BOSTON — Despite standing at just 5-foot-9, Isaiah Thomas prides himself on attacking the rim without fear. But through three quarters Saturday afternoon, it appeared he finally had met his match.
The Boston Celtics point guard had scored just one point in the first half against the Miami Heat at TD Garden and had just six points at the end of the third quarter. While Thomas had a rough shooting day, his struggles seemed to stem from one very big problem: Hassan Whiteside.
The Heat’s shot-blocking extraordinaire, who easily leads the NBA with 3.85 blocks per game, wreaked absolute havoc Saturday, racking up eight of Miami’s 12 blocks. Beyond that gaudy number was Whiteside’s ability to effectively create a force field around the rim, forcing Thomas and others to settle for mid-range jumpers rather than get swallowed up in the paint.
“When he was in there, man, it felt like he blocked everything,” head coach Brad Stevens said of Whiteside. “He was unbelievable. The one where he caught up to Jonas (Jerebko) on the drive was an incredible block. He’s a force down there. He’s hard to deal with.”
And yet the Celtics found a way to do just that, scoring 16 of their 29 fourth-quarter points in the paint to surge to a 101-89 win. Thomas scored six of those points, four on driving layups and two more on free throws after another drive to the hoop.
So how did Boston emerge victorious against Miami’s shot-blocking machine? According to Stevens, the key was a concerted effort to stretch the floor with his big men and a late-game adjustment to get Whiteside as far from the paint as possible.
“What we tried to do was spread him out with Tyler (Zeller) and (Jared Sullinger’s) shooting, and those guys had their moments doing that,” Stevens said. “And then, we tried to play more five-out motion with our center at the top of the key, so at least he had to guard the ball, like late in the game, when Isaiah was cutting and scoring and doing all that stuff.
“So, you just try to draw him away from the basket, because when he’s at the basket, you’re in trouble.”
It’s hard to say the Celtics got the better of Whiteside, as the 26-year-old also dropped 13 points and 15 rebounds to flirt with the ultimate big man triple-double. But Boston’s change in strategy down the stretch helped the club earn the most important stat of the day: a win.
“They funnel their defense to him, and it makes you make the other pass,” Celtics swingman Jae Crowder said of Whiteside. “It was a tough night on a lot of us trying to finish at the rim, but we found late ways to score, and it helped us win.”
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
