Celtics win another one: 5 Takeaways vs. Miami Heat
Who doesn’t love a high-paced run-and-gun game?
I know I do.
Add in the fact that the Boston Celtics scored a win over the Miami Heat, and April 1 turned into quite the night!
Then, there’s the continued growth of Jayson Tatum. Seriously, he’s come back better than I expected (in terms of fitness and ramping up), and I’m here for it.
I’m sure we all are.
I’ve got some takeaways. Five of them, to be exact. So, let’s dive right in, shall we?
1. If this is Tatum while ramping up, then watch out
“I can tell he’s still out of shape,” Bam Adebayo said during his postgame news conference. “…We’ve known each other since we were like 12. You see what he’s gone through, and then obviously checking up on him through the rehab phase, and you know the down days that he’s had. You’re proud of him for pushing to put himself out there this season. Still trying to find his way, still trying to impact winning. You tip your hat off to somebody who’s been through that and still trying to play.”
Well…If this is Tatum when he’s not fully healthy, the rest of the NBA should be pooping their pants.
Professor Poopy Pants — as my daughter used to say.
Tatum has been a menace in the past few games.
Yet, a 25 points, 18 rebounds and 11 assists triple-double is taking things to another level.
This is the Jayson Tatum that can elevate a team into a championship contender.
This is the Jayson Tatum we bore witness to during 2024 and 2025.
Ok, the shooting efficiency still isn’t there. He’s converting at a 32.1% clip from deep and 48.6% from 2-point range over his 12 games back. The good news is, he’s only going to get better, and as he does, his presence will continue unlocking doors for everyone around him.
I can live with the shooting, especially when the passing, rebounding and off-ball movement have been so on point.
I mean, look at this read. Not just the dime to Neemy, but the recognition of Miami’s zone, the need to get to the nail and the calmness, speed and precision he operated with once the ball touched his hands.
0.5 basketball.
Make a decision: pass, dribble or shoot — and do it in less than a second. Tatum has always been sooo good at that.
Of course, Neemias Queta was the recipient, and we already know those two are starting to click.
Here’s another example, this time with Tatum quarterbacking at the top of the perimeter in a five-out look. Tatum waits for Jaylen Brown to lift out of the corner, dragging Tyler Herro with him. That allows Baylor Scheierman to fill the space left by Brown with no defender on him.
Tatum, who hasn’t been rushed in the slightest, fires the one-handed bullet to Scheierman, leading to the one-legged floater.
If Tatum is rebounding at his current level, dime’in guys up and working toward the best version of himself as a scorer, there’s nothing more Celtics fans can ask for. It’s clear that he’s making a sizeable positive impact.
2. Jaylen Brown CAN NOT be stopped
Seriously.
When Brown is playing like he did last night, there aren’t many — if any — defenders that can shut him down. The evolution of his passing game means there’s always a seam he can attack or a defender he can beat on the lead hip.
43 points on 17-of-29 shooting tells you as much.
One slight development in his overall shooting that I’ve come to appreciate this season is how Brown is working off a pound dribble before hitting a side-stepping three.
He’s also become super reliable when driving into contact before letting up elbow floaters.
Both of those shots came on the right side of the floor, too — something that will be interesting to watch develop if/when defenses start trying to cut his dribble off when he’s looking to navigate toward the right elbow.
Brown, like Tatum, is ramping up his overall game. With the playoffs right around the corner, he’s looking more aggressive when getting downhill, while his processing speed appears to have taken a genuine leap.
Miami had no answer for him. When they tilted the floor, he passed. When they shrank the floor, he attacked the gaps, and when they tried to sag off him, he used the space to either generate a quality jumper or to build some steam downhill.
At this point, there should be no arguments that Brown is one of the premier scoring talents in the league. And last night, the Heat found that out the hard way.
I bet they miss Jimmy Butler (the 2023 version).
Interlude — Check out yesterday’s YouTube Video
Has Luka Garza proven the Celtics don’t need Nikola Vucevic? What will happen in the summer? Are their skillsets too similar?
Tap in to hear our thoughts…
3. Derrick White is adjusting (again)
It’s been a weird season for Derrick White. First, he had to adjust to being a second option behind Brown. It took some time, but when he got there, he shone on both sides of the floor.
