Heat tie series

Heading into Game Two of the Celtics’ first-round series against the Heat, the nagging question wasn’t whether the former would win; it was by how many points. And, nope, conventional wisdom wasn’t simply engaging in homerism. Never mind that the set-to was scheduled to be held at the TD Garden, where the green and white sported a dominant 37-4 slate en route to a league-leading 64-win regular season. After all, they hitherto made short work of the visitors in Game One, leading to prognoses that they would again do the same before 19,156 rabid fans.

As things turned out, the Celtics found themselves in a real battle yesterday. Any notion that they would again assert their supremacy, particularly in the middle quarters, was promptly disabused by the scrappy Heat. As heavily favored as they may have been, their opponents wore underdog tags proudly, overcoming a glaring lack of talent (including the absence of leading light Jimmy Butler due to injury) with trademark grit and determination. And when the battlesmoke cleared, they were the ones who suffered a double-digit defeat — thereby surrendering the very advantage their pacesetting standing afforded them.

In retrospect, what’s telling is that the Celtics wound up on the wrong end of counting stats yesterday. They finished with significantly worse shooting percentages, enabling the Heat to beat them at their own game. In the face of stifling coverage, their vaunted five-out offense suffered; they attempted and made 11 less tries from three-point territory. Which essentially told the story of why they played catch-up ball for much of the second half. As visiting head coach Erik Spoelstra noted, it was “a very good response … We also made some shots. It always looks better when you make shots.”

To be sure, the Celtics remain the favorites to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals. On paper, they’re too stacked to be beaten by a roster missing its best player. That said, they still need to meet expectations on the court moving forward; yesterday, their executions left much to be desired. The good news is that they have two days between contests to make the requisite adjustments. The bad news is that the Heat likewise have the same, and Spoelstra will, if nothing else, make sure his charges are eminently prepared. Needless to say, they would do well to meet the challenge.

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications,

and business development.