Heat most to blame for Game 4 loss to Celtics

Butler isn’t going to walk through the door for the Heat anytime soon. At least not during this first-round battle against the top team in the Eastern Conference because of an MCL injury he suffered in the Play-in Tournament game versus the Philadelphia 76ers. Rozier, on the other hand, has yet to suit up for Miami in the postseason due to neck spasms.

Heat’s 3-point shooting continues to regress

If the Heat are to pull off a miracle comeback to win this series, they are going to need their 3-point shooting to return to at least close to the level it was in Game 2. When Miami shocked the Celtics in that contest, the Heat drained a total of 23 3-pointers on 43 attempts from behind the arc for an incredible 53.5 percent success rate. The Heat are not going to convert over 20 threes every game on 50 percent or better shooting, but their outside shooting has to be better. When they lost Game 1, they went just 12/37 from deep (32.4%). In Game 3, the Heat shot just 32.1 percent (9/28) from the 3-point region. During their Game 4 loss, the Heat’s 3-point shooting dipped below 30 percent, going just 9/33 (27.3%) on their 3-point tries.

Miami’s bench, which is supposed to give the Heat quality minutes and boost on offense, combined for only 1/10 shooting from the 3-pointe area in Game 4, while Nikola Jovic and Tyler Herro combined for just three 3-pointers on 10 shots.

Miami’s defense let Mr. White cook

While the Heat struggled to find their rhythm on offense, the Celtics leaned on Derrick White to lead their attack. The Celtics actually shot poorly in Game 4, as they posted a 41.9 field goal percentage, but White got his team’s back, as he scattered 38 points on 15/26 shooting from the floor. The Heat let White get into his comfort zone early, as he scored 22 points and sank six 3-pointers in the first half. And if the Heat’s defense made any adjustment to their defense against White, it was hard to tell they made life hard for him because he did not even attempt a single free throw in the contest (via StatMuse).

“In tonight’s win over the Heat, Derrick White of the @celtics scored 38 points while attempting zero free throws. That is the second-most points ever in an NBA playoff game while also having 0 FTA. Chuck Person had 39 points on April 28, 1991 against the Celtics.”