How the Boston Celtics Can Win Game 4

After an impressive Game 3 win over the Miami Heat to make the Eastern Conference Finals a 2-1 series, the Boston Celtics now must find a way to tie things up in Game 4 on Sunday night. How can they do that? Let's examine the keys to victory for the Celtics.

1. Trap LeBron James and Dwyane Wade on pick-and-rolls

This is something Boston started doing in Game 2, and it worked early on. However, it began to fail the C's when they were not quick enough in rotating over to the Heat's shooters, and James and Wade were able to find guys like Shane Battier and Mike Miller for open looks from three, and I still believe that that was the Celtics' ultimate downfall in Game 2.

In Game 3, however, Boston's defensive rotations were much quicker. Once again, the Celtics trapped Miami's two superstars off of pick-and-rolls and forced the ball out of their hands. This time, when the ball found Battier, Miller, Mario Chalmers or James Jones, the C's closed out like hawks and gave the Heat very few clean looks from beyond the arc. The proof? Miami shot 5-of-17 from downtown in Game 3.

This strategy also completely cut off James and Wade's driving lanes, as Wade did not attempt a single free throw (the first time that happened to him in a playoff game since his rookie year in 2004) and James only took five, converting on only one of them.

You are really cutting off the Heat's air supply if you prevent them from getting to the charity stripe. Now I don't think you can expect the Celtics to keep Wade away from the foul line entirely in Game 4, but if they can at least limit he and LeBron in that area and force them to shoot jumpers, they are going to be in great shape.

2. Get the ball to Kevin Garnett

And the puzzling strategy of Boston continues. It took Doc Rivers until Game 3 to utilize Garnett the way he should, taking advantage of his size by lobbing passes into him underneath the basket for easy points. Why the C's did not do this in Games 1 or 2 is beyond me, but then again, I have always said that Rivers, as great of a coach as he is, never uses KG correctly.

Well, he better use him right in Game 4, as not single player on Miami's roster apart from the injured Chris Bosh can provide any kind of resistance to Garnett in the post. He is just too big and too long. If you play behind him, he'll back you down and pop his patented turnaround jumper. If you front him (which the Heat tried doing constantly in Game 3), Rajon Rondo and company will effortlessly toss soft lobs into Garnett which he will either put down or get fouled on.

If Garnett doesn't touch the ball on the good majority of Boston's possessions tonight, I will seriously wonder what film Rivers has been watching.

3. Control the tempo

This was something that the Celtics did an incredible job of in Game 3, in no small part due to Rondo's brilliance.

Let me just clarify something, though: I do not think Boston should slow this game to a crawl. That is not when the C's are at their best. When they are at their best is when Rondo can push the ball in the open court and either score in transition or find Garnett (one of the best big men in transition in the league) with great position down low or dish the ball out to Ray Allen or Paul Pierce on the wing.

Everyone likes to say that the Celtics want to slow things down, and while they can certainly win that way, you are really handicapping Rondo by doing that. Of course, Boston would like to keep Miami off of the fast break, but if the C's can give the Heat a taste of their own medicine, they will accomplish that.

Clearly, getting out in transition leads to easier buckets, and easier buckets means less misses, and less misses means less chances for the Heat to get out in the open court.

4. Get more production from the bench

I'm really not sure what took Rivers so long to give Marquis Daniels some minutes, as he is a very good defender whose offensive game has always been a bit underrated, as evidenced by his five assists in 17 minutes in Game 3.

I expect Daniels to see just as much floor time in Game 4, and while expecting him to duplicate his nine points and five assists from Game 3 might be asking for a bit too much, asking him to play tough defense on James and Wade isn't, and Daniels is certainly capable of that.

Keyon Dooling also provided the Celtics with a big boost in Game 3, as his tenacious on-ball defense and overall quickness gave the Heat fits. I expect him to bring the same kind of energy tonight.

5. Get more production from Brandon Bass

Bass got into some early foul trouble in Game 3 and only played 17 minutes, making only one field goal and finishing with four points. Fortunately, Garnett, Pierce and Rondo each scored over 20 points and Daniels and Dooling came up big off the bench, so Bass' offense wasn't really needed.

However, the C's cannot live with just four points from Bass in this game. They need him to step up, and my gut tells me that he will. In what will probably be a close game, someone outside of the collective of Garnett, Pierce, Rondo, and Allen will need to provide a spark, and I think Bass will be that guy.

We all know Bass is capable of doing so (remember his 27-point outburst in Game 5 against the Philadelphia 76ers last round?). He just needs to keep himself out of foul trouble and do it. He certainly has a favorable matchup, as Battier is just not big enough to guard him. Bass just needs to learn to go up quicker underneath the basket as to avoid his shot getting blocked, and I also don't think there is any player in this league who gets fouled more without it being called than Bass.

I'm not saying he'll score 18 points in the third quarter like he did against the 76ers, but I do think he will be a major factor tonight.

Prediction

The Celtics need this game. They cannot afford to head back down to Miami down 3-1. Of course, no one knows that more than the C's themselves, and I expect to see a Herculean effort from them tonight because of it.

Boston will even the series tonight.