Now, mid-rhythm, he’s adjusting back to being a tertiary option. His shots are going to come in different ways. His touches will be at different spots on the floor. And, his overall decision-making needs to shift in order for him to thrive back in his previous role.
I don’t expect the adjustment to take too long. Yet, at the same time, I didn’t expect him to take a total of 4, yes 4, shots against the Heat.
Granted, White was stellar on defense, including this full-court sprint to contest a shot in the dying seconds of the second quarter.
Even on nights where White isn’t impacting the scoring charts, he’s still the ultimate connector. He gives the Celtics a two-way presence at the guard position, can switch multiple spots on defense and keeps the game flowing with his movement and willingness to space the floor.
White will have better nights than what we saw yesterday, not because he struggled, but because adjustments take time to fully bed in.
4. Getting creative
I’ve said it before, but I’m a big fan of stringing actions together, especially when they result in quality offensive looks.
So, when the Celtics went to this look in the first quarter, I knew we were in for some fun offensive wrinkles throughout the night.
Allow me to break it down.
The play starts off with Tatum “chin cutting1” off a Queta screen. Tatum then loops his cut into an exit screen2 from Sam Hauser.
Hauser quickly steps back and sets a pin-down for Tatum, triggering a zoom action3. With Tatum’s defender now in full rotation, Tatum sells the jab step, allowing him to generate space on the pull-up, leading to a high-quality three, which falls.
Here’s another example of stringing a play together. Once again, the Celtics run a Zoom action. However, this time, Scheierman and Luka Garza flow into a kind of Twirl action, 4 opening Scheierman up for the easy catch-and-shoot 3.
Note how Scheierman sets a slight down screen when coming off the Zoom action, creating the timing for the twirl with Garza to take place.
5. Hauser doing things
Hauser went nuclear from deep against Miami. However, it was two specific moments in the game (neither of them directly being threes) that stood out to me.
The first is the closest to a three, because that’s how the play ends up.
When watching this play, take note of Hauser directing Scheierman to lift out of the corner, which in turn gives Brown an outlet when the defense ultimately collapses on his drive. To be fair, Scheierman was initially mirroring Brown’s drive, but Hauser spotted the defensive coverage and called an audible (that’s good court vision).
With Scheierman now in the slot, Brown easily makes the pass, forcing the defense to close out. Hauser’s directions have also given Boston an empty side to work with, allowing Hauser to fill that space while the defense focuses on taking away Scheierman’s look.
To be fair, Miami “next’s” onto Hauser as the pass is made, covering enough space to add some restraint to the shot attempt. Yet, with the way Hauser was shooting yesterday, you could have put a crane in front of him, and the ball still would have found its way into the net.
This play is something different. The Celtics drew this up for Hauser, and he responded by attacking off the bounce to get a nifty finish.
Boston ran a Gut DHO5 to get Hauser the rock. Interestingly, the play opened with the Celtics lining up to run “Sapnoulis,” which would have required Hauser screening for Brown in the corner. Nevertheless, Hauser opted against springing Brown free, looped off the Gut DHO and immediately went back downhill.
Some nice footwork got Hauser’s man off his feet, and the rest was history.
That’s all for today!
What were your takeaways from last night’s game?
A chin cut is a non-ball side cut when coming off a screen. In this case, Tatum cuts behind Queta, furthest away from Derrick White, who is the ball-handler.
A screen that allows a player to “exit” the interior, meaning they come off the screen to get back onto the perimeter.
One of the most popular plays in basketball is also known as “Chicago.” It’s when a team looks to get a scorer on to the ball while forcing their defender to either switch or navigate screens. Essentially, a zoom action is a pin-down for a scorer in the corner, who then curls off the pin-down into a dribble hand-off (DHO) from the big man at the top of the perimeter.
Where a player comes off a screen and immediately spins around to screen for the screener.
Very similar to a zoom action, just at a different spot on the floor. A screen sets a down screen (a screen facing the baseline) somewhere near the middle of the floor (or close to the restricted area), aka, the guy. The screen receiver then cuts out toward the perimeter, where they receive a DHO.