The Boston Celtics have made it their mission to put the clamps on opposing star players this postseason.
But they were completely unsuccessful in doing so when it came to Jimmy Butler in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.
Butler put together a monster all-around performance, leading the Heat to a 118-107 victory by tearing the Celtics defense apart to the tune of 41 points to go along with nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and three blocks.
If Boston wants to even the series, they can’t allow Butler to replicate that effort when the two teams take the floor for Game 2 on Thursday, and that’s certainly top of mind for Boston entering the contest.
“We let him get away with too much,” Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said following Game 1. “Eighteen free throws, that’s way too many. We got to be better.”
Brown added: “He’s comfortable. He’s very comfortable right now and we got to do a better job of breaking that rhythm that he’s in. That’s it. We got to take the challenge.”
The Celtics seem to be in agreement on the best way to contain Butler, who notched his third 40-point performance of the playoffs in the win after never reaching the 40-point mark in the regular season.
For Boston, the key is keeping Butler away from the free-throw line after the 6-foot-7 forward took 18 attempts from the charity stripe in Game 1, and made all but one of them.
“Not giving him easy free throws,” Payton Pritchard said after the loss. “We bailed him out a couple times. Jumped on his pump fakes. Just try to limit those and make everything tough. Make him hit tough shots over and over again.”
Celtics coach Ime Udoka echoed the sentiments of Brown and Pritchard, and saw the mistakes made by the Celtics defense, which surrendered its highest point total in the playoffs in Game 1, as correctable.
“We know he’s a guy that wants to get to the free-throw line, wants to pump fake and try to draw fouls,” Udoka said. “Did a poor job showing our hands and contesting there. Even Rob (Williams) and (Daniel) Theis and some of those guys came over and swiped down and put him at the free-throw line for no reason. A lot areas we can clean up easily.”
The Celtics, who have Al Horford and Marcus Smart back in the lineup, will look to make the necessary adjustments in defending Butler and the Heat on Thursday for Game 2, which is scheduled to tipoff shortly after 8:30 p.m. ET.
