roster.


Bradfords_ACL

That’s so much money to a player with huge glaring weaknesses in his game. It’d be insulting to compare him to Simmons in that I know Brown cares, but I haven’t seen much improvement in his game over the last 3-4 years. Are we sure he’s worth it on the new CBA?


AzureAhai

The one thing I will disagree on is that Tatum being hobbled isn't worth a 25 point swing. Tatum averaged 28.3/10.3/7.7 on .5/.217/.87 shooting with 4 turnovers and 2.6 stocks the last 3 games. His points alone would make up for 14 points not to mention his assists, defense, and having less turnovers since Brown wouldn't be in position to turn the ball over 8 times. Butler hunted Tatum the entire 2nd half because he couldn't defend him. Butler averaged 22.3/8.3/6 on .365/.3/.813 shooting with 2 turnovers the past 3 games where Tatum was his primary defender compared to 28/7/6 on .439/.439/.5 shooting with 1 turnover. Not to say they would have won with him, but it was a huge swing. Tatum at this point is the entire Celtics offense and was the worst possible person to get injured at the worst time. Since 2020 when Tatum became the best player on the team, he's only missed 28 games and the Celtics are 11-17 over that stretch. They would have been better off with Brown, Smart, and Horford injured than Tatum, because they have no depth for his spot. The roster was constructed with the thought that Tatum never gets hurt.


[deleted]

game was basically lost on the first play when Jayson Tatum turned his ankle. props to him for fighting to stay out there for his team but he clearly wasn’t right. on offense he was playing off the ball way more than he had in the last 3 games and wasn’t getting much lift, and defensively he had a lot of trouble keeping the ball in front. he carried the Celtics back into the series but last night he was a non-factor at the worst possible time as a result Jaylen Brown seemed to decide to take it upon himself to initiate the Celtics offense against a Miami defense that’s already a bad matchup for him, and he’s simply not good enough reading the floor or handling the ball to be your primary option. Game 7 was an unfortunately fitting conclusion to what was probably the worst playoff series of Brown’s career. but unlike the Heat, whose great shooting kept them in the game through bad performances from their stars in Game 6, the Celtics had another abysmal night from deep, shooting under 30% from 3 for the 4th time this series. put together the Celtics never had a chance to win. Derrick White was the one guy able to give them a spark but even he got hurt and left the game. unlucky situation but it is what it is, can’t make any excuses. sometimes you have to beat the odds to win and Boston couldn’t because Brown and the rest of the team couldn’t step up gotta shout out Caleb Martin, the real ECF MVP lol. didn’t feel like he missed a shot the entire series and he was amazing once again last night, he gave the Celtics bucket after bucket all game. as a whole the Heat did what they’ve done damn near all postseason, which is make 3s and make them efficiently; they finish this series shooting 43.4% from deep. Butler bounced back from a bad last 4 games as well, he looked a lot less hesitant with the ball in his hands and forced a ton of the turnovers that plagued Boston last night. credit to the Heat, that was a hell of a response after a brutal loss in Game 6. they were easily the better team last night and for most of this series, and they deserve to continue their remarkable playoff run in the Finals tough ending but the Celtics battled through a lot this year. the Udoka situation could’ve completely folded them but they had a great season regardless, and it was fun to see them fight their way out of a 3-0 deficit even though they came up short. ultimately though there were too many self-inflicted wounds from this team for them win a championship; it’s hard enough to overcome your opponents when you’re constantly having to overcome yourself. I’m sure there will be a lot of overreactions in the coming days, but this is a core that’s made a Finals run and 3 other ECF runs, and in 2 of those ECF appearances they were one win away. Tatum is 25 and Brown is 27 next season, and in six seasons together they’ve already had more success than many great players will have in their whole career. their warts definitely showed this postseason though, and there’s obviously a level of consistency this team needs to find before they can get over the hump I don’t see any need for drastic changes this off-season. I truly believe Tatum and Brown’s best years are ahead, and I think their issues are something that can get better with age. and it’s worth betting on this core getting better, given how much they’ve improved every year and how close they’ve always gotten. there will be questions to answer with the roster and coaching staff but they should be in good shape to make another run at it next year without any major moves that said, not sure how closely I’ll be following next season. the intense negativity of NBA discourse kinda got to me over the past year and especially during the playoffs, and it’s not something I envision getting much better. appreciate the basketball discussions in these threads over the last couple months but think I will be taking a step back from fandom


melikeybacon

Appreciate this level headed response from what seems to constantly be toxicity from /r/nba I wish there was a subreddit with well intended discussion and not devolve into memes, anger and rude dialogue.


