It's finally time. The series that might be the most entertaining of the second round is here again. Game 2 of the Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards starts at 8:00 PM EST on TNT on Tuesday night.
Game 1 Recap
Game 1 was all about Isaiah Thomas. With Thomas battling through some tough times after losing his sister, his play has been inspiring. Thomas had 33 points in Game 1. The Celtics were hitting everything they shot against Washington. Washington started the game jumping out to a 16-0 first quarter lead, but it would not hold up. The Celtics would make a comeback in the third quarter and push their way through to victory.
Keys for Washington
If you're Washington going into game two, you can't expect Boston to shoot that well again. With that being said, the main issue in Game 1 was the Wizards' perimeter defense. This doesn't just mean the Celtics shot well from three. Washington's perimeter defense was really bad.
Their closeouts, their defensive rotations, a lot of their defense just did not come out in this game. One huge problem with this is their lack of depth at the big position. With Gortat being the only main big, he has issues defending the pick and pop. The Celtics run so much pick and pop that it can really dominate Washington if they aren't active on defense.
Keys for Boston
The first huge key for Boston is their energy level.
Going into Game 2 after you just dominated in Game 1, the energy has to be there again. One thing that was evident from Game 1 was that no one could touch John Wall. Expect him to be in attack mode. The Boston help defense has to be there for this. Every time Wall drives, Horford has to meet him outside the paint. You can only do so much against John Wall but this will help a lot.
When Wall kicks, closing out on shooters is huge.
Game 2 will likely be a back and forth game dictated by John Wall and Isaiah Thomas. If Wall plays like he has been playing all playoffs, the Wizards can pull this game out. For Boston, if Isaiah Thomas starts scoring, and the role players follow suit, Boston will have the edge.
