Proof that Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla’s analysis of Game 2 defense vs. Heat is bogus

Well, that’s a result that no one really expected to happen, huh. Game 2 of the Boston Celtics-Miami Heat series went in favor of the visiting team. How did they win? Well, a white-hot shooting day for Caleb Martin and the Heat’s sharpshooters spelled doom for the first-seeded Celtics. Boston just couldn’t keep up with their insane shooting.

After the game,though, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had some interesting thoughts on the stunning loss. In the post-game press conference, Mazzulla commented that the Heat were able to make their shots despite good contests from the team, per Brian Robb.

“Defensively, obviously they made a conscious effort with free reign to shoot more,” Mazzulla said. “I thought most of those were moderately to heavily contested, so we’re going to have to make the adjustment on some of those.”

However, as Robb notes in his article, that assessment seems to be a bit too generous in the Celtics’ favor. Upon analyzing the footage, there were only a few of the Heat’s makes that were actually contested. The rest were wide-open shots that seemed to be born out of design and not through miscommunication for the most part.

The Heat have almost always have had the Celtics’ number in the postseason. Both teams have faced each other numerous times over the last few years in the playoffs. In every series, Miami always seems to have at least one game where their shooters pop off. Boston tried to execute a gameplan that failed miserably, and they have lost homecourt advantage.

Celtics’  disastrous Game 2