The Jimmy Butler show didn’t roll on for Miami in Game 3. Instead, Gabe Vincent lit the Celtics up for a playoff career-high 29 points. Duncan Robinson, who was in-and-out of Erik Spoelstra’s rotation this season, chipped in with 22 points and Caleb Martin netted 18 as the Celtics had no defensive answer.
After their offense stalled out in the Finals against the Golden State Warriors, it’s evident the Celtics prioritized their offense over their defense. Even when defensive lapses occurred regularly throughout the season, Mazzulla pointed to the offense first and not sinking enough shots.
The identity of the Celtics has changed, and not for the better.
“Our defense hasn’t been especially what it was last year,” Jaylen Brown told reporters, as seen on NBC Sports Boston postgame coverage. “But we’ve had tremendous strides in different directions. We’ve been able to find ways to win basketball games. … Yeah, we struggled to get stops, but to their credit, they’re playing well above their means. They’re ballin’ right now and I got to give them respect. Gabe Vincent, Martin, (Max) Strus, Duncan Robinson, guys that we should be able to keep under control are playing their (expletive) off.”
Here are more notes from Celtics-Heat Game 4:
— Brown and Jayson Tatum aren’t living up to the billing as All-NBA players in this series. They combined for just 26 points Sunday and shot just 1-for-14 from beyond the arc with Brown missing all seven of his 3-point attempts.
“I didn’t shoot the ball well at all tonight,” Tatum told reporters as seen on NBC Sports Boston postgame coverage. “We got some open looks coming off the pick-and-roll, getting doubled. … We just didn’t shoot the ball well at all. We couldn’t hit anything. Give them credit, they’re a really good defensive team. They play hard, they communicate. We had a lot of open looks tonight that we normally make.”
— The Celtics have the look of a disjointed team on both ends of the floor and Mazzulla did nothing to dissuade that notion after the lopsided defeat. Mazzulla, who shouldered blame for the way his team performed, confirmed there has been a disconnect between him and his players during the series.
