The pressure is entirely on the Miami Heat entering Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics.
Oh, how the turntables.
The Heat built a commanding 3-0 lead over the Celtics to kick off the series, pushing Boston onto the brink of elimination and influencing plenty of reactionary reports and opinions to what was surely an insurmountable deficit. Well, five days after the fact, the Celtics appear to be in control and have talking heads going the other way.
“They’re in a world of trouble,” Stephen A. Smith said on Friday’s “Get Up!” on ESPN. “There’s no doubt about it. … The starting backcourt of Kyle Lowry and Max Strus combined to score eight points on 3-of-10 shooting. That ain’t going to get it done, but that’s not their real problem. When you look at how Boston has intensified their defense, particularly in close out games, their defense elevates to another level.
“… They are coming, because their backs are against the wall and in close out games over the last two seasons they’re 7-1. The only time when they lost was in the finals against the Golden State Warriors. I don’t see Steph Curry on the Miami Heat. I don’t see Klay Thompson on the Miami Heat. I don’t see anybody like that. … They are in a world of trouble. Game 6 in Miami is an absolute must win. The pressure is all on the Miami Heat when you consider the fact that 149 (teams) have tried, 149 teams have failed to overcome an 0-3 deficit. … You put yourself in that position and then you go to South Beach tomorrow night and you lose that game and you got to come back to Boston and face Jayson Tatum in a Game 7 in Boston? Good luck with that. The Miami Heat have to win Game 6 tomorrow night in South Beach.”
The Heat have seemingly reverted back to who they were during the regular season in Games 4 and 5, which makes sense considering they were the 8-seed heading into these playoffs. Miami shot 52.2% from the field when building their lead (Games 1-3), over eight percentage points higher than its regular season average. In allowing the Boston to mount a comeback (Games 4 and 5), they shot 47.5%.
In short, when the Heat shoot well above who they have proven to be, they’re pretty dang good. There’s also the point Smith made about the Celtics, which is essentially the fact that they always rise to the occasion. Tatum said as much following Game 5, and there’s no shortage of historical precedent to prove it.
If the trends that have popped up over the last week stay true, there’s no arguing Smith’s point. The Heat will indeed be in trouble.
