3 Adjustments the Heat need to make to beat the Celtics in Game 4

2. Win the possession battle

The Celtics scored 24 points off 12 Heat turnovers and out-scored the Heat 17-11 on second-chance points. The Heat need to clean both things up. Limiting the turnovers would shut the water off on Boston’s transition offense and ease the burden on Miami’s undermanned defense. 

On the flip side, the Heat need to do a better job of forcing turnovers to create some relief buckets on their end. Easier said than done without Jimmy Butler in the lineup, but ratcheting up the physicality could force Boston’s ball-handlers into trickier situations that could lead to turnovers and transition chances. Less than 5% of their possessions in Game 3 came in transition. 

This is all part of the math problem the Heat are dealing with. Getting up more 3-pointers isn’t the only way to narrow the gap between these two teams. Taking scoring chances away from Boston is almost as important as creating easy ones in the full court. 

The Celtics don’t turn the ball over much (they averaged the fewest turnovers in the league this season) but they also forced the fewest turnovers. If the Heat clean up their end and are opportunistic when they do force the Celtics into a turnover, that will go a long way in narrowing the gap in Game 4.