Celtics-Heat Game 3 Preview: Four (non-stars) To Watch
We know what to expect from Miami's Jimmy Butler and Boston's Jayson Tatum as well as the rest of the two team's stars. But what about the role players? Here are four to keep an eye in Game 3 tonight.
When you get to this point in the playoffs, we all have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the star players.
They are going to score or rebound or defend or do something that makes an impact on the game’s outcome.
But as we’ve seen in the first two games between Boston and Miami, it has been that “other dude” who has been a key to their respective team delivering a win or not.
So as the Eastern Conference finals shifts to Boston, we take a look at four (non-stars) to watch.
GRANT WILLIAMS
The career night in Game 7 against Milwaukee has clearly been Grant Williams’ signature moment as a Boston Celtic. He scored a career-high 27 points, the kind of scoring output that no one should anticipate or expect we’ll see again anytime soon.
Still, Williams has to be an impactful scorer off the Celtics bench simply because, well, they don’t have anyone in the frontcourt as a reserve who can score the way he can.
He’s an undersized forward, so you can pretty much count out him doing much if anything with his back to the basket. But he can score facing up, whether it be mid-range jumpers or 3-point shots from one of the corners.
But above all else, he has to at a minimum present himself as a scoring threat that the Miami Heat have to pay attention to. And if they don’t, he has to make them pay.
We saw some of this in Game 2, a game in which he finished with 19 points on a ridiculously efficient 5-for-7 shooting performance.
More than the scoring, Williams provides the kind of defensive versatility that the Celtics will continue to need him to deliver. We saw in Game 2, Williams spent time defending nine different players, ranging from a quick guard like Gabe Vincent to big men Bam Adebayo and Dewayne Dedmon.
GABE VINCENT
The fill-in for Kyle Lowry (hamstring) has been filling it up the first two games for the Miami Heat. Miami is hoping he can keep it going with Vincent now dealing with his own hamstring injury and is listed as questionable for tonight’s game. He has done a solid job of making the most of his opportunity for increased playing time, for sure. In the first two games against Boston, Vincent is averaging 15.5 points which nearly doubles his 8.7 points per game average during the regular season. He’s also shooting 50 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from 3-point range. Defensively, he has been surprisingly effective against most of Boston’s shooters. In the two games, Celtics players are shooting just 37.9 percent when he has been the primary defender. However, the 6-foot-3 guard isn’t much of a playmaker, evident by his three assists per game. And it is the ability to make plays for others, that the Heat are missing the most with Lowry out.
PAYTON PRITCHARD
The shots are starting to fall for Payton Pritchard at just the right time for the Celtics. The second-year guard has scored in double figures in each of Boston’s last three games and is averaging 14 points in the Conference finals. The value that he brings offensively can not be stated enough, especially when you consider he’s the best scoring threat they have coming off the bench. But more than the scoring, Pritchard has also brought some solid playmaking to the game as well. The biggest concern Boston has with playing the 6-1 guard is his size. The Heat did a good job of getting pick-and-roll switches that had him guarding Jimmy Butler or another Miami Heat player with a substantial size advantage. Miami tried to go there in Game 2, but the Celtics did a much better job of limiting those switches and thus, avoiding Pritchard being in tough spots that would force them to get him off the floor.
TYLER HERRO
Just like the Heat were hunting for matchups involving Payton Pritchard, the Celtics were doing the same when it came to Tyler Herro. The Sixth Man of the Year award winner this season is an impressive scorer who gets buckets on all levels of the court. But his defense at this still-young stage of his development leaves a lot of room for improvement. We saw that in Game 2 when Celtics shooters were a combined 5-for-8 from the field when he was the primary defender. Usually, his defense isn’t a huge deal because of his scoring prowess. After averaging more than 20 points per game during the regular season, Herro has averaged just 14.5 through the first two games, shooting a respectable 46.2 percent from the field despite missing seven of his eight, 3-point attempts.