The Boston Celtics kicked off the beginning of their Eastern Conference Finals threequel against the Miami Heat on the right foot, taking a nine-point lead into the halftime intermission. But as the Heat have proven over and over again during the 2023 NBA playoffs, they're never quite out of a game. The Celtics proceeded to get punched on the mouth in the third quarter, surrendering 46 points which they couldn't quite recover from en route to a 123-116 defeat.

When the Celtics look back at the game tape of their third quarter collapse, one thing in particular will stand out: their waning defensive effort. They allowed the Heat to get whatever they want on the offensive end; Miami shot 17-26 from the field, including 6-9 on threes during that period to take the game by the scruff of its neck.

Thus, it's no surprise to see Marcus Smart, one of the Celtics' vocal and emotional leaders, drop some truth bombs regarding his team's shortcomings during that fateful stretch. Smart, in a gentle manner, gave some insight as to why the Celtics seem to struggle when it comes to putting up more of a consistent effort on a game-to-game basis.

“We get tired of doing the little things sometimes. I think it showed what I was talking about earlier, our spacing. We have a lot of great players, but when we're all on top of each other, nobody can be great. So we got a good defensive team like Miami, they make you pay for that. We got to make sure we do those little things and we can't get bored with those,” Smart said in his postgame presser, per NBC Sports Boston.

Still, it is a long series. The Celtics know that as well as anyone, as the Heat also won Game 1 of their ECF tussle last season. And at the very least, Marcus Smart believes that the Celtics know what they must do to avoid a repeat of their 2023 Game 1 meltdown.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Jayson Tatum, Celtics, Tatum Celtics, Tatum cluch, Jrue Holiday

Jackson Stone ·

Blake Griffin with Celtics players telling him to come back before retirement.

Daniel Donabedian ·

A newspaper as the background, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown with the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, and Atlanta Hawks logos in the background

Owen Crisafulli ·

“The only thing we need to adjust to is picking up our physicality and playing some damn defense,” Smart added, per Jay King of The Athletic.

The Celtics will look to bounce back when they take on the Heat on Friday night at 8:30 PM E.T.