Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Patrick Beverley took part on ESPN’s Get Up talk show Thursday to discuss how the Boston Celtics managed to defeat the Miami Heat in Game 5.
“Man, they attack these guys offensively. I’d won the heat before, I’m a long way from that,” said Beverley. “I had the heat that won the series. But what Boston is doing to the guards right now, they’re attacking them, they’re penetrating them. Boston is recovering much better. They’re just playing with a little more swagger, a little more edge. They keep them in 1-3 pick and rolls, 1-2 pick and rolls and get the match ups they wanted. Safely exploit the Miami defense.”
The Heat shot just 31 percent, the second straight night they shot below 35 percent. Sports analyst Alan Hahn describes how Boston contributed to this slump.
“It (the Celtics’ defense) certainly plays a big role because it’s about repelling those shots,” Hahn said. “They were 0-17 in the contested threes. It’s just defense that’s a big part of it, and it demoralizes you.”
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He goes on to say, “If you’re not taking shots and at a rate where the heat won’t make painful shots. They were the top three-point shooting team in the NBA this season and have shot under 30 percent in the series. As if they just hadn’t been able to put down threesomes. It demoralizes you.”
Former NBA player Vince Carter gets involved in what impressed him about the Celtics.
“It was their defense,” he said. “It was her aggressiveness.”
Cory Nelson is a staff member of Inside The Heat. He attended Northern Virginia Community College. He can be reached at corymckenzienelson@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @CKenzyNelson