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We’ve witnessed four near blow-out games in the Eastern Conference Finals thus far, with the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat sharing the spoils with two wins apiece.
Now, the Celtics head back to South Beach for game five, which will take place on May 25, and a win for either team will put them one game away from the NBA finals. With their 102-82 victory on May 23, the Celtics got revenge for Miami stealing a game on their home court but will now need to repay the favor if they want to take control of the series and pile the pressure on Jimmy Butler and co.
“Obviously, it’s 2-2, so it’s kind of like a new series, best of three. And I think that having a conversation about human nature when you win a game, you can relax a little bit, but when you lose a game, we feel like the next game is do-or-die, and then we come out and play how we did (in game four), and we need to have that mindset going into game five.
Because it is a must-win game because tonight was essentially something like that, everybody knew it, we could all feel it, and I think we showed it with the way we came out (to start the game),” Tatum told reporters following Boston big game four victory over the heat.
The Celtics certainly played like game four was a do-or-die contest, as they continuously pounded the paint, getting to the free-throw line 38 times and converting at an 84.2% clip.
Ime Udoka Expecting Boston to Keep Performing
Since the start of the second round against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Celtics have failed to consistently string wins together, with the exception of games six and seven, which they dominated to make it through to the conference finals.
However, now the Celtics have reverted back to winning a game and then dropping a game – which means the Heat will be confident of grinding out a win in game five. The downside to allowing Miami another victory is that they’re only one win away from progressing in the post-season. Considering how dominant Boston has been for most of the series, it would be a travesty.
When speaking to the media on May 24, Udoka implored his team to be better when entering a game off the back of a victory.
“Two teams that will continue to fight and give themselves a chance to get back into the game, and we’ve come close games, albeit some big leads in the series so far, it’s not surprising. But we’ve got two teams that will always fight and give themselves a chance. I’ve known Miami and Spo (Erik Spoelstra) for a while now, and that’s the epitome of who they are – toughness; both teams have matched that energy coming off of losses, but now it’s our turn to match that energy coming off a win,” Udoka said.
Tatum Bounces Back After Game Three Struggles
When looking back at all the factors that aided in Miami’s game three victory, Tatum’s poor performance will be close to the top of that list, as he registered just 10 points on 21.4% shooting from the field and 14.3% from deep which for a Celtics team that relies on his offensive production, is catastrophic.
Still, in game four, we saw a more familiar version of the All-Star wing, as he was distributing the ball at a high level and pressuring the rim, forcing Miami into some difficult situations and getting to the free-throw line as a result.
The challenge for Tatum and the entire Celtics roster is to continue playing at the level we saw from them on May 23, as that’s the only way they’re going to earn a spot in the NBA Finals because the Heat has proven capable of punishing any lackluster performance or slow starts.
You can’t be handing out easy wins at this juncture of the post-season, especially not in game five of a tied series. Boston and Miami will be going head-to-head on May 25, as both teams look to put one foot into the NBA finals while heaping enormous pressure on their opponent, but hopefully, it will be the Celtics applying the pressure rather than having to fight back from two games down like they did against Milwaukee.
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