Heat guard gives candid assessment of Celtics ‘internal’ playoff issues

Brad Stevens has made some big changes to the Celtics roster this offseason in the wake of an ugly Game 7 loss to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals back in May. Kristaps Porzingis was added to boost Boston’s frontcourt while the team traded away Marcus Smart and Grant Williams in separate deals to reshape the team’s rotation.

What is evident now is the Celtics locker room dynamics will be different for the 2024-25 season with an assortment of new faces. And that may not necessarily be a bad thing according to one opponent. In an interview on the Old Man and The Three podcast, ex-Heat guard Gabe Vincent spoke about Miami’s win over the Celtics back in the East Finals and highlighted some revealing issues that may have held Boston back in the matchup.

“I think first off, Boston is a hell of a team and was a hell of a team these last two years,” Vincent said. “Tatum and Brown raise a lot of havoc for the defense.

“It almost seemed like to me, truthfully, they had something going on over there. Despite our gameplan, so much has to go right to win in this league and if you aren’t fully right internally, it shows in different ways.”

The Heat jumped out to a stunning 3-0 series lead over Boston despite being the No. 8 seed and ultimately held on for a 4-3 series win, avenging a loss in the East Finals last year. Vincent also highlighted the fact he thought this year’s Celtics team played far differently defensively from 2022 in his interview.

“I obviously don’t know if they were or weren’t right internally but that was my feel I had,” Vincent. “There were moments of attack, you get the right matchup and you attack. Jimmy leading the way with his paint touches and Bam being aggressive and keeping them out of transition. That was a huge one for us. If we can get you into the half court, we have a chance.

“I think last year, they were better defensively when we lost to them in the East Finals. This past year, something didn’t seem as right whether it was their rotations or connectivity, whatever the case may be. I think any bit of weakness we saw, we jumped on it.”

The Heat went on to lose to the Nuggets 4-1 in the NBA Finals. The Celtics are currently the betting favorites to win the East Finals after their offseason moves.