NBA Playoffs 2012: What the Celtics Must Do to Even the Series

While many people have tried to blame the Boston Celtics' Game 1 93-79 loss to the Miami Heat on the refs, the Celtics lost the game on their own. Sure, the refs were horrible and definitely had a negative impact on the game for the Celtics, but that shouldn't minimize the fact that the Celtics really didn't play well. With the exception of the second quarter, the Celtics hardly showed up in Game 1.

Now, down one game, Game 2 becomes a virtual must-win for the C's. In order to win though, they will need to play a lot better and fix some of the mistakes they made in Game 1.

Rebound Better

At first glance, it seems as though the Celtics did a good job on the boards in Game 1, collecting 10 offensive rebounds. When you look further though, you see that they were really out-rebounded 48-33 and allowed the Heat 13 offensive rebounds. If the Celtics want any chance in Game 2, that can't happen again.

The Heat are hard enough to shut down when they have one shot attempt every time up the floor, but second-chance opportunities for the Heat will kill the Celtics. If the C's can rebound as a team, then they will minimize the Heat's second-chance points and maximize their chances of winning.

Generate More Offense

Seventy-nine points isn't going to beat the Heat regardless of the kind of defense the Celtics play. If the Celtics want to beat this Heat team, they are going to have to score around 90 points while also playing stellar defense. Normally, 90 points does not seem like such an unreachable threshold, but for this Celtics team that has struggled offensively, it does.

For the Celtics to score more points, they will need to get more shots for KG. Garnett has been the best offensive option for the Celtics and has the biggest mismatch in the series. The C's should give him the ball early and often. He should take at least 20 shots tonight and score close to 30.

Other than that, the Celtics really just need to get more individual offense out of Ray Allen, Brandon Bass, Paul Pierce and even Rajon Rondo. If just a couple of these players can step up and KG gets a lot of shots, then the Celtics offense should be fine.

Protect the Paint

What really killed the Celtics were all of the points in the paint that they allowed. Against the Heat, it is imperative that you keep them out of the paint and turn them into jump shooters.

In Game 1, the Celtics failed at doing that. They allowed cuts to the hoop for layups and penetration through the defense. At this point, it's most important that the Celtics stop the cuts to the paint for easy layups because that is easiest to shut down. Penetration from Wade and James is a little harder to defend initially, but the Celtics need to collapse in on the driver in the paint. Perhaps they should go to the zone more often in Game 2.

Shoot Better from the Line

The Celtics certainly didn't do themselves many favors in Game 1, especially at the free throw line. In Game 1, the C's shot a horrific 11-21 from the charity stripe with four misses coming from none other than Ray Allen. If the Celtics want to win, they can't be missing free throws and leaving 10 points at the line. Realistically, for the Celtics to come out on top, they need to play nearly flawless basketball and that means shooting a very high percentage from the line.

Get Their Swagger Back

In the image above, you can see a smiling LeBron taunting a silent Kevin Garnett. That shows you that at least at that point in time, Kevin Garnett and the Celtics had lost their edge and that the Heat were in compete control.

In order for the Celtics to compete with the Heat, they need to get their swagger back. Game 2 could be the perfect time to do so with less stringent refs, a desperate and revenge-seeking Celtics and an overly confident Heat team. Don't be surprised if the Celtics come out swinging and get their swagger back from the very beginning.