Member-only story
East Finals: Game 1 Thoughts (The Block)
Last night’s Boston Celtics-Miami Heat East Finals, Game 1 was frenetic and discombobulated. My bob has been ulated uncomfortably. It was a glorious, competitive mess. Late in the playoffs, Game 1's are usually strange, as the stakes rise and the first game is usually a feeling-out process, especially after 7 against the previous opponent, as was the case with Boston.
The Celtics won the first 5 minutes of the 1st quarter, and the entire 3rd quarter. The Heat won the end of the 1st, the 2nd and the 4th. Overtime was pretty even, with two plays winning it for Miami.
Bam Adebayo’s mind-boggling, inches-above-the-rim block on Jayson Tatum was the defining play, saving the game for Miami with 2 seconds left in OT and the Heat up by 2. It was the type of play that builds a player’s legacy. A Dikembe or Hakeem type of block that was pure timing and reach.
Probably unfairly, as I watched the replay several times, I wondered if Tatum considered laying the ball in, to keep the ball angled further away from Adebayo until the last possible second. But how can you criticize Tatum for wanting to slam the ball home, hoping to bring the game to a second overtime? You can’t. You tip your proverbial cap (unless you’re wearing one) and you focus on taking Game 2.