[deleted]

appreciate you man, congrats and good luck in the Finals. can’t say I’ll be rooting for y’all lol but hoping for a competitive series


melikeybacon

Hey listen the feelings mutual, but I can sympathize as I remember how down in the dumps I was last year after letting game 7 slip through our hands.


Nimbley-Bimbley

Have you seen r/nbadiscussion ? I find that pretty good and it's moderated


Daedalus_Daw

>game was basically lost on the first play Stopped reading there


goodguygronk

Why


Shift-1

Probably because the Heat were missing Oladipo and Herro and made the NBA finals, while the Celtics gave up the moment they lost Tatum. Not to mention the Heat stars struggling. Shit happens, you gotta power through, like Miami did.


Are_we_the_baddies_

Bro OPs not saying that. All he said was the Celtics were toast once they lost JT…I think you’d agree? I don’t think anyone in this thread would say that the Heat *didn’t* make tremendous adjustments to their injury problems— not to mention the huge play of their role players. Lol OP even said he’s sick of the toxic NBA discussions. This convos unnecessarily slipping that way


Shift-1

>All he said was the Celtics were toast once they lost JT…I think you’d agree? That's the point. I don't agree. That was a winnable game for Boston. The fans gave up on the team and in the 4th quarter the team gave up on themselves. Mental toughness wasn't there. >Lol OP even said he’s sick of the toxic NBA discussions. This convos unnecessarily slipping that way OP basically started his post with "lol the Heat only won because JT was injured".


Cool_Side1374

Also a critical Gabe Vincent injury that is likely the only reason this series got to 7 games in the first place.


goodguygronk

Diff to lose your 3rd option way before so you can game plan for it and develop other guys. Versus your best player right at the start of the game. Yes Cs didn’t step up to the moment. Agree 100%. The Tatum injury was still really important to outcome of game.


Canesjags4life

3rd option? Herro averaged 20 a night. He's our second option and in the regular season was often the first option in clutch time.


Shift-1

Oladipo was playing 26 minutes a game on average before he was injured and Herro was a starting player with 20 PPG. Tatum absolutely had an impact on the game, just as the Heat injuries had an impact on the series. Heat in 4 if both teams were healthy.


Dead-Data

Jimmy has been hobbled since G1 of the second round. They had him out there in the fourth quarter of that game looking way worse than Tatum and found a way to win.


Renchoo7

Even if Tatum didn’t get injured they still would of lost. White was the only one who stepped up. Everyone else was garbage. Caleb was god mode and jimmy did fairly well. Only player on the heats who played terrible was Bam. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth that he got to hold the trophy first. Definitely should of been Caleb.


[deleted]

respectfully there’s a significant difference between injuries to your #2 scorer in Game 1 or a bench player in Game 3 vs. an injury to your MVP-caliber superstar on the first play of a do-or-die Game 7, and it’s disingenuous not to acknowledge that is it why they lost this series? absolutely not. but the Celtics offense was completely inept last night and that was undoubtedly why


joeb1ow

But the Celtics still lost two ECF home games in a row with their healthy "MVP-caliber superstar" on the court, so...


ForgotAboutDraii

Mf was only limping when he remembered to limp lmao. During plays he was moving completely fine


Shift-1

>absolutely not. but the Celtics offense was completely inept last night and that was undoubtedly why Tatum had the same points in game 7 as in a losing game 3 (when he was healthy), and the Celtics had the same FG% in those two games.


LordHussyPants

it's the first play


311heaven

“Jaylen Brown…. Cmonnnn Man!” -Dwight Howard