The Miami Heat started the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics in very imposing fashion, racking up three straight wins before the Celtics were able to regroup and win the next two. Game 6 was still a do or die game for the Celtics as they would have to win one more in Miami if they were to force the series to shift back to Boston for a game 7.
Entering game 6, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went with what had proved to be the Heat’s best scoring line up during the 2023 Eastern Conference finals. The starting line up for game 6 in Miami was Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Caleb Martin, Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. Kevin Love was not only missing from the starting line up but did not play at all due to the coach’s decision The revamped starting line up meant that the Heat were undersized. The pleas for the Heat to get bodies on the Celtics’ players diving to the rim for offensive rebounds proved to be prophetic. An offensive rebound made at the last possible juncture of the game sealed the victory for the Celtics and ensured that they would have one more game in which to dispose of the Heat – and on their home court.
Spoelstra used a short eight player rotation in game 6. The substitutions did not do much to relieve the starters in the first half. Cody Zeller was one of only three bench players that had a chance to play. Zeller played only two minutes and all in the first half. Kyle Lowry wasn’t very effective during his minutes in the first half. When the team’s best shooter, Duncan Robinson, was inserted, he allowed the Heat to space the floor due to his capacity from the three point line.
The third quarter proved to be one of the ugliest quarters the Heat had played in a long time. In spite of that, at key moments of the second half, Spoelstra was recalcitrant about going to his bench at all. It was during this phase in the game that the shooting woes were simply horrendous for key Heat players, Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Adebayo, who only made 4/18 shots, expressed after the game that in game 7 he needs to just “make a shot.” The officials were extremely reticent to blow the whistle on the offensive side of the ball for the Heat. Though both Butler and Adebayo remained aggressive rebounding and attacking the basket, they had very little to show for it. During that spell in the third quarter when Spoelstra was loathe to go to his bench, it was certainly slim pickings for any buckets. Strus was cold from the outside and was not able to impact the game in the second half.
Though he insisted on staying with a lineup that wasn’t producing until only four minutes remained in the third quarter, Spoelstra finally went to his bench, and it made a huge difference. His unwillingness to go to another line up meant that the Heat had some work to do to catch the Celtics in the box score.
As former NBA coach Stan Van Gundy said of Miami, “it’s not always pretty but this is a resilient basketball team.”
When Lowry was finally inserted in the game, there were less than four minutes to go in the 3rd quarter. Just a short time later, Vincent came back in for Strus. No sooner was Lowry in the game than he used his veteran wiles to score some much-needed points for the hometown Heat. And he didn’t need to dribble in through the long reach of the Celtics, which had caused the Heat so much difficulty. Of the Heat’s inability to finish their shots in the lane, Stan Van Gundy said, “It’s the shots the Miami Heat are hesitant to take or just missing because Robert Williams is there.”
Kyle Lowry had his own ideas about how to gain a competitive advantage over Williams and the Celtics as a team. Even from the opposite side of the court, Lowry was able to goad the Celtics into committing a foul, knowing that they were in the penalty. Lowry knew where Williams was and made it so he picked up a foul. In his own halfcourt, he was able to find the gaps that ensured his teammates could find room to operate. He played so efficiently, in fact, that he stayed on the floor until only five minutes were left in the entire game.
”I love how aggressive we’re being. Everything we do is the hard way and that’s how it’s going to be in the 4th quarter,” Spoelstra said.
That sound byte Spoelstra gave the courtside reporter before the start of the fourth quarter proved to be a very accurate assessment of what was to come. After the game Spoelstra went on to say that it would have to be that way in game 7 as well. With the exception of two timely shots from distance by Duncan Robinson, the Heat had to fight and scrap every time they put points on the board. There were only five minutes left in the game before Lowry is subbed out. His playmaking had really made a difference and so had Duncan Robinson’s scoring.
From then to the end of the game, Duncan Robinson had more plays called for him than any other Heat player. That’s pretty good for an undrafted player. He and Lowry are good examples of the team’s toughness and competitive edge. The Heat’s marquee players, Butler and Adebayo displayed those qualities as well but shot a very poor percentage.
Yet paradoxically, a subpar field goal percentage is not what cost the Heat this game.
On the defensive end, the Heat needed to get bodies on the Celtics as they ran to the basket to follow shots. The Heat just didn’t manage to do this enough. Even before the game-winning play, Jaylen Brown flew in to grab an offensive rebound and was fouled with 1:01 to go in the game. His teammate Derrick White had the same idea when he flew in to tip the ball back in after Marcus Smart’s desperation three pointer rimmed out. The result was a one point loss for the Heat. That’s why we’re going to a deciding game 7 back in Boston.