The Celtics, successfully revenge the Heat.
In the first round of G5, the Celtics defeated the Heat 118-84 at home, and eliminated the opponent 4-1.
Previously, in G2, the Heat had defeated the Celtics with 23 three-pointers in a single game, and at the time it was thought that maybe the Heat could cause some trouble for the Celtics, but judging from the results, the Heat and the Celtics do have a grade gap.
From G3 to G5, in three consecutive games, the Heat lost without a fightback, and none of the three games scored more than 90 points, and the difference was 20 points, 14 points, and 34 points, during which the Heat basically did not lead, and the maximum trail was 29 points, 28 points, and 37 points.
For the Heat, this is obviously a regrettable season, they suffered an injury crisis at the end of the season, the biggest core Butler was injured in the playoffs, did not play a game in the first round, in addition, Richardson was reimbursed for the season, Rozier was injured and could not play, Dunroe was also playing with an injury, and the remnants could win one game, to be honest, it was already unexpected.
This Heat, although it can reach the Finals twice, is generally believed to have limited talent, Butler has infinite magic, but next season will also be 35 years old, how long can he be expected to continue to burn?
So, the Heat may need to make some changes in the offseason, not necessarily to overturn completely, at least a small rebuild, and with Pat Riley's character, maybe they will bring in a star, for example, Mitchell?
Let's talk about the Celtics, G2's rollover sounded the alarm for the Green Army, and in the next three games, they played their own characteristics, not only limiting the Heat to an average of only 85 points per game on the defensive end, but also shooting 11, 14, and 20 three-pointers on the offensive end, which is worthy of the league's first three-point team.
The play of Shuangtanhua did not pull the crotch much, but it was not particularly good, in terms of data:
- Tatum, averaging 21.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game, with a true shooting percentage of 56.3%
- Jaylen Brown, averaging 22.8 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, with a true shooting percentage of 56.5%
In a total of 5 games, only Jaylen Brown scored 33 points in a single game in G2, and the rest did not have a 30+ game.
In this series, to say that the best of the Celtics, it is not Tatum or Brown, but White.
Among them, G4, White scored 16 points in a single quarter in the first quarter, played 39 minutes, shot 15 of 26, 8 of 15 three-pointers, no free throws, scored 38 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, 38 points is the personal highest score of the Green Army in this round of the series, and it is also White's career high score (regular season + playoffs).
In the knockout game G5, it was also White, who scored 15 points in a single quarter in the first quarter, leading an 18-point lead to set the tone for victory, 8 of 13 from the field, 5 of 10 three-pointers, 4 of 5 free throws, and 25 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
After 5 games, White averaged 22.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, he scored more points than Tatum, and his efficiency was amazing, the three-point shooting rate was 57.7%/47.7%/90.0%, close to the 58+48+90 shooting rate, and the true shooting rate was 74.3%, which is outrageous.
It is worth mentioning that White proved himself to be a quasi-All-Star in the regular season this year, averaging 15.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.0 steals per game, shooting 46.1%/39.6%/90.1% from three, and 61.1% from the field.
Going back to last year's playoffs, White's performance was: averaging 13.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, shooting 40.5%/45.5%/91.2% from three, and a true shooting rate of 67.1%.
Redick, a former NBA player who has become a commentator, commented: "I underestimated Derrick White before, I thought he was a top 100 player, sorry, he was a top 50 player in the league. ”
After White played his career masterpiece series, some media dug up the original trade between the Celtics and the Spurs, which was in the 2021-22 season, and the Celtics only sent Josh Richardson, Langford, a protected 2022 first-round pick (top 4 picks protected) and a 2028 first-round pick swap right to bring White to Boston.
Now, 1 protected first-round pick + 1 first-round swap right can get a quasi-All-Star caliber player, and the Green Army's deal seems like a robbery, and now White hopes to help them win the 18th championship in team history.
It is worth mentioning that although the Celtics have qualified, they also have bad news, due to a right calf soleus muscle strain, Porzingis will miss the next second round, and the Eastern Conference final will be back - the Celtics' opponent in the second round will be the winner between the Magic and the Cavaliers, and it seems, it is not so bad?