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After the Miami Heat eliminated the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals on May 29, Keith Smith, a contributor to Spotrac and SB Nation’s Celtics Blog, reminded his Twitter followers that not only did Heat sharpshooter Max Strus once play for the Celtics but that the team cut him before his rookie season.
In retweeting a fan’s tweet noting that Boston released Strus while retaining now-former Celtics Aaron Nesmith and Romeo Langford, Smith wrote: “It’s even worse. They cut [Strus] to keep Tacko.”
That’s when Tacko Fall, a 7-foot-6 fan favorite who appeared in 26 games for Boston across two seasons, took exception to Smith’s words.
“Wrong Keith. Also I’m just grinding, enjoying my family and minding my business please leave my name out of this. And congrats to my guy Max!” Fall tweeted the following day.
Both Strus and Fall were the Celtics’ 2019 preseason roster, with Fall coming in on an Exhibit 10 contract and Strus signing a partially guaranteed contract. Strus, 23 at the time, was cut before the season began and Fall was later signed to a two-way deal.
Strus signed with the Heat, where he’s been for four seasons, averaging 10.9 and 10.3 points per game in the 2022 and 2023 postseasons, respectively. Fall averaged only 6.5 minutes per game from 2019 to 2021. He spent the 2022-23 season with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Season.
Jimmy Butler Praises Celtics After Game 7
During his postgame press conference, Heat star Jimmy Butler gave his respect to the Celtics, saying that they’ll still be a good team for a long time.
“I’m not going to say losing three in a row is part of the Heat culture that we like to talk about because we don’t play to lose. We don’t want to lose. They’re an incredible team over there, and they will be for a while,” Jimmy Butler said.
With the series win over the Celtics, Butler is now 2-2 all-time against them in the playoffs, as he lost to them in the first round of the 2017 Eastern Conference playoffs during his days with the Chicago Bulls. Since coming to the Heat, Butler has gone 2-1 against the Celtics, with each of the series having been played in the Eastern Conference finals and the last two having gone the full seven games.
Malcolm Brogdon Says Celtics Lacked Defensive Identity
Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon called out the Celtics for failing to keep their defensive identity that made them as good as they were last season.
“It was the issue,” Brogdon told reporters. “I think this was a team in the last year that prided themselves on defense. I think defense was our calling card. This year, offense was our calling card. I don’t think you win championships with a high — with a better offense than you have a defense.”
The Celtics ranked No. 10 in defensive rating among 16 playoff teams, allowing 112.9 points per 100 possessions. Their defense struggled to stop the Heat’s offense in the first three games of the Eastern Conference finals, allowing 123, 111, and 128 points in Games 1 through 3, respectively.
However, the defense played much better in the four games that followed, allowing 99, 97, 103, and 103 in Games 4 through 7, respectively. The Celtics’ offense failed to show up in Game 7, putting up only 84 points in the deciding game, which could easily be attributed to Brogdon reportedly playing through a partial tendon tear in his shooting arm on top of Jayson Tatum’s ankle injury.
